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What is lateral movement?
Lateral movement is a cyberattack technique that enables an attacker to move through a network in search of data after gaining initial access. It involves techniques that enable an attacker or malware to progressively move through a network, from one host to another, often exploiting vulnerabilities or insecure configurations to obtain further access privileges and control over the system or network.
This tactic is typically used in sophisticated cyberattacks, where the goal is to stay undetected for extended periods of time and maximize the impact.
What are the five stages of lateral movement?
Lateral movement typically involves a series of moves that attackers follow to navigate through a network, escalate privileges, and reach their ultimate targets.
Infection
The infection stage involves gaining initial access to the network. Attackers often use methods such as phishing emails, exploiting software vulnerabilities, and deploying malware to infiltrate the system. This foothold allows them to establish a presence within the network and prepare for further actions.
Compromise
Once inside the network, attackers focus on compromising additional systems. They will exploit any vulnerabilities, use stolen credentials, or deploy additional malware to gain control over more devices. This stage is critical for expanding their access and setting the stage for deeper infiltration.
Reconnaissance
After compromising multiple systems, attackers perform reconnaissance. This involves mapping the network, identifying connected devices, and locating valuable assets such as databases or file servers. Attackers use various tools to scan for open ports, active services, and network shares. The information gathered during this phase helps in planning further lateral moves and identifying high-value targets.
Credential theft
With detailed network knowledge, attackers exploit stolen credentials to deepen their infiltration. They utilize keyloggers, credential dumping utilities, and network sniffing to collect usernames and passwords. Once they have obtained administrative or privileged accounts, they can bypass security protocols, escalate privileges, and gain unrestricted access to critical systems. This enables the attackers to install malicious software, extract sensitive data, and maintain persistent control over the network, all while evading detection.
Persistence
In the persistence stage, attackers work to maintain their access to the network. They leverage legitimate administrative tools like PowerShell, PsExec, or Windows Management Instrumentation (WMI) to execute commands remotely. This allows them to avoid detection by security systems monitoring for suspicious activity. The attackers systematically move from one system to another, maintaining persistence and expanding their control over the network.
As lateral movement is performed across a wired network, the Nile Access Service leverages next-generation zero-trust security principles across the enterprise campus and branch, ensuring that all connected users and devices are completely isolated. Nile’s approach is to eliminate VLANs, which significantly reduces the attack surface within the LAN, making lateral movement difficult by default.
The remainder of this article outlines the stages, techniques and impact of lateral movement. The intent is to provide guidance on its effects and how to prevent this common cyberattack technique.
How do lateral movement attacks work?
Lateral movement attacks operate on the premise that once an attacker gains access to a network, they can maneuver within it to reach specific targets. Here’s how a typical lateral movement attack works:
1. Initial access
Attackers typically begin by gaining initial access to the network. This is often achieved through phishing attacks, exploiting software vulnerabilities, or using stolen credentials. Once inside, the attacker establishes a foothold within the network, usually by deploying malware or setting up a backdoor. This initial access point serves as the launch pad for further movement within the network.
2. Credential harvesting
After establishing a foothold, attackers focus on harvesting credentials. They use tools like keyloggers, credential dumping utilities, or network sniffing to collect usernames and passwords. These credentials are essential for accessing additional systems within the network. By obtaining administrative or privileged accounts, attackers can move more freely and execute higher-level commands.
3. Privilege escalation
With harvested credentials, attackers seek to escalate their privileges. This process involves exploiting vulnerabilities or misconfigurations to gain higher access levels within the network. Privilege escalation allows attackers to execute commands with elevated permissions, bypassing security restrictions. This step is crucial for gaining control over more critical systems and data.
4. Network reconnaissance
Once attackers have elevated privileges, they perform network reconnaissance. This involves mapping the network, identifying connected devices, and locating valuable assets such as databases or file servers. Attackers use various tools to scan for open ports, active services, and network shares. The information gathered during this phase helps in planning further lateral movements and identifying high-value targets.
5. Moving laterally
Using the information gathered, attackers begin moving laterally across the network. They leverage legitimate administrative tools like PowerShell, PsExec, or Windows Management Instrumentation (WMI) to execute commands remotely. This allows them to avoid detection by security systems monitoring for suspicious activity. The attackers systematically move from one system to another, maintaining persistence and expanding their control over the network.
Throughout this whole process, the attacker aims to remain unnoticed, often using stealthy methods, misusing legitimate tools, and blending their activities into normal network traffic. This is why lateral movement attacks are challenging to detect and can cause significant harm.
Lateral movement techniques
Lateral movement techniques encompass a variety of methods used by attackers to navigate within a network after gaining initial access. These techniques are designed to evade detection and exploit existing network infrastructure and tools.
Living-off-the-land (LotL) techniques
Living-off-the-land (LotL) techniques involve using legitimate software and tools already present within the target environment to carry out malicious activities. Attackers exploit native system features, such as PowerShell, Windows Management Instrumentation (WMI), and PsExec, to avoid detection. By using these trusted tools, attackers can blend in with normal network traffic, making it harder for security systems to identify malicious activity.
Credential dumping
Credential dumping involves extracting account credentials from compromised systems. Attackers use tools like Mimikatz, Windows Credential Editor (WCE), or custom scripts to access stored passwords, hashes, or Kerberos tickets. These credentials are then used to authenticate and move laterally across the network. Credential dumping is a critical step for attackers to gain higher privileges and access additional systems.
Pass-the-Hash
Pass-the-Hash is a technique where attackers capture hashed credentials and use them to authenticate to other systems without cracking the hash. This method exploits weak password storage mechanisms and allows attackers to move laterally without needing plaintext passwords. By using the hashed version, attackers can impersonate the user associated with the hash and gain access to additional network resources.
Pass-the-Ticket
In Pass-the-Ticket attacks, attackers leverage Kerberos tickets to authenticate to systems. By obtaining a valid Kerberos Ticket Granting Ticket (TGT), attackers can generate Service Tickets to access various services within the network. This technique is particularly effective in environments where Kerberos is used for authentication, allowing attackers to maintain persistence and escalate privileges.
Internal spear phishing
Internal spear phishing involves sending targeted phishing emails to employees within the organization. Attackers craft convincing emails that appear to come from trusted internal sources. These emails often contain malicious links or attachments designed to harvest credentials or deploy malware. Once successful, internal spear phishing can facilitate further lateral movement by compromising additional accounts and systems.
Remote Desktop Protocol (RDP)
Remote Desktop Protocol (RDP) is commonly used for legitimate remote access, but attackers exploit it to move laterally. By using stolen or compromised credentials, attackers can establish RDP sessions to access other systems within the network. This method allows for interactive access, making it easier to execute commands, transfer files, and further propagate the attack.
Windows Management Instrumentation (WMI)
Windows Management Instrumentation (WMI) provides administrative capabilities over networked systems. Attackers use WMI to execute commands, run scripts, and gather information from remote systems. WMI allows for stealthy lateral movement as it is a native Windows feature and often goes unnoticed by security monitoring tools.
With the elimination of VLANs and complete isolation of devices, all traffic within a Nile Access Service is forwarded to an enforcement point such as a next-gen firewall. This provides the ability to eliminate lateral movement and its impact. Nile’s zero-trust deployment and standardized deployment model helps to eliminate lateral movement threats and allows for rapid identification and response, enhancing the network’s overall security posture.
What are the types of cyber attacks that use lateral movement?
Lateral movement is a common tactic used in various types of cyber attacks in legacy networks today. Understanding these types can help organizations better prepare and defend against such threats.
Advanced persistent threats (APTs)
Advanced Persistent Threats (APTs) are prolonged and targeted cyber attacks in which attackers gain and maintain unauthorized access to a network. APTs often involve extensive lateral movement to avoid detection and gather sensitive information over an extended period. Attackers use sophisticated techniques to move stealthily within the network, making them difficult to detect and eradicate.
Ransomware attacks
Ransomware attacks involve the deployment of malicious software that encrypts the victim’s data, demanding a ransom for decryption. Attackers use lateral movement to spread the ransomware across the network, ensuring that as many systems as possible are compromised. By doing so, they increase the impact of the attack and the likelihood of receiving the ransom payment.
Insider threats
Insider threats refer to malicious activities conducted by individuals within the organization, such as employees or contractors. These insiders often leverage their legitimate access to move laterally within the network, escalating their privileges and accessing sensitive data. Lateral movement techniques enable insiders to carry out their malicious objectives while evading detection.
Supply chain attacks
Supply chain attacks target vulnerabilities in an organization’s supply chain, often involving third-party vendors or software providers. Attackers infiltrate the supply chain and use lateral movement to spread throughout the network, exploiting the interconnectedness of systems and processes. These attacks can be particularly devastating due to the broad access they can achieve.
Data exfiltration
Data exfiltration attacks aim to steal sensitive information from an organization. Attackers use lateral movement to navigate the network and locate valuable data. Once found, they extract this data and transfer it to an external location. Lateral movement allows attackers to bypass security controls and access data stored in different parts of the network.
What are the security challenges of lateral movement?
Lateral movement presents several security challenges that organizations must address to protect their networks effectively. These challenges stem from the sophisticated techniques used by attackers and the inherent complexities of modern network environments.
Stealth and evasion
One of the primary challenges of lateral movement is an attackers’ ability to move stealthily within the network. By using legitimate administrative tools and native system functionalities, attackers can blend in with normal network activities. This makes it difficult for traditional security measures to detect their presence. Advanced persistent threats (APTs) often employ these stealth techniques to evade detection for extended periods.
Complexity of detection
Detecting lateral movement requires sophisticated monitoring and analysis capabilities. Attackers often use encrypted communications, legitimate credentials, and standard protocols to mask their activities. Identifying anomalous behavior amidst regular network traffic is challenging and requires the deployment of advanced detection tools such as behavioral analytics, machine learning algorithms, and endpoint detection and response (EDR) systems.
Privilege escalation
Attackers frequently seek to escalate their privileges to gain broader access within the network. This challenge is compounded by the fact that many organizations do not have stringent controls over user privileges. Weak or misconfigured access controls can provide attackers with the opportunity to gain higher-level access, making it easier for them to move laterally and compromise critical systems.
Network complexity
Modern networks are complex and often consist of numerous interconnected systems, devices, and applications. This complexity provides attackers with multiple pathways to move laterally. Additionally, the widespread use of cloud services, mobile devices, and remote work environments further complicates the security landscape. Organizations must manage and secure a diverse range of endpoints and network segments to effectively combat lateral movement.
Response and remediation
Responding to and remediating lateral movement attacks can be resource-intensive and time-consuming. Isolating affected systems, conducting forensic investigations, and restoring compromised devices require significant effort and expertise. Coordinating these activities while minimizing disruption to business operations poses a significant challenge. Effective incident response plans and well-trained security teams are essential to manage these complexities.
How to detect lateral movement
Detecting lateral movement is crucial for mitigating cyber attacks and protecting network integrity. Advanced monitoring and analysis techniques sold as add-on solutions for legacy networks can help identify suspicious activities indicative of lateral movement.
Anomalous network traffic
Monitoring network traffic for anomalies is a key method for detecting lateral movement. Unusual patterns, such as increased traffic between internal systems that do not typically communicate or unexpected data transfers, can indicate an attack in progress. Network behavior analysis tools can identify these anomalies by comparing current traffic to established baselines.
Privileged account usage
Tracking the usage of privileged accounts is essential for detecting lateral movement. Attackers often seek to escalate privileges and use high-level accounts to access additional systems. Monitoring for unusual login attempts, especially from different geographic locations or outside normal working hours, can help identify compromised accounts.
Endpoint detection and response (EDR)
Endpoint detection and response (EDR) solutions provide real-time monitoring and analysis of activities on endpoint devices. These tools can detect suspicious behaviors, such as the execution of uncommon processes, the use of hacking tools, or changes to system configurations. EDR solutions can generate alerts when such activities are detected, enabling quick investigation and response.
Log analysis
Comprehensive log analysis is critical for detecting lateral movement. Security information and event management (SIEM) systems aggregate and analyze logs from various sources, such as firewalls, servers, and endpoints. By correlating events across the network, SIEM systems can identify patterns indicative of lateral movement, such as multiple failed login attempts followed by successful ones.
User behavior analytics (UBA)
User behavior analytics (UBA) involves analyzing user activities to detect deviations from normal behavior. Machine learning algorithms can establish baselines for individual user behaviors and flag activities that deviate from these norms. For example, if a user account starts accessing files or systems that are atypical for their role, UBA can generate alerts for further investigation.
How to stop lateral movement
Stopping lateral movement requires swift and decisive actions to isolate threats and eliminate attacker presence from the network. Implementing effective containment and remediation strategies is crucial for minimizing damage and restoring security.
Per host isolation
Upon detecting lateral movement, the first step is to isolate affected systems. Disconnect compromised devices from the network to prevent attackers from spreading further. Network segmentation can help in isolating affected segments without disrupting the entire network. This containment strategy is essential to limit the scope of the attack.
Incident response plan
Having a well-defined incident response plan is critical for stopping lateral movement. This plan should outline the steps to be taken when an intrusion is detected, including roles and responsibilities, communication protocols, and escalation procedures. Regularly testing and updating the incident response plan ensures that the team is prepared to act quickly and effectively.
Root cause analysis
Conducting a thorough root cause analysis helps in understanding how the attackers gained access and moved laterally within the network. Identifying the vulnerabilities or misconfigurations that were exploited enables organizations to address these issues and prevent future incidents. Use forensic tools to analyze logs, network traffic, and compromised systems to gather detailed insights.
Eradication and recovery
Eradication involves removing all traces of the attacker from the network. This includes deleting malicious files, closing backdoors, and restoring affected systems to a known good state. Rebuilding compromised systems from clean backups ensures that no malware or attacker tools remain. Recovery should be done systematically to avoid reintroducing vulnerabilities.
Continuous monitoring
Implementing continuous monitoring after an incident is crucial to ensure that the network remains secure. Use advanced security tools to monitor for any signs of residual attacker activity or new threats. Continuous monitoring helps in detecting and responding to potential lateral movement attempts promptly, maintaining the integrity of the network.
Nile Access Service stops lateral movement attacks by enforcing per-host isolation, where every user and device by default is placed into a segment of one, thereby limiting the ability for threats to spread across the network. This granular segmentation of the network ensures that access is strictly controlled and monitored as all traffic is forwarded to an enforcement point before reaching another destination.
How to prevent lateral movement
Preventing lateral movement is essential for maintaining network security and protecting sensitive data. Most solutions today that still use VLANs offer the ability to detect lateral movement through the use of additional services. You must Implement robust security measures to significantly reduce the risk of attackers moving freely within a network, but it comes at a cost.
Network segmentation
Network segmentation or micro-segmentation involves dividing the network into smaller, isolated segments. By doing so, organizations can limit the spread of an attack and contain compromised systems. Each segment can have its own security controls, making it harder for attackers to move laterally. Implementing VLANs (Virtual Local Area Networks) and subnetting are common practices to try and minimize lateral movement in today’s legacy architectures.
Least privilege principle
Enforcing the least privilege principle ensures that users and systems have the minimum level of access required to perform their tasks. By limiting access rights, organizations can reduce the chances of attackers escalating privileges and moving laterally. Regularly reviewing and updating access controls is crucial to maintaining this principle.
Multi-factor authentication (MFA)
Implementing multi-factor authentication (MFA) adds an extra layer of security by requiring multiple forms of verification for access. MFA can prevent attackers from using stolen credentials to move laterally within the network. Even if an attacker obtains a password, they would still need the second factor, such as a mobile authentication app, to gain access. The continuous re-authentication of users and devices is also recommended.
Patch management
Regularly updating and patching systems is critical for closing vulnerabilities that attackers might exploit for lateral movement. Organizations should implement a robust patch management process to ensure that all systems, applications, and devices are up-to-date with the latest security patches. This reduces the attack surface and prevents attackers from exploiting known vulnerabilities.
Monitoring and alerting
Continuous monitoring and real-time alerting are essential for detecting and preventing lateral movement. Implementing security tools like Intrusion Detection Systems (IDS), Intrusion Prevention Systems (IPS), and Security Information and Event Management (SIEM) can help identify suspicious activities and respond promptly. These tools provide visibility into network traffic and user behaviors, enabling early detection of potential threats.
In addition to the isolation of devices and the elimination of VLANs the Nile Access Service utilizes the zero-trust principles described above. AI-enabled software updates ensure that customers are operating on the latest firmware versions and patches. Devices cannot connect to a Nile network without authorization. The continuous re-authentication of devices is also a standard practice.
Eliminate lateral movement with Nile
Explore how Nile Access Service sets a new standard for secure connectivity across your campus and branch locations. By radically reducing the potential attack surface and automatically locking down any malware/ransomware presence to only infected devices, Nile orchestrates zero-trust isolation of each connected user and device within its wired and wireless access network fabric.
By eliminating the traditional complexities of ACLs and VLANs, Nile makes it easy to enforce global security policies across your growing enterprise network for better visibility, performance, and reliability.
Don’t leave your network, users and data vulnerable. Authenticate and isolate all internal and guest users and devices with Nile’s built-in zero trust security features.
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