Ethical Hacking · 4 min
Attack Surface
Everything an attacker could try to reach
This lesson explains the concept, then checks your understanding in a short interactive exercise.
What attack surface means
The attack surface is the sum of all points where an unauthorized party could try to interact with or gain access to a system, application, or organization.
- Not the same as vulnerabilities
- Bigger surface generally means more to defend
- Grows as organizations add technology and services
External vs internal
External attack surface is reachable from the internet without any prior access. Internal attack surface is only reachable once someone already has a foothold — inside the office network, or on a compromised device.
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