Map exposure points and data passageways

- Our final general security principle … is to map your exposure points and data passageways. … Remember the fundamental security equation … from the beginning of this chapter, it was Awareness … plus Adequate Protection equals Security. … Mapping data movement and exposure … increases awareness of vulnerabilities. … Once we're aware of them then we can protect them. … You can't secure a door if you don't know it exists. … Mapping helps to define the attack surface. … The attack surface is made up of all the points … that are accessible to an attacker. … It's where they could get data in or get data out. … If you were mapping exposure points for the castle, … the attack surface might be made up … of walls, doorways, gates bridges and tunnels. … You can think of your map as a security checklist. … you may decide to create a list in a word processor … or to draw out diagrams on paper showing the paths … the data takes. … You should take inventory of where data enters your systems … how it moves between system parts and where it's stored …