What Threat Vectors Do Malicious Actors Target?


Open or unsecured ports offer a low effort, high return on investment threat vector for most malicious actors. Ports act as the gatekeepers to your IT systems, giving physical devices access to external devices such as connected printers or on-premises servers. In other words, even though these access points may be located in your physical buildings, they create a threat vector by using the internet so that devices can “talk” to one another.

Why do malicious actors target ports?

Ports provide an electronic entryway into your systems, software, and networks because they allow devices to create the two-way communication paths through which data travels. Often, attackers insert malware or ransomware into devices using these ports. Once the malware infects one device, it can spread to all devices connected to the network.
Some ports provide malicious actors with an exit strategy. Malicious actors can gain access to your data, but they need a way to download the information. When these ports lack security controls, malicious actors can manipulate the data, send it to their own servers using the port, and then translate it back to readable form.
The primary problem with ports is that they require organizations to configure them as part of the security control process. Unfortunately, organizations often use vendor-supplied passwords or other built-in configurations. Since the malicious actors know the vulnerabilities and vendor-supplied passwords, misconfigured ports become a threat vector.


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