New Sophos Technology Maps Potential Pathways for Cyberattacks
Cybersecurity firm Sophos is launching a new feature called Exploit Path Verification (EPV). This feature will identify how attackers could use a system’s weaknesses to launch an attack. Sophos is building the technology using OpenAI’s GPT cyber model through the Debreak Defense Network. It will later connect to Sophos’ Managed Risk service.
Sophos says this new feature will determine more than just a severity score for a weakness. It will also show whether attackers could actually use that weakness to carry out an attack. This will help security teams identify the most important risks first and take the right action.
Security experts find a large number of weaknesses every day, but not all of them carry the same level of risk. A severity score alone does not always show which weaknesses attackers can actually exploit. Several smaller weaknesses can also combine to create a larger attack opportunity. Identifying this real world risk is one of EPV’s main goals.
Sophos says EPV will assess risk by analyzing a system’s update status, existing security measures, network access points, user permissions, and known attack data. The technology will also examine whether a weakness can actually be exploited, whether existing security measures can block it, and whether an attacker could realistically reach that weakness.
EPV will identify possible paths that attackers could use to enter a system. It will also check whether current security measures can block the entire attack path. When it finds a weakness, the service will offer guidance on how to fix it.
Sophos says the results from EPV will serve as recommendations, not final decisions. Each result will note that it was generated using artificial intelligence. Users will also be able to review the information behind each AI conclusion.
