Case Study: Strengthening the External Security Posture of a Multi-Location Professional Services Firm

When a rapidly growing professional services company approached Abraxas Cyber Solutions, they had one primary concern: they didn’t know what they looked like to potential attackers. The organization had expanded quickly, added multiple cloud platforms, and inherited several publicly exposed systems from a recent acquisition. Their internal IT team, already operating at full capacity, lacked the visibility and tooling needed to assess their true external attack surface. Leadership recognized that without clear insight into their digital perimeter, they were likely facing risks they couldn’t see.

At Abraxas Cyber Solutions, our External Footprint Scan service is designed specifically for situations like this. We help organizations uncover how they appear to attackers before a threat ever strikes. This proactive CyberSecurity approach identifies exposed assets, misconfigurations, and vulnerabilities across all public-facing environments. By leveraging advanced CyberSecurity Services from our partner Guardz, we provide deep, continuous visibility into what attackers are most likely to target—and why.

In the initial discovery phase, our team mapped the client’s internet-facing infrastructure, cataloging all domains, subdomains, cloud assets, IP blocks, email configurations, and third-party integrations. Almost immediately, previously unknown assets began to surface. The company had several legacy development servers still accessible from the internet, old DNS entries pointing to decommissioned environments, and externally exposed administrative interfaces that were never meant for public access. These were precisely the types of exposures attackers routinely exploit.

One of the most critical findings involved an outdated VPN gateway inherited during the acquisition. Although unused and forgotten by the client, it remained online with default configurations and no multi-factor authentication. This single oversight represented a significant point of failure—one that automated threat actors could discover in minutes. Our report highlighted this as a top-priority remediation item.

Email security issues also emerged during the scan. We discovered misconfigured SPF and DKIM records, which weakened the organization’s email authentication and increased the likelihood of spoofing attacks. This misconfiguration was a direct contributor to several phishing attempts the client had experienced in the months prior. With our guidance, the organization was able to update these records to industry standards, significantly tightening their email security posture.

We also identified a series of web applications that had outdated TLS configurations and were still supporting deprecated cipher suites. While not yet exploited, these weaknesses could allow attackers to intercept or manipulate traffic. Through collaboration with the client’s IT department, we helped bring all public-facing services into modern compliance, ensuring encryption standards met recommended CyberSecurity best practices.

Beyond technical vulnerabilities, the External Footprint Scan surfaced several instances of sensitive information leaked by third-party vendors. Public Git repositories referenced internal project names, and a contractor’s portfolio site exposed screenshots revealing internal IP addresses. These indirect exposures often go unnoticed, yet they provide attackers with valuable reconnaissance material. Abraxas worked with the client to remove the content and establish stricter vendor-security guidelines.

One of the most impactful aspects of the engagement was the organization’s ability to visualize all identified risks through the Guardz platform. Our team provided them with structured reports, visual diagrams, and prioritized remediation plans, making it clear where immediate action was required. This transparency eliminated guesswork and empowered the IT leadership to make informed decisions rapidly and confidently.

Within 60 days of implementing Abraxas-recommended changes, the client saw a 72% reduction in externally exposed risks. All previously vulnerable systems were either decommissioned, patched, or properly secured. Email authentication issues were resolved, and the organization’s cloud assets were aligned with best-practice security baselines. Their executive team reported a dramatic improvement in confidence regarding their public-facing infrastructure.

But the transformation didn’t stop there. Once remediation was complete, Abraxas Cyber Solutions enabled continuous monitoring through our External Footprint service. This ongoing visibility ensured that any new exposures—whether from future growth, vendor relationships, or system changes—would be detected early. With automated alerts, monthly summaries, and quarterly posture reviews, the client gained a proactive security strategy instead of reactive firefighting.

Today, the organization maintains one of the strongest external security postures in its industry segment. A once-fragmented and opaque digital perimeter has become a well-managed, monitored, and resilient asset. The client’s CIO later stated that partnering with Abraxas was “a turning point in our CyberSecurity maturity journey,” elevating both operational confidence and regulatory readiness.

This case serves as a real-world example of how the External Footprint Scan from Abraxas Cyber Solutions provides more than vulnerability discovery—it delivers clarity, control, and long-term resilience. By identifying exposed assets, misconfigurations, and vulnerabilities before they could be exploited, we helped this organization reduce risk, strengthen defenses, and adopt a security posture aligned with modern CyberSecurity expectations.