Initial Access covers phishing, exploits, and stolen credentials used to enter systems; MFA, patching, and segmentation reduce the resulting foothold.
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Background for this topic.
Initial access is the attacker’s first successful entry into an organization’s systems, accounts, or network. In threat-model terms, it covers paths such as phishing, exploitation of internet-facing applications or devices, use of valid stolen credentials, and compromise of a supplier or trusted service. The objective is to obtain a foothold that can support later actions, including privilege escalation, internal movement, or data access; initial access does not necessarily mean the attacker has administrative control.
The main security concern is reducing the number and reliability of these entry paths. Priorities include promptly fixing vulnerabilities in externally exposed systems, enforcing phishing-resistant multifactor authentication for sensitive access, limiting exposed services and unnecessary privileges, and using email, endpoint, and authentication telemetry to detect suspicious entry. Security teams should preserve relevant logs and investigate unusual logins or newly created access promptly, because the time between initial compromise and follow-on activity may be short.
Weekly headline count for the current query.
Russian cybercriminal Aleksei Volkov has received close to seven years behind bars for role in Yanluowang ransomware
Beazley Security data finds the top cause of initial access for ransomware in Q3 was compromised VPN credentials
ReliaQuest report claims time from initial access to lateral movement has shrunk to just 18 minutes
Rapid7 found that threat actors are able to purchase low-cost initial access broker services, with many packages offering a variety of options
Microsoft has observed Russian state actor Secret Blizzard using an AiTM position to gain initial access, assisted by official domestic intercept systems
A joint US government advisory highlighted novel initial access techniques deployed by Interlock, and urged businesses and critical infrastructure to stay vigilant
ReliaQuest warns that initial access vulnerability exploitation is driving successful ransomware attacks
This new CitrixBleed lookalike flaw is being exploited in the wild to gain initial access, according to ReliaQuest
An alleged former member of the infamous Ryuk ransomware group has been extradited to the US
A new Europol-led operation has dismantled infrastructure for key initial access malware used to launch ransomware attacks
Mandiant’s M-Trends report found that credential theft rose significantly in 2024, driven by the growing use of infostealers
Travelers found that ransomware groups are focusing on targeting weak credentials on VPN and gateway accounts for initial access, marking a shift from 2023
Microsoft found that Russian state actor Seashell Blizzard has deployed an initial access subgroup to gain persistent access in a range of high-value global targets
Cisco Talos found that exploitation of public-facing applications made up 40% of incidents it observed in Q4 2024, marking a notable shift in initial access techniques
The BianLian ransomware group has shifted exclusively to exfiltration-based extortion and is deploying multiple new TTPs for initial access and persistence
Cyberint claims that initial access brokers target companies with average revenue of nearly $2bn
Forescout highlighted a 43% increase in published vulnerabilities in H1 2024, with attackers targeting flaws in VPNs and network infrastructure for initial access
A new report by Cato Networks found that exploiting old vulnerabilities in unpatched systems is one of threat actors’ favorite initial access vectors
The growth of software supply chain attacks pushed vulnerability exploits to the third most used initial access method, Verizon found
The malware, discovered by Proofpoint and Team Cymru, was mainly utilized by initial access brokers