Just like a shelter-seeking raccoon will go for your older, decaying roof over your neighbour’s freshly shingled one, cybercriminals – like animals – look for the path of least resistance. They go after the most vulnerable businesses, the easy targets, and pass over the ones whose protections make an intrusion more trouble than it’s worth. If you’d prefer not to be the easy target, here’s how to shrink your attack surface.
What Is an Attack Surface?
Your attack surface is the sum of every point where an attacker could try to get in or pull data out. It spans three areas: your digital surface (websites, apps, open ports, cloud services, exposed credentials), your physical surface (devices, servers, office access), and your human surface (employees who can be phished or tricked). Reducing your attack surface simply means fewer doors for an attacker to try – and making each remaining door harder to open. Here are the top five ways to do it.
1. Know Your Risks with a Cybersecurity Risk Assessment
You can’t shrink what you can’t see. The first step is a cybersecurity risk assessment to identify where your greatest exposures exist and which weaknesses to address first. Many small configuration changes make your business less attractive to attackers – hiding server version information, prohibiting email spoofing, and establishing your own social profiles (so hackers won’t do it for you). Pairing those configurations with the right network security controls – firewalls, intrusion detection systems, and endpoint protection – adds the technical layer that makes them enforceable and continuously monitored.
2. Train Your Employees to Shrink the Human Attack Surface
The large majority of breaches involve a human element – phishing, misuse, or simple error. (When you publish, cite the current Verizon DBIR figure here.) The most cost-effective way to reduce that risk is ongoing security awareness training that helps your team recognize and avoid phishing and other scams. It works best when your risk assessment points you at the specific behaviours and teams that need it most.
3. Practice Proper IT Hygiene
Just as your dentist recommends regular brushing and flossing to prevent tooth decay, consistent IT hygiene keeps your data safe and out of criminal hands. That means a regular routine of patch management, credential rotation, multi-factor authentication, least-privilege access, and tested offsite backups. For organizations looking to formalize these practices, the ISO 27001 framework provides a structured way to turn good habits into documented, auditable controls – making compliance and security mutually reinforcing.
4. Have a Tested Disaster Recovery Plan
A disaster recovery plan is the fire-and-flood insurance for your company’s data – and like home insurance, you must establish it before disaster strikes. Test your restores from backup, document a comprehensive recovery procedure, and image company devices so you can rebuild quickly. Many organizations strengthen this by performing a vulnerability assessment to identify weaknesses that could disrupt critical systems and business operations.
5. Document Your Incident Response Plan
Instead of scrambling to figure out how to respond when an incident occurs, a documented incident response plan lets your team act quickly – notifying affected customers, communicating internally, and handling regulatory, reporting, legal, and PR activities in the right order. Keep in mind that your vendors are part of your attack surface too, so factor supplier risk into the plan if you rely on third parties.
Reduce Your Attack Surface This Week – Quick Checklist
- Run or schedule a risk assessment to find your biggest exposures.
- Turn on multi-factor authentication everywhere it’s available.
- Patch internet-facing systems and remove services you don’t use.
- Confirm backups exist – and test a restore.
- Enroll staff in phishing-focused awareness training.
- Write down (or update) your incident response plan and who does what.
While you can’t prevent every attack, these practices make you a far less appealing target and equip you to recover when the cyber-rodents come knocking. A comprehensive cybersecurity posture assessment can evaluate how well these controls work together and highlight where to improve. Not sure where to start? Managed cybersecurity services can help you assess which of these five areas needs the most attention in your environment – and build a prioritized, practical plan to get there.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is an attack surface in cybersecurity?
An attack surface is the total set of points – digital, physical, and human – where an attacker could attempt to enter your systems or extract data. Reducing it means having fewer entry points, each better protected.
How do I reduce my attack surface?
Start with a risk assessment to find your biggest exposures, then close unused entry points, enforce MFA and patching, train employees against phishing, and keep tested backups and an incident response plan ready.
What’s the difference between an attack surface and a vulnerability?
The attack surface is where an attacker could get in; a vulnerability is a specific weakness at one of those points. Good security reduces both.
What is Attack Surface Management (ASM)?
ASM is the continuous process of discovering, monitoring, and reducing your attack surface – including assets you may have forgotten, like old subdomains, exposed cloud services, and third-party connections.
