RidgeBot Adversary Cyber Emulation Measures Security Control Effectiveness 

by | Jun 21, 2023 | RidgeBot

Consistent breach attack simulations provide crucial insights to help enterprises measure, manage and improve their system’s ability to defend effectively against cyberattacks. Breach attack simulation also enables enterprises to identify security vulnerabilities early.  

A cyberattack simulation emulates an actual threat against an enterprise’s own network, infrastructure, and assets using the tools, tactics, and procedures (TTPs) of known cyber vulnerabilities, by mimicking the possible attack paths and techniques used by malicious actors. 

Simulating cyberattacks offers many benefits. Here are some key advantages of conducting cyberattack simulations. 

  • Simulations help enterprises identify vulnerabilities and weaknesses in their systems, networks, and applications. By emulating real-world attack scenarios, they can proactively uncover potential security flaws that could be exploited by malicious actors. This allows them to patch vulnerabilities before they are exploited, reducing the risk of successful cyberattacks. 
  • Enterprises can assess their overall security posture and evaluate the potential impact of different attack types. By testing various attack vectors and techniques, enterprises can determine their vulnerabilities’ severity and prioritize mitigation efforts accordingly. This helps allocate resources effectively to address the most critical risks. 
  • Simulations provide an opportunity to test an enterprise’s incident response capabilities. By mimicking real-world cyberattacks, organizations can evaluate their ability to detect, respond to, and recover from such incidents. This allows them to identify gaps in their incident response plans, refine processes, and enhance coordination among different teams involved in cybersecurity. 
  • Enterprises can raise awareness among employees and stakeholders about potential threats and security best practices. Through simulated phishing campaigns or social engineering techniques, enterprises can educate their workforce about the risks associated with certain behaviors and provide training on how to identify and respond to suspicious activities. This helps foster a security-conscious culture. 
  • Many industries are subject to specific compliance standards and regulatory requirements pertaining to cybersecurity. Conducting cyberattack simulations can assist in meeting these obligations by demonstrating the enterprise’s commitment to security and validating its compliance measures. Simulations can also help organizations identify gaps in compliance and take corrective actions. 
  • Cyberattack simulations are not one-time exercises but rather ongoing processes. Regularly conducting simulations allows enterprises to monitor their security posture over time, track improvements, and identify emerging threats or vulnerabilities. By continuously testing and refining their defenses, organizations can stay ahead of evolving cyber threats and maintain a proactive cybersecurity approach. 
  • Simulating cyberattacks and demonstrating a robust security stance helps build trust with customers, partners, and stakeholders. By showing a commitment to protecting sensitive data and maintaining the confidentiality, integrity, and availability of systems, organizations can differentiate themselves as reliable and trustworthy entities in the digital landscape.

RidgeBot® ACE Botlets conduct security assessments using agents to simulate real-world cyberattacks without any harm or impact to the IT environment. IT and security teams use RidgeBot ACE to conduct assessment test scripts, with scripted behaviors that are carried out by the Botlet to simulate a specific attack or to validate the security controls. RidgeBot ACE also conducts key measurement block rates, using a ratio of blocked scripts, versus all assessment scripts executed during RidgeBot ACE testing. A test result with a higher block rate indicates better security controls. 

RidgeBot ACE attack simulation scenarios 

RidgeBot ACE supports multiple attack simulation scenarios, including: 

  • Endpoint Security – Simulates the behavior of malicious software, and downloads malware signatures to validate the security controls of the target endpoints. 
  • Data Exfiltration – Simulates the unauthorized movement of data from a server — such as personal, financial, and confidential data, software source codes, and more. 
  • Active Directory Information Recon – Simulates an attacker gathering useful resources in Windows Active Directory for elevated privilege, persistence, and plundering information. 

ACE enterprise security validation 

  • Security Control Validation 
  • Continuous Measurement 
  • Mitre Att&ck Framework 

Click here to learn how RidgeBot ACE can proactively protect your enterprise assets and data.