There’s a myth that modern cybersecurity failures require exotic “zero-days.”

Reality is usually more boring—and more fixable: misconfigurations, weak credentials, and unmanaged edge devices.

In December 2025, Amazon Threat Intelligence published findings on a Russian cyber threat group targeting Western critical infrastructure, noting the exploitation of misconfigured network devices and remote access infrastructure to establish persistent access. (Amazon Web Services, Inc.) Coverage of the same findings emphasized the focus on edge devices such as routers and VPN concentrators, as well as the campaign's persistence over multiple years. (CyberScoop)

For leaders in the innovation economy, the lesson isn’t “panic.” It’s “own your edge.”

Why misconfigurations are such a reliable attacker strategy

Misconfigurations are attractive because they:

• Provide access without noisy malware

• Often bypass endpoint controls entirely

• Persist for long periods when ownership is unclear

• Multiply quickly in hybrid environments (cloud + SaaS + on-prem + vendors)

In growth companies, misconfig risk rises for a simple reason: the edge expands faster than governance.

The board-level question: do we have an inventory and an owner?

If you remember one line from this post, make it this:

You can’t reduce risk on assets you can’t name and assign.

Boards should expect management to answer:

• What is exposed to the internet (systems, ports, admin panels)?

• Who owns each exposed asset (name a team, not “IT”)?

• How fast can we remediate an exposure we didn’t know existed yesterday?

The Edge Security Baseline: eight controls that change outcomes

1) External attack surface inventory (continuous)

Maintain an inventory of domains/subdomains, public endpoints, VPN gateways, and third-party exposures.

2) Harden edge configurations by default

Disable unused services; restrict management interfaces; enforce secure protocols; standardize configurations with templates.

3) Patch like you mean it

Shorter patch windows for internet-facing systems; time-bound exceptions; clear ownership for maintenance windows.

4) Kill shared credentials and stale access

Remove default accounts; rotate credentials; eliminate shared admin logins; expire access when roles change.

5) Enforce strong identity controls everywhere

MFA for privileged access (ideally all users); SSO for admin consoles; least privilege with reviewed roles.

6) Monitor the edge like it’s production revenue (because it is)

Log VPN/IdP activity, routers/firewalls, cloud control planes, and admin activity on critical SaaS. Alert on meaningful actions (new admin, new geo, new tunnel).

7) Segment and contain blast radius

Limit what remote access can reach; separate admin networks; use conditional access for sensitive systems.

8) Build a “misconfig response” muscle

Have a playbook for newly discovered exposures, misrouted DNS/certs, and unapproved admin paths.

Metrics boards can track without getting lost in tooling

Pick two or three:

• % of internet-facing assets with an assigned owner

• Mean time to remediate critical exposures

• % of privileged accounts with MFA and quarterly review

• Patch compliance for internet-facing systems

The calm, practical conclusion

Attackers will keep exploiting misconfigurations because it works.

Your advantage is that you can fix misconfig risk with operational discipline: inventory, ownership, hardening, and monitoring. No hype required.

If you want a clear picture of your external exposure and edge security posture, vCSO.ai can run an External Attack Surface + Identity Baseline Diagnostic and deliver a prioritized 30/90-day remediation plan.