Utilities

5 automated security scanners

Water Distribution Security

Purpose: The Water_Distribution_Security scanner is designed to detect vulnerabilities and security weaknesses in water distribution systems by probing critical infrastructure components such as pumping stations, reservoir controls, and pressure management systems. It identifies potential security issues through direct technical analysis of DNS records, HTTP responses, TLS configurations, open ports, and API endpoints.

What It Detects:

Security Headers Analysis: Checks for the presence of essential security headers like Strict-Transport-Security, Content-Security-Policy, X-Frame-Options, and X-Content-Type-Options.
TLS/SSL Configuration Issues: Identifies outdated or insecure TLS versions (e.g., TLSv1.0, TLSv1.1) and detects weak cipher suites such as RC4, DES, and MD5.
DNS Record Vulnerabilities: Analyzes TXT, MX, NS, CAA, and DMARC records for potential misconfigurations or security weaknesses, including checking SPF records for open mail relaying and verifying DMARC policies for leniency.
Open Ports and Service Fingerprinting: Scans for open ports that could indicate unauthorized access points and attempts to identify services running on these ports to assess potential vulnerabilities.
API Endpoint Security: Evaluates security practices of exposed APIs, including authentication mechanisms, rate limiting, and data validation.

Inputs Required:

domain (string): The primary domain to analyze (e.g., acme.com).
ip_range (string): The IP range to scan for open ports and services (e.g., 192.168.1.0/24).

Business Impact: This scanner is crucial for ensuring the security of water distribution systems, which are critical infrastructure components in many regions. Identifying vulnerabilities can prevent unauthorized access, data breaches, and potential physical damage to these systems, thereby safeguarding public health and safety.

Risk Levels:

Critical: Conditions that directly lead to a significant risk of breach or immediate impact on security, such as the presence of outdated TLS versions or weak cipher suites in critical configurations.
High: Conditions that pose a high risk but may not immediately compromise security, such as missing essential security headers in HTTP responses.
Medium: Conditions that indicate potential risks requiring attention but do not necessarily lead to immediate vulnerabilities, such as misconfigurations in DNS records.
Low: Informative findings that provide context but generally do not pose a significant risk, such as the presence of open ports without known services running on them.
Info: Non-critical issues providing supplementary information about the system’s configuration and capabilities.

Example Findings:

“Missing security header: Strict-Transport-Security” - This finding indicates that the website does not enforce HTTPS usage, which can lead to data interception in transit.
“Insecure TLS version detected: TLSv1.0” - Using an outdated and insecure TLS version like TLSv1.0 significantly increases the risk of data being intercepted or manipulated during transmission.

Wastewater Treatment Security

Purpose: The Wastewater Treatment Security Scanner is designed to identify vulnerabilities and security issues in wastewater treatment facilities’ process controls, environmental monitoring systems, and discharge systems. Its primary goal is to ensure compliance with safety standards and prevent unauthorized access or data breaches by detecting outdated software, weak authentication mechanisms, improper sensor configurations, insecure communication protocols, and potential cyber threats.

What It Detects:

Process Control Vulnerabilities:
- Outdated or unpatched control system software.
- Weak authentication mechanisms for remote access.
- Inadequate secure communication protocols between control systems.
Environmental Monitoring Weaknesses:
- Poor configuration and maintenance of monitoring sensors.
- Data integrity issues and lack of encryption in environmental data transmissions.
- Existence of unauthorized access points to the monitoring systems.
Discharge System Security:
- Inadequate security measures for control valves and pumps, making them susceptible to cyber attacks.
- Vulnerabilities within SCADA (Supervisory Control and Data Acquisition) systems that could be exploited by malicious actors.
DNS Configuration Issues:
- Misconfigurations in TXT, MX, NS, CAA, and DMARC records.
- Inappropriate SPF settings leading to email spoofing vulnerabilities.
- Lack of DKIM implementation for enhanced email security.
TLS/SSL Vulnerabilities:
- Use of outdated or insecure TLS/SSL protocols and cipher suites.
- Expired or improperly configured SSL certificates that fail to secure communications.

Inputs Required:

domain (string): The primary domain name of the wastewater treatment facility, used for DNS analysis, HTTP requests, and TLS inspection.
ip_range (string): Specifies the IP range to be scanned for open ports and potential vulnerabilities in network configurations.

Business Impact: This scanner is crucial for maintaining the safety and integrity of wastewater treatment processes, ensuring compliance with environmental regulations, and preventing data breaches that could lead to severe consequences such as environmental disasters or cyber-attacks compromising critical infrastructure.

Risk Levels:

Critical: Identifies outdated software without patches, exposing systems to known exploits and unauthorized access.
High: Weak authentication mechanisms allowing for easy password guessing attacks or brute force methods.
Medium: Misconfigurations in DNS settings that can lead to email spoofing or data interception.
Low: Use of insecure TLS/SSL protocols with outdated cipher suites, which may be bypassed with modern cryptographic techniques.
Info: Informational findings about misconfigured monitoring sensors and minor protocol vulnerabilities not directly impacting security but indicative of broader system issues.

Example Findings:

A wastewater treatment facility has an unpatched control system software running on outdated Windows XP, which is vulnerable to numerous cyber threats.
The DNS settings for the domain include no SPF records, making it susceptible to email phishing attacks from unknown senders.

Smart Meter Security

Purpose: The Smart_Meter_Security scanner is designed to detect security vulnerabilities in Advanced Metering Infrastructure (AMI) systems, head-end systems, and data management processes. It identifies potential weaknesses in DNS configurations, HTTP security headers, TLS/SSL implementations, open ports, and API endpoints that could be exploited by attackers.

What It Detects:

DNS Configuration Vulnerabilities:
- Checks for missing or improperly configured TXT, MX, NS, CAA, and DMARC records.
HTTP Security Headers:
- Ensures HSTS is enabled to enforce HTTPS usage, checks for the presence and strength of CSP headers, verifies clickjacking protection settings, and ensures MIME type sniffing prevention.
TLS/SSL Issues:
- Detects use of outdated protocols like TLSv1.0 and TLSv1.1, identifies insecure cipher suites such as RC4, DES, and MD5, and checks for expired or self-signed certificates.
Open Ports and Services:
- Identifies open ports that may be vulnerable to exploitation and determines the services running on identified open ports.
API Security:
- Detects exposed API endpoints that could lead to unauthorized access and evaluates the strength of authentication methods used in APIs.

Inputs Required:

domain (string): The domain to analyze (e.g., acme.com).
ip_range (string): The IP range to scan for open ports and services (e.g., 192.168.1.0/24).

Business Impact: This scanner is crucial as it helps in identifying potential security vulnerabilities that could be exploited by attackers, leading to data breaches, unauthorized access, and other severe consequences. It ensures the integrity and confidentiality of AMI systems, head-end systems, and data management processes.

Risk Levels:

Critical: Conditions where missing or improperly configured DNS records can lead to significant security risks, such as domain takeovers or inability to verify messages from trusted sources.
High: Conditions where outdated protocols, weak cipher suites, or misconfigured TLS settings could allow for the interception of sensitive information.
Medium: Conditions where open ports might be exploited by unauthorized users, potentially leading to data leakage or system manipulation.
Low: Informal findings that do not directly impact security but may indicate a need for improvement in configuration practices.
Info: Conditions that provide general information about the network and systems without immediate security implications.

Example Findings:

A domain with missing DMARC record might be susceptible to phishing attacks, allowing spammers to forge emails as legitimate sources.
An API endpoint exposed without proper authentication mechanisms could lead to unauthorized data access and manipulation.

Utility Management Systems

Purpose: The VigilGuard Utility Management Systems Scanner is designed to detect vulnerabilities and security issues in customer information systems, billing systems, and outage management by probing DNS, HTTP, TLS, ports, and APIs. It aims to identify potential security gaps that could lead to data breaches or service disruptions.

What It Detects:

Security Headers Analysis: Checks for the presence of critical security headers such as Strict-Transport-Security, Content-Security-Policy, X-Frame-Options, and X-Content-Type-Options.
TLS/SSL Vulnerabilities: Identifies outdated or insecure TLS versions (e.g., TLSv1.0, TLSv1.1) and weak cipher suites (e.g., RC4, DES, MD5).
DNS Record Validation: Validates DNS records including SPF (TXT), MX, NS, CAA, and DMARC to ensure proper configuration and security.
HTTP Content Analysis: Analyzes HTTP responses for redirects, content type mismatches, and other potential security issues.
Port Scanning and Service Fingerprinting: Scans specified IP ranges for open ports and identifies services running on those ports to detect unauthorized access points.

Inputs Required:

domain (string): Primary domain to analyze (e.g., acme.com)
ip_range (string): IP range to scan for open ports and services (e.g., 192.168.1.0/24)

Business Impact: This scanner is crucial for maintaining the security of utility management systems, ensuring that customer information is protected from unauthorized access and potential data breaches. It helps in identifying weak points in DNS, HTTP, TLS, ports, and APIs configurations, which can lead to significant risks if not addressed promptly.

Risk Levels:

Critical: The scanner flags conditions where outdated or insecure TLS versions are used or when critical security headers are missing. These issues pose a high risk of data breaches and service disruptions.
High: Detects weak cipher suites, outdated DNS records, and unauthorized access points on open ports. These findings indicate significant risks that could lead to severe consequences if left unaddressed.
Medium: Identifies TLS versions lower than recommended (TLSv1.2+), improper configuration of security headers, and potential misconfigurations in network settings. These issues require immediate attention but are less critical than those at the high risk level.
Low: Informational findings about minor deviations from best practices or non-critical misconfigurations that do not pose significant risks by themselves but could be part of a broader issue requiring further investigation.
Info: Provides general recommendations for enhancing security measures, such as updating TLS versions and improving DNS record configurations, which are considered helpful but do not directly impact the severity of identified issues.

Example Findings:

The scanner detects that acme.com is using TLSv1.0 and RC4 cipher suites, both of which are outdated and insecure, posing a critical risk for potential data breaches.
An unauthorized service is detected running on port 8080 of IP address 192.168.1.5, indicating a high risk of unauthorized access to the system.

Water Treatment Security

Purpose: The Water Treatment Security Scanner is designed to identify vulnerabilities and security weaknesses in SCADA systems, chemical controls, and quality monitoring within water treatment facilities. It performs comprehensive analysis by probing DNS, HTTP, TLS, ports, and APIs to detect potential threats and misconfigurations.

What It Detects:

SCADA System Detection: Identifies the presence of SCADA-related services and devices, including detection of default credentials or unsecured access points.
Chemical Control Systems Monitoring: Analyzes control systems for unauthorized access or anomalies and checks for outdated firmware or software vulnerabilities.
Quality Monitoring Systems Analysis: Evaluates quality monitoring systems for potential security gaps and identifies misconfigurations that could lead to data tampering.
Security Headers Inspection: Verifies the presence and strength of various security headers such as Strict-Transport-Security, Content-Security-Policy, X-Frame-Options, and X-Content-Type-Options.
TLS/SSL Vulnerabilities Assessment: Inspects SSL/TLS configurations for weak cipher suites, outdated protocol versions, and deprecated algorithms like RC4, DES, or MD5.

Inputs Required:

domain (string): Primary domain to analyze (e.g., watercompany.com)
ip_range (string): IP range to scan for open ports and services (e.g., 192.168.1.0/24)

Business Impact: This scanner is crucial for maintaining the security posture of water treatment facilities by proactively detecting vulnerabilities in SCADA systems, chemical controls, and quality monitoring systems. It helps ensure that critical infrastructure remains protected against potential cyber threats, safeguarding public health and environmental safety.

Risk Levels:

Critical: The scanner identifies default credentials or unsecured access points within SCADA systems, which could lead to unauthorized access and significant risk of data theft or system manipulation.
High: Outdated firmware or software in chemical control and quality monitoring systems can result in severe vulnerabilities that adversaries might exploit for malicious purposes, potentially causing physical damage or environmental harm.
Medium: Weak security headers and outdated TLS configurations may allow eavesdropping or protocol downgrade attacks, posing a medium risk of data leakage or privacy violation.
Low: Informational findings such as undetected CAA or DMARC records are considered low risk but still warrant attention for complete network visibility and compliance with security best practices.
Info: General DNS record queries (TXT, MX, NS) do not inherently pose significant risks unless they reveal actionable information about the system’s configuration or usage patterns.

Example Findings:

A critical vulnerability was detected in the SCADA system where default credentials were used for unsecured access points, posing a high risk of unauthorized remote manipulation and potential physical damage to the facility.
An outdated TLS version (TLSv1.0) and weak cipher suite (RC4) were identified during SSL/TLS inspection, indicating a medium risk of data interception and privacy violations.