Asset Discovery for External Attack Surface Management

Discover And Monitor Unknown Internet Facing Assets Before Attackers Do

Most organisations do not have a complete view of their external attack surface. Subdomains, legacy systems, cloud services and third party assets often exist outside formal inventories, creating blind spots that attackers actively seek out.
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DarkInvader’s Asset Discovery capability continuously identifies and maps internet facing assets, helping security teams uncover unknown exposure, reduce risk, and maintain visibility as environments change.

What Is Asset Discovery In Cybersecurity?

Asset discovery is the process of identifying and maintaining visibility of all systems, services and technologies that are exposed to the internet and accessible to attackers.
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Unlike internal asset inventories or CMDBs, external asset discovery focuses on what can actually be seen and interacted with from the outside. This includes assets that may be unmanaged, forgotten, misconfigured or deployed without security oversight.
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Effective asset discovery answers a simple but critical question: What Can An Attacker See When They Look At Your Organisation Online?

How DarkInvader Asset Discovery Works

DarkInvader continuously scans, analyses and correlates your organisation’s external footprint to build a comprehensive, attacker perspective view of your environment. By observing what is visible from the public internet, the platform identifies domains, subdomains, services, technologies and cloud hosted assets that may sit outside internal inventories, helping security teams understand exactly what attackers can discover, access and potentially exploit.
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This approach ensures asset discovery reflects real world exposure rather than assumptions, providing a continuously updated foundation for effective external attack surface management.

Why Asset Discovery is Essential

The Foundation of Strong Security
Asset discovery is the first crucial step in securing your organisation's digital landscape. It involves identifying all public-facing assets, including websites, subdomains, IP addresses, and cloud services, to build a complete inventory of your digital footprint.

Unseen Vulnerabilities = Hidden Risks
Without thorough asset discovery, unknown assets can remain unmanaged and vulnerable, providing easy entry points for cybercriminals. Every misconfigured server or forgotten subdomain increases your attack surface, presenting potential security risks.

The Dangers of Ignoring Shadow IT
Shadow IT—systems and applications deployed without IT’s approval—pose a significant risk if left unchecked. These hidden assets often lack proper security measures, making them prime targets for attackers looking to exploit security gaps.

The Need for Continuous Discovery
Your digital environment is always evolving, which means your attack surface changes over time. Continuous asset discovery is vital to maintain visibility and proactively manage threats, helping prevent data breaches and exploitation of vulnerabilities.

How DarkInsight Simplifies Asset Discovery

DarkInsight offers powerful tools to uncover and manage every digital asset, addressing the risks that come with an incomplete attack surface. Here’s how our platform equips you with the insights and visibility needed to protect your organisation effectively.

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Complete Asset Discovery

DarkInsight uses advanced scanning technology to identify every public-facing asset within your digital footprint. This includes websites, domains, IP addresses, cloud resources, and services running on your infrastructure. Our asset mapping goes beyond traditional discovery methods to ensure no hidden assets are left unchecked, giving you a comprehensive overview of your digital exposure.

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Visualise Your Attack Surface

Our platform presents your digital assets in an intuitive visual diagram, allowing you to easily understand their connections and potential vulnerabilities. This visual mapping simplifies the identification of weak points in your infrastructure, enabling you to prioritise areas that need immediate attention.

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Identify Shadow IT

Asset Mapping doesn't just cover the assets you know—it also reveals the hidden ones. Shadow IT, or unauthorised digital assets that may have been deployed without your IT team’s knowledge, pose a significant risk to your security. DarkInsight's scanning detects these overlooked assets, bringing them into focus so you can secure them before they become a target.

Product Feature

Geographical Asset Mapping

DarkInsight’s Geographical Asset Mapping shows the global locations of all your public-facing assets. This helps you quickly spot assets hosted in unexpected or risky locations, potentially indicating configuration errors or security vulnerabilities. By understanding your assets' geographical distribution, you can address risks and align your infrastructure with security policies.

FAQ

EASM Asset Discovery Frequently Asked Questions

Your external attack surface is constantly evolving, creating new risks from unknown assets, exposed services and misconfigurations. Below, we answer common questions about External Attack Surface Management and how DarkInvader helps security teams discover, monitor and prioritise external threats. If you need further clarity or a tailored demonstration, our team is here to help.

1 - What Does DarkInvader’s Asset Discovery Do?

DarkInvader’s asset discovery automatically identifies all internet-facing assets associated with your organisation. This includes domains, subdomains, IP addresses, cloud infrastructure and exposed services. By building a continuously updated inventory of what is publicly reachable, DarkInvader ensures you have full visibility of your external footprint before attackers do.

2 - Why Are Unknown or Unmanaged Assets a Risk?

Unknown or unmanaged assets, such as shadow IT, legacy systems or forgotten cloud instances, often lack proper security controls and monitoring. These blind spots expand your attack surface and create opportunities for exploitation. Identifying and managing these assets is critical to reducing breach risk.

3 - How Does DarkInvader Help Visualise my External Attack Surface?

DarkInvader presents discovered assets through a clear visual mapping interface, showing how domains, infrastructure and services are connected. This contextual view allows security teams to quickly understand exposure, identify high-risk areas and prioritise remediation efforts effectively.

4 - Can DarkInvader Detect Shadow IT and Forgotten Assets?

Yes. DarkInvader’s automated discovery process is designed to uncover hidden, unauthorised or previously unknown assets linked to your organisation. By bringing these assets into visibility, your team can assess risk and apply appropriate security controls before they become entry points for attackers.

5 - Does DarkInvader Show Where my Assets Are Hosted?

DarkInvader provides insight into where your internet-facing assets are hosted, including cloud providers and geographic locations. This helps organisations assess jurisdictional risk, third-party exposure and compliance considerations as part of broader security governance.

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