The Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA), in partnership with the U.S. Coast Guard Cyber Command (CGCYBER), has released a comprehensive analysis and infographic detailing the findings from 143 Risk and Vulnerability Assessments (RVAs) conducted across multiple critical infrastructure sectors in the past year. The report provides valuable insights into common cybersecurity vulnerabilities and outlines the tactics cyber threat actors could use to exploit these weaknesses.
The analysis includes a sample attack path that maps the steps a cyber adversary could follow to compromise an organization. The attack path is based on real vulnerabilities observed during the RVAs. By mapping these findings to the MITRE ATT&CK® framework, the report highlights how cyber actors gain access to systems and which techniques prove most successful. The infographic, accompanying the report, further breaks down the most effective techniques for each stage of the attack, providing visual insights into how organizations are compromised.
Among the key findings, valid accounts and phishing were identified as the most successful techniques used in simulated attack paths. These methods represent significant threats that all organizations, particularly those managing critical infrastructure, must guard against.
CISA’s RVAs offer a deep dive into the vulnerabilities facing organizations today. The analysis includes:
– Reports by fiscal year, starting from FY20, which present a detailed analysis of sample attack paths that could be used by cyber threat actors to exploit observed weaknesses.
– Infographics mapped to the ATT&CK framework, starting from FY19, showing the most successful tactics and techniques documented during RVAs, including success rates for each method.
On September 13, 2024, CISA published the FY23 RVAs Analysis and Infographic, giving IT professionals and network administrators a clear picture of the cyber threats organizations face and the most effective strategies for defense.
Click here to read more.