What attackers see first — and how to see it before they do
What attackers see first — and how to see it before they do
If someone tried to break into your house, they wouldn’t start by picking the safest lock.
They’d look for the window you forgot to close.
That’s exactly how attackers approach your company.
They don’t care about how secure your internal network is.
They start by scanning what’s publicly visible — your external attack surface.
This is what they see
Attackers use the same techniques as modern search engines:
- Scanning your domains and subdomains
- Mapping DNS records
- Checking exposed ports and services
- Looking up expired SSL certificates
- Searching for forgotten endpoints, login pages, or staging environments
- Finding exposed dev tools, test dashboards, forgotten cloud buckets
And the scary part? They do this automatically, 24/7.
Even if you don’t know that a subdomain exists, it might already be listed in public datasets — and being scanned.
And here’s what they’re looking for
Attackers are opportunistic. They’re not always targeting you — they’re targeting what’s exposed.
The most common things they look for:
- Outdated or misconfigured services
- Unused subdomains still pointing to infrastructure
- Assets with weak or no authentication
- Shadow IT connected to your main domain
- Forgotten admin interfaces or backup panels
They don’t need to break in.
They wait for you to leave a door open.
So… how do you see what they see?
The good news?
You can look at your company from an attacker’s point of view — without being one.
With the right tooling, you can:
- Automatically scan all your domains and subdomains
- Detect changes, new services, and misconfigurations
- Uncover forgotten assets or outdated infrastructure
- Continuously monitor your external footprint — just like attackers do
This is the core of Attack Surface Management (ASM) — not just scanning for vulnerabilities, but understanding your full exposure.
Why we built Tresal
Most ASM platforms are built for enterprise SOC teams — complex, expensive, and overkill for fast-growing teams.
Tresal flips that model.
We give you a full view of what attackers see — fast, simple, and designed for lean security teams.
You don’t need a massive security budget to know what’s exposed.
You just need visibility.
Managing your external attack surface doesn’t have to be complex or expensive.
The key is to start small, stay consistent, and use tools that work with your workflow — not against it.
That’s exactly why we built Tresal.
Want to see what your attack surface looks like today? You might be surprised.
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Matthias
Security Researcher
Security expert specializing in attack surface management and vulnerability detection.
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