Explaining METI’s ASM Implementation Guidance: Managing the Expanding Attack Surface

See the event page for details and registration. ■ Rising ransomware damage and the growing “attack surface” targeted by diverse attacks As digital technologies spread rapidly, many companies and organizations now conduct a wide range of business activities on digital infrastructure. While the use of the internet and cloud services, the increase in IoT devices, and the adoption of big data and AI continue to advance, malicious actors launch cyberattacks every day by targeting vulnerabilities in these environments. In particular, the range of targets exposed to cyberattacks, known as the “attack surface,” continues to expand. ■ How do attackers target vulnerabilities? Damage from ransomware attacks has increased sharply in recent years. According to a survey by Japan’s National Police Agency Cyber Police Bureau, more than 80% of infection routes among companies and organizations hit by ransomware involved “intrusion through VPN or remote desktop equipment.” Many attackers first examine publicly available information and data obtainable from externally exposed IT assets accessible from the internet, then consider potential targets and attack methods. Externally exposed IT assets include websites and servers launched by business departments, cloud services used by employees for work, and other assets that information systems teams may not fully understand or manage. Unidentified assets are often left with insufficient security measures, increasing the risk that they will be targeted as entry points for cyberattacks. ■ How should organizations understand externally exposed IT assets, including those of subsidiaries and group companies? To protect an organization from such cyberattacks, it is important to build a mechanism that identifies externally exposed IT assets and continuously evaluates, on a regular basis, whether they expose weaknesses. However, companies with subsidiaries or group companies may fail to inventory externally exposed IT assets or may be unable to understand the latest status of a large number of IT assets. Without properly understanding these assets and implementing company-wide measures, organizations may ultimately increase their risk of security incidents such as cyberattacks. ■ Explaining METI’s ASM implementation guidance and introducing an easy-to-deploy ASM tool In this environment, ASM, or Attack Surface Management, is attracting attention as a method for protecting a company’s IT assets from ransomware and other cyberattacks. Momentum is growing for adopting ASM as a solution to understand and manage the ever-expanding attack surface. In 2023, Japan’s Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry published “ASM Implementation Guidance: Discovering and Managing an Organization’s IT Assets Using Information Observable from Outside.” The guidance summarizes the characteristics and use cases of various ASM-related tools and services. This seminar will explain the basic concepts, features, points to note, and case studies related to ASM in the implementation guidance. It will also introduce “Net de Shindan ASM,” a Japan-made ASM tool characterized by ease of use and an accessible price range. The seminar is especially recommended for those whose organizations have many sites or domains across various departments, or who face challenges managing numerous externally exposed IT assets across subsidiaries and group companies. Please use it as a reference for strengthening security. ■ Organizer and co-organizer GMO Cybersecurity by Ierae, Inc. ■ Cooperation Open Source Utilization Research Institute, Inc. Majisemi Inc. See the event page for details and registration. Majisemi will continue to hold webinars that are useful to participants. Public materials from past seminars and other seminars currently accepting applications are available on the Majisemi website. Majisemi Inc. Shiodome Building 3F, 1-2-20 Kaigan, Minato-ku, Tokyo 105-0022, Japan Contact: https://majisemi.com/service/contact/