Protecting Against Proxy Server Exploits

Businesses rely on technology to propel their operations, magnifying the risk of cybersecurity attacks. Cybersecurity Ventures reported that worldwide cybercrimes will cost $9.5 trillion in 2024. 

Social engineering, insider threats, data theft, and ransomware attacks are part of the evolving cyber threat landscape. This presents a multitude of challenges for organizations and increases the need to safeguard sensitive information. Amidst these concerns, proxy server attacks also emerge as a high-reward attack vector with profound consequences. 

Cybercriminals use proxy servers as an entry point to infiltrate and compromise the corporate network. These have led to unprecedented losses for businesses and individuals.

These include financial loss, intellectual property theft, legal repercussions, and damage to one's reputation. Adopting measures to detect and respond to proxy exploits puts organizations in a better position in the cyber landscape.

Proxy Server Exploits

Proxy servers function as intermediary systems between a user and the targeted websites and provide an additional layer of security to users and organizations.

Since proxies filter and block out specific web pages, most companies use them to monitor and regulate employee internet access and prevent accidental malware downloads. 

Companies across various sectors, like healthcare industries, are required to safeguard future research and development processes. They can protect sensitive data from theft by using private proxies that hide the company's IP address.

Thus, leveraging proxies within businesses maintains a positive brand image and reduces the possibility of unauthorized access. These networks also offer an improved browsing experience by caching data, reducing bandwidth consumption, and optimizing web performance.

Even though proxy services are effective, hackers can still exploit them and drastically impact organizations. By exploiting the misconfigurations within the proxy settings, hackers deliver malicious commands and payloads without revealing their true identity. 

Previously, attackers used a reverse proxy Phishing-as-a-Service (PaaS) platform called EvilProxy to attack cloud-based Microsoft 365 accounts. The attacker-controlled reverse proxies act as intermediary servers between the target and the Microsoft 365 login page. 

When the target interacted with the fake login page and entered their credentials, the attackers used this information to log into their Microsoft 365 account, access their email, and send out more phishing emails to the people listed in the victim's address book.

The attack affected 1.5 million employees of more than 100 organizations, including people in executive ranks. Before this, researchers found that attackers used EvilProxy to steal credentials by bypassing multi-factor authentication (MFA) and session cookies. 

Threat actors also use a new proxy jacking method that exploits a vulnerability in Log4J software to resell victims' bandwidth for up to $10 monthly.

Researchers estimate that a cybercriminal's net passive income from this activity will be nearly $1000 monthly.

The FBI had also warned about the exponential growth of residential proxy markets, known as BlackProxies, among cybercriminals. With millions of IP addresses available worldwide, they performed large-scale credential-stuffing attacks without anyone identifying or blocking them. 

Proactive Measures to Build a Robust Defense Against Proxy Server Attacks

Proxy attacks have severe consequences, including unauthorized access, data breaches, legal troubles, and identity theft. Organizations should implement security measures to mitigate these impacts, such as: 

• Choose between secure and reliable datacenter proxies and residential proxies. While data centre proxies are super-fast and offer unlimited bandwidth, residential proxies offer better online anonymity and higher trust. However, the best choice depends on the business's specific task needs.
   
• Train employees about the dangers of proxy attacks through ICS cybersecurity training. This ensures that end users and IT staff stay updated on the latest security threats, trends, and best practices to prevent them.
   
• Develop and implement a robust incident response plan (IRP) for proxy security. A well-defined IRP ensures that the security teams are prepared to respond to security incidents promptly. 
   
• Updating your software to the latest version helps to fix security issues before attackers can take advantage of them.
   
• Deploy firewalls, antivirus/anti-malware software, and IDS/IPS solutions on your devices and network. By creating a barrier, these security measures make it challenging for hackers to access your system or data. 
   
• Verify users and devices before allowing access to data using Zero Trust Network Access (ZTNA). This ensures that only authorized users can access the data.

It segments the network into different sections, keeping the proxy server separate from critical internal systems. This helps prevent attackers from moving freely across the network and reduces the potential harm they can cause.

Implementing these steps helps organizations enhance their defence against proxy exploits and strengthen their overall security posture.

Final thoughts

Proxy services have a variety of benefits for businesses, like reduced bandwidth usage, speed improvement, and enhanced online anonymity.

However, the sophistication and rapid evolution of cyber attacks enable hackers to compromise proxy servers and fulfil their malicious intentions.

Adopting cybersecurity practices such as using multiple layers of defences like IDP/IPS and educating employees with various training courses helps enhance workplace security. In addition, incorporating reliable proxy services and the ZTNA framework protects critical network resources and improves network security.