CyCognito Connector

The following is not supported in Tenable FedRAMP Moderate environments. For more information, see the Tenable FedRAMP Product Offering.

The CyCognito platform discovers and tests all assets discoverable via the internet. This process finds previously unknown assets unmonitored and exposed to attack. The platform continuously monitors and tests all assets associated with an organization.

• Create a CyCognito user with the necessary permissions to generate and manage API keys within the CyCognito platform.

• Identify your CyCognito platform URL.

• Generate a CyCognito API Key:

  1. In your CyCognito Platform, navigate to Workflow & Integration.

  2. Click API Key Management.

  3. Type a Key Name.

     

  4. Click Create.

  5. Save the resulting API key for later use within in Tenable Exposure Management.

Add a Connector

To add a new connector:

1. In the left navigation menu, click Connectors.

   The Connectors page appears.

   

2. In the upper-right corner, click Add new connector.

   The Connector Library appears.

   

3. In the search box, type the name of the connector.

4. On the tile for the connector, click Connect.

   The connector configuration options appear.

Configure the Connector

To configure the connector:

1. (Optional) In the Connector's Name text box, type a descriptive name for the connector.

2. (Optional) To use a preconfigured on-prem connector to connect to this connector, from the Gateway drop-down, select the on-prem connector you want to use for the connector. Otherwise, select Don't use gateway.

   Note: For information about configuring a gateway, see Tenable On-Prem Connector.

3. From the Platform URL drop-down, select the Cycognito platform URL to use for the connector.

4. In the API Key text box, paste the API key you generated earlier.

5. In the Data pulling configuration section, you can configure dynamic settings specific to the connector.

   • In the Cycognito asset types to fetch section, select the check boxes next to the asset types you want to ingest from Cycognito:

     • Web Applications

     • Domains

     • IP Addresses

   • In the Asset Retention text box, type the number of days after which you want assets to be removed from Tenable Exposure Management. If an asset has not been detected or updated within the specified number of days, it is automatically removed from the application, ensuring your asset inventory is current and relevant.

     Tip: For more information, see Asset Retention.

   • For the Immediately remove assets when their status is option, choose to automatically remove assets that reach a certain asset status, for example, Removed.

6. In the Test connectivity section, click the Test Connectivity button to verify that Tenable Exposure Management can connect to your connector instance.
   

   • A successful connectivity test confirms that the platform can connect to the connector instance. It does not, however, guarantee that the synchronization process will succeed, as additional syncing or processing issues may arise.
     

   • If the connectivity test fails, an error message with details about the issue appears. Click Show tests for more information about the exact error.
     

     

7. In the Connector scheduling section, configure the time and day(s) on which you want connector syncs to occur.

   Tip: For more information, see Connector Scheduling.

8. Click Create. Tenable Exposure Management begins syncing the connector. The sync can take some time to complete.
   

9. To confirm the sync is complete, do the following:

   • Navigate to the Connectors page and monitor the connector's status. Sync is complete once the connector status is Connected.

   • View the sync logs for the connector to monitor the logs for a successful connection.

CyCognito in Tenable Exposure Management

Locate Connector Assets in Tenable Exposure Management

As the connector discovers assets, Tenable Exposure Management ingests those devices for reporting.

To view assets by connector:

1. In Tenable Exposure Management, navigate to the Assets page.

2. In the Filters section, under 3rd Party Connectors, click the connector name for which you want to view assets.

   

   The asset list updates to show only assets from the selected connector.

3. Click on any asset to view Asset Details.

Locate Connector Weaknesses in Tenable Exposure Management

As the connector discovers weaknesses, Tenable Exposure Management ingests those weaknesses for reporting.

To view weaknesses by connector: 

1. In Tenable Exposure Management, navigate to the Weaknesses page.

2. In the Filters section, under 3rd Party Connectors, click the connector name for which you want to view weaknesses.

   

   The weaknesses list updates to show only weaknesses from the selected connector.

3. Click on any weakness to view Weakness Details.

Locate Connector Findings in Tenable Exposure Management

As the connector discovers individual findings, Tenable Exposure Management ingests those findings for reporting.

To view findings by connector:

1. In Tenable Exposure Management, navigate to the Findings page.

2. In the Filters section, under 3rd Party Connectors, click the connector name for which you want to view findings

   

   The findings list updates to show only assets from the selected connector.

3. Click on any asset to view Finding Details.

Data Mapping

Exposure Management integrates with the connector via API to retrieve relevant weakness and asset data, which is then mapped into the Exposure Management system. The following tables outline how fields and their values are mapped from the connector to Exposure Management.

Web Application Mapping (CyCognito Web Applications)

Tenable Exposure Management Value	CyCognito Value
Unique Identifier	Asset Id
Asset - Name	Webapp Address
Asset - First Observation Date	First Seen
Asset - Last Observed At	Last Seen
Asset - Webapp Homepage Screenshot Url	Homepage URL
Asset - External Tags	tags Organizations Technical Owner Business Units Asset Type
Asset Custom Attributes	type score: Security Score grade: Security Grade hosting discoverability attractiveness technical_owner organizations

Web Application Mapping (CyCognito Domain)

Tenable Exposure Management Value	CyCognito Value
Unique Identifier	Asset Id
Asset - Name	Domain
Asset - First Observation Date	First Seen
Asset - Last Observed At	Last Seen
Asset - Webapp Homepage Screenshot Url	Domain
Asset - External Tags	tags Organizations Technical Owner Business Units Asset Type
Asset Custom Attributes	type score: Security Score grade: Security Grade hosting discoverability attractiveness technical_owner organizations

Finding Mapping

Tenable Exposure Management UI Field	CyCognito Field
Unique Identifier	Asset Id + id + issue_id
Finding Name	title
CVEs	issue_id
Severity Driver	enhanced_severity_score or severity_score
Description	summary
First Seen	first_detected
Last seen (Observed)	last_detected
Finding Custom Attributes	investigation_status evidence issue_type issue_id status: issue_status severity severity_score base_score: base_severity_score locations confidence exploitation_availability attacker_interest underground_activit detection_complexity potential_threat potential_impac references

Finding Status Mapping

Finding Severity Mapping

Status Update Mechanisms

Every day, Tenable Exposure Management syncs with the vendor's platform to receive updates on existing findings and assets and to retrieve new ones (if any were added).

The table below describes how the status update mechanism works in the connector for findings and assets ingested into Tenable Exposure Management.

Uniqueness Criteria

Tenable Exposure Management uses defined uniqueness criteria to determine whether an ingested asset or finding should be recognized as a distinct record. These criteria help define how assets and findings are identified and counted from each connector.

Tip:  Read all about Third-Party Data Deduplication in Tenable Exposure Management

The uniqueness criteria for this connector are as follows:

Support Limitations and Expected Behavior

This section outlines any irregularities, expected behaviors, or limitations related to integration of the connector and Exposure Management. It also highlights details about ingested and non-ingested data to clarify data handling and functionality within this integration.

API Endpoints in Use

API version: v1

Data Validation

This section shows how to validate and compare data between Tenable Exposure Management and the CyCognito platform.

Asset Data Validation

Objective: Ensure the number of assets in CyCognito aligns with the number of assets displayed in Tenable Exposure Management.

In CyCognito:

1. Navigate to the Assets List > view.

2. Filter by Asset type to validate each category:

   • Web Application: Select Web Application in the Asset type filter, then hover over the asset count to view the exact number.
     

   • Domain: Select Domain in the Asset type filter, then hover over the asset count to view the exact number.
     

   • IP Address: Select IP Address in the Asset type filter, then hover over the asset count to view the exact number.

     

In Tenable Exposure Management:

1. Locate your connector assets.

2. Compare the total number of assets between CyCognito and Tenable Exposure Management.

Expected outcome: The number of assets shown in CyCognito and Exposure Management should match by asset type.

If an asset is not visible in Exposure Management, check the following conditions:

• The asset was archived based on the last observed date (last seen).

• The asset was archived based its status.

• The asset was archived because it did not return in the connector's next sync.

  Tip: To learn more on how assets and findings change status, see Status Update Mechanisms.

Finding Data Validation

Objective: Ensure that the number of findings in CyCognito aligns with the number of findings in Exposure Management.

In CyCognito:

1. Navigate to the Assets List and select an asset.
   

2. I n the right panel, review the Issue List section.

   

3. Click Explore further issues in list to view the complete issue count for that asset.

   You are redirected to the Issues screen, filtered automatically for the selected asset.

   

In Tenable Exposure Management:

1. Locate your connector findings.

2. Compare the total number of findings between CyCognito and Tenable Exposure Management.

Expected outcome: The total numbers returned in CyCognito and Exposure Management should match

If a finding is missing from Exposure Management or no longer active, check the following conditions:

• The finding is marked as Fixed and appears under the Fixed state on the Findings screen

• The finding no longer appears because its related asset was archived.

  Tip: To learn more on how assets and findings are archived or change status, see Status Update Mechanisms.