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Lateral Movement
Definition
Lateral movement is an attack technique where an attacker, after gaining initial access to a system, spreads through the network to compromise additional systems and escalate privileges.
Lateral movement is an attack technique where an attacker, after gaining initial access to a system, spreads through the internal network to compromise additional resources, escalate privileges and ultimately reach valuable data. According to the MITRE ATT&CK framework, lateral movement is one of the most critical phases in a cyberattack.
How does lateral movement work?
After initial infection, the attacker begins internal reconnaissance: which systems are reachable, which credentials are available in memory or on disk, which network addresses and shares are active? The attacker then moves laterally using stolen credentials, vulnerabilities in internal services or abuse of trust relationships. The goal is reaching systems with valuable data or obtaining higher privileges.
Lateral movement techniques
Pass the Hash uses stolen password hashes to authenticate without knowing the actual password. Pass the Ticket abuses Kerberos tickets. Remote services such as RDP, SMB, WMI and SSH connect to other systems. PsExec executes code on remote systems. Compromised service accounts with broad network access provide easy routes. Living off the Land techniques use legitimate admin tools like PowerShell and WMI for malicious purposes.
Impact on organisations
Lateral movement enables attackers to escalate from a single system compromise to full network compromise. Ransomware operators use it to reach maximum systems. APT groups move laterally to valuable data. NIS2 requires network segmentation and detection capabilities to limit and detect lateral movement.
Protection
Network segmentation and microsegmentation limit lateral movement. PAM solutions protect admin accounts. EDR and XDR detect suspicious internal connections and credential abuse. SIEM correlates events across systems to identify lateral patterns. Least privilege principles limit what a compromised account can reach.
How DEFION helps
DEFION simulates lateral movement as part of Red Teaming and Internal Pentests to test how far an attacker can progress after initial access. The SOC team actively monitors for lateral movement indicators.