Attack Surface
What is Attack Surface?
The word “attack surface” refers to the portions of a system, device, or network that include security flaws that can be exploited. The attack surface of a company’s computer systems and devices might vary greatly depending on what they’re utilized for and how they’re configured. This is not to be confused with the term “attack surface in ethical hacking,” which refers to the possible risk provided by vulnerabilities in an operating system or application installed on a computing device.
Understanding Attack Surface
In practice, this method can be used to identify if a device is vulnerable to known and undiscovered ways of attack, such as analyzing the operating system an attacker might use.
For example, if an organization’s IT infrastructure employs the Linux operating system for its email platform, it may be vulnerable to an attack exploiting the shell shock vulnerability. Attack surfaces can also be used to look for vulnerabilities in non-operating system software and hardware components such as switches and routers, though these are often more difficult to fix.
Read related articles:
« Back to Glossary IndexDisclaimer
In line with the Trust Project guidelines, please note that the information provided on this page is not intended to be and should not be interpreted as legal, tax, investment, financial, or any other form of advice. It is important to only invest what you can afford to lose and to seek independent financial advice if you have any doubts. For further information, we suggest referring to the terms and conditions as well as the help and support pages provided by the issuer or advertiser. MetaversePost is committed to accurate, unbiased reporting, but market conditions are subject to change without notice.
About The Author
Damir is the team leader, product manager, and editor at Metaverse Post, covering topics such as AI/ML, AGI, LLMs, Metaverse, and Web3-related fields. His articles attract a massive audience of over a million users every month. He appears to be an expert with 10 years of experience in SEO and digital marketing. Damir has been mentioned in Mashable, Wired, Cointelegraph, The New Yorker, Inside.com, Entrepreneur, BeInCrypto, and other publications. He travels between the UAE, Turkey, Russia, and the CIS as a digital nomad. Damir earned a bachelor's degree in physics, which he believes has given him the critical thinking skills needed to be successful in the ever-changing landscape of the internet.
More articlesDamir is the team leader, product manager, and editor at Metaverse Post, covering topics such as AI/ML, AGI, LLMs, Metaverse, and Web3-related fields. His articles attract a massive audience of over a million users every month. He appears to be an expert with 10 years of experience in SEO and digital marketing. Damir has been mentioned in Mashable, Wired, Cointelegraph, The New Yorker, Inside.com, Entrepreneur, BeInCrypto, and other publications. He travels between the UAE, Turkey, Russia, and the CIS as a digital nomad. Damir earned a bachelor's degree in physics, which he believes has given him the critical thinking skills needed to be successful in the ever-changing landscape of the internet.
