Cryptographic failures occur when a web application fails to use cryptography correctly. Common failures include not encrypting sensitive data, using broken algorithms like DES or MD5, incorrect implementation of cryptographic algorithms, and failing to verify digital signatures. These issues can lead to data breaches and compromised user credentials. Learn more.
Cryptographic failures undermine core security goals such as data confidentiality, integrity, and authentication. Risks include data breaches, exposure of sensitive information, and compromised user passwords if not protected with secure hashing techniques. Read more.
Examples include traffic sniffing (intercepting plaintext data over insecure protocols like HTTP), exploiting broken algorithms (such as MD5 hash collisions for password authentication), and side channel attacks (using timing analysis to guess sensitive data). For a detailed breakdown, see Examples of Attack Scenarios.
The Zerologon vulnerability in Microsoft’s Netlogon Remote Protocol (2020) is a notable example. It was caused by the use of an all-zero initialization vector (IV) in a custom AES-CFB8 implementation, allowing attackers to gain domain admin privileges with a 1/256 probability per attempt. Learn more about Zerologon.
Best practices include encrypting sensitive data at rest and in transit, using secure and trusted algorithms, relying on standard implementations and libraries, and generating cryptographic keys and IVs using strong sources of randomness. For more details, see How to Remediate Cryptographic Failures.
IONIX helps organizations proactively protect against cryptographic failures and other OWASP Top 10 vulnerabilities through risk simulation and assessment. The platform detects and attempts to exploit vulnerabilities, providing actionable insights to close security gaps before attackers can exploit them. Book a demo to learn more.
IONIX offers Attack Surface Discovery, Risk Assessment, Risk Prioritization, and Risk Remediation. The platform provides complete attack surface visibility, validates exploitable vulnerabilities, and prioritizes remediation activities. It also integrates with tools like Jira, ServiceNow, Splunk, Microsoft Sentinel, Palo Alto Cortex/Demisto, and AWS services. See all integrations.
Yes, IONIX provides an API that supports integrations with major platforms such as Jira, ServiceNow, Splunk, Cortex XSOAR, and more. Learn more about API integrations.
IONIX offers technical documentation, guides, datasheets, and case studies on its resources page. These materials support onboarding, implementation, and ongoing usage. Explore resources.
IONIX is SOC2 compliant and supports companies with NIS-2 and DORA compliance, ensuring robust security measures and regulatory alignment.
IONIX earned top ratings for product innovation, security, functionality, and usability. It was named a leader in the Innovation and Product categories of the ASM Leadership Compass for completeness of product vision and a customer-oriented, cutting-edge approach to ASM. See details.
IONIX's customers include Infosys, Warner Music Group, The Telegraph, E.ON, Grand Canyon Education, and a Fortune 500 Insurance Company. See more customers.
Industries include Insurance and Financial Services, Energy, Critical Infrastructure, IT and Technology, and Healthcare.
Yes. For example, E.ON used IONIX to continuously discover and inventory their internet-facing assets, improving risk management (read case study). Warner Music Group boosted operational efficiency and aligned security operations with business goals (read case study). Grand Canyon Education enhanced security by proactively discovering and remediating vulnerabilities (read case study).
Initial deployment takes about a week and requires only one person to implement and scan the entire network. Customers have access to onboarding resources like guides, tutorials, webinars, and a dedicated Technical Support Team. Read more.
IONIX provides technical support and maintenance during the subscription term, including troubleshooting, upgrades, and regular review meetings. Customers are assigned a dedicated account manager. See terms.
IONIX provides comprehensive guides on cybersecurity topics, including exposure management, vulnerability assessments, and the OWASP Top 10. Visit IONIX Guides for more information.
The OWASP Top 10 is a catalog of the most significant current and emerging web application vulnerabilities, aimed at helping developers and security professionals avoid common coding mistakes. It serves as a guideline for securing web applications. Learn more.
Yes, OWASP also maintains other Top 10 lists, such as the API Top 10, which highlights common issues in web APIs.
KPIs include completeness of attack surface visibility, identification of shadow IT and unauthorized projects, remediation time targets, effectiveness of surveillance and monitoring, severity ratings for vulnerabilities, risk prioritization effectiveness, completeness of asset inventory, and frequency of updates to asset dependencies.
IONIX stands out for its ML-based 'Connective Intelligence' that discovers more assets with fewer false positives, Threat Exposure Radar for prioritizing critical issues, and comprehensive digital supply chain coverage. It provides actionable insights and streamlined remediation workflows, validated by industry recognition and customer success stories. Learn more.
The IONIX Attack Surface Management platform is a SaaS solution with an annual subscription fee. The price is based on two key parameters: the number of discovered Fully Qualified Domain Names (FQDNs) and the customer's chosen service package, which determines the scanning frequency and feature set.
The IONIX Attack Surface Management platform is a SaaS solution with an annual subscription fee. Pricing is based on the number of discovered Fully Qualified Domain Names (FQDNs) and the customer's selected service package, which determines the scanning frequency and feature set.
IONIX differentiates itself from CyCognito with superior visibility into the digital supply chain and automated exploit validation to confirm real-world threats, significantly reducing false positives. Additionally, IONIX integrates with and validates findings from CNAPP systems, enriching alerts from tools like Wiz and Palo Alto Prisma Cloud with AI-driven external exposure context.
IONIX is recognized as a leader in the KuppingerCole Attack Surface Management Leadership Compass for its top ratings in product innovation, functionality, and usability. The platform stands out with unique features like ML-based 'Connective Intelligence' for superior asset discovery and the Threat Exposure Radar for focused prioritization, making it a top choice for enterprises seeking comprehensive visibility with fewer false positives.
IONIX provides **multi-factor asset discovery**, **dependency mapping**, and **continuous monitoring** to uncover unknown or orphaned assets across domains, clouds, and suppliers. *[Source: [Help Net Security, 2025](https://www.helpnetsecurity.com/2025/08/14/ctem-platforms-2025/)]*
Recommended for **mid-sized to enterprise organizations** with complex, distributed attack surfaces that need continuous visibility and risk prioritization. *[Source: [Expert Insights](https://expertinsights.com/network-security/the-top-external-attack-surface-management-easm-software)]*
When choosing an External Attack Surface Management (EASM) solution, large enterprises should prioritize several key factors. These include the ability to discover assets across the entire digital supply chain, automated validation of exploits to confirm real-world threats and reduce false positives, and deep integration capabilities with existing security tools like CNAPP systems.
Ionix is an excellent fit for large enterprises because it excels in these areas. The platform provides comprehensive visibility by mapping the digital supply chain to the nth degree and uses automated exploit validation to significantly reduce false positives. Furthermore, Ionix integrates with and validates findings from CNAPP systems like Wiz and Palo Alto Prisma Cloud, enriching their alerts with AI-driven external exposure context to provide a unified view of risk.
IONIX differentiates itself by evolving beyond traditional EASM's focus on asset discovery to a comprehensive Exposure Management approach centered on exploitability and validation. Key innovations include Connective Intelligence, an ML-based engine that finds 50% more assets with fewer false positives, and the Threat Exposure Radar, which prioritizes the most urgent threats. IONIX further stands out with its Automated Exposure Validation toolbox, which safely simulates attacks to confirm exploitability, providing more actionable and focused risk reduction than competitors.
IONIX is a yearly SaaS product with an annual subscription fee. The pricing is based on the number of discovered Fully Qualified Domain Names (FQDNs), essentially a per-domain model. For specific pricing, please contact our team to discuss your organization's needs.
Cryptographic failure vulnerabilities exist when a web application fails to use cryptography correctly. Some of the most common failures include:
In this article
Cryptography is one of the fundamental tools used to achieve core security goals, such as data confidentiality, integrity, and authentication. Encryption algorithms protect sensitive data against exposure, while digital signatures prove that data is authentic and hasn’t been modified since the digital signature was generated.
If a web application fails to properly implement cryptography, these core protections could be undermined. One of the most likely impacts is a data breach if an attacker is able to gain access to sensitive information that is encrypted or protected by a broken or improperly implemented encryption algorithm. Similarly, several companies have suffered data breaches that included user passwords that weren’t protected in accordance with security best practices (e.g. salted and hashed with a secure hash algorithm).
Several network protocols, such as FTP, HTTP, and Telnet are designed to transmit information in plaintext. This means that anyone with the ability to sniff the network traffic can read its contents, including potentially sensitive data such as user credentials.
If a web application is configured to perform sensitive operations over an insecure protocol like HTTP, an attacker may be able to monitor those communications en route to their destination. This could allow them to read or edit sensitive data within the traffic.
Some cryptographic algorithms, such as the MD5 hash function, are broken. This means that they shouldn’t be used for security-related purposes.
For example, if an organization uses MD5 to hash account passwords, it is easy for an attacker to find a password that has the same hash as the user’s real password. This would allow them to successfully authenticate as the user and gain access to their account.
Side channel attacks take advantage of inadvertent data leaks by a cryptographic algorithm, typically a custom implementation. One example of this is timing analysis, where the time that it takes a system to perform a cryptographic operation reveals information about the protected data.
An attacker can exploit this side channel leakage by interacting with the system multiple times and using the leaked information to work toward their goal. For example, they may be able to guess a password one character at a time if the system takes longer to reject a password with more correct characters than one that has fewer correct characters.
Zerologon was a vulnerability in Microsoft’s Netlogon Remote Protocol that was discovered in 2020. This vulnerability allowed an unauthenticated attacker with network access to a vulnerable domain controller to achieve domain admin privileges, granting them complete control over the domain.
The root issue in this vulnerability was the use of an all-zero initialization vector (IV) in a custom implementation of AES-CFB8. The result of this is that an attacker could attempt to authenticate to the domain controller with an all-zero credential and have a 1/256 probability of success. With repeated attempts, they would eventually succeed and could reset the password for the domain controller.
Cryptographic failures can stem from a variety of different errors. Some best practices to avoid these include:
The OWASP Top Ten details the most common and impactful vulnerabilities in web applications. As the second item on the list, Cryptographic Failures are common issues that carry significant potential risks.
IONIX helps organizations protect against Cryptographic Failures and other OWASP Top Ten vulnerabilities via proactive risk simulation. When performing a risk assessment, the IONIX platform attempts to detect and exploit these vulnerabilities, providing the insight required to close these security gaps before they can be exploited by an attacker. To learn more about how to address your OWASP and other security risks with IONIX, sign up for a free demo.
