ReliaQuest’s Annual Threat Report for 2024 revealed that once attackers infiltrate a network, they can achieve lateral movement in as little as 27 minutes, with an average time of 48 minutes. This surely sounds scary, but what if a company itself simulates attacks using lateral movement techniques to identify exploitable, unprotected gateways and vulnerabilities? The company can stay ahead of the curve by remediating loopholes and deflecting BEC attacks, data thefts, DDoS attacks, reputational damages, litigation, etc.

Here is a detailed blog on how a professional penetration tester can mimic breaking into a company’s network infrastructure and penetrate deeper using lateral movement techniques.

What is Lateral Movement in Penetration Testing?

In penetration testing, lateral movement occurs after the pen tester successfully simulates the compromise of an environment and moves deeper into the network or system. There are several ways through which a penetration tester can move laterally from an entry point to the rest of the network. For example, they can start by tricking an employee into opening a malicious file, which gives them access to the company’s network. Then, they can steal login details from the compromised computer and move between different systems to look for a higher-level account that has a stronger control over the system. Once taken over, they can access sensitive data or even create a new admin account to escalate privileges, just like a real hacker would.

Since this method involves the theft of user credentials to penetrate progressively into a system, it prevents organizations from grave cyberattacks, especially the ones intended to steal sensitive data or intellectual property.

How Lateral Movement Works?

Lateral movement procession is broadly divided into two parts- an initial breach and internal movement. First, the pen tester tries to establish an initial hold on the targeted system, which is generally done through phishing, social engineering, malware, or by exploiting open server ports. Once they have a grip on the system, they branch out to other segments of the network through the following stages of lateral movement-

●     Reconnaissance

After successfully gaining a foothold, an ethical hacker creates a blueprint of the system to devise a safe route to the goal. They look for information on network hierarchies, operating systems, user accounts, devices, databases, and applications to figure out how all of these are interlinked. They might also check the network’s security setup and use that knowledge to avoid getting caught, mimicking the moves of professional hackers.

●     Privilege Escalation

Once they know the ins and outs of a network, they start infiltrating deeper to get closer to the goal. They check what all assets and accounts a real hacker can capture with escalated privileges. The ultimate goal is to penetrate and progress so deeply that they can obtain administrative privileges, which is like a master key to all the locks.

●     Reaching the Target

Next, a pen testing expert combines and repeats lateral movement techniques as needed until they reach a point where they can mimic collecting, encrypting, and compressing sensitive information for data exfiltration. This step helps them know the exploitable routes and files. They mention the findings in a detailed report, suggesting suitable remediation methods.

What do camouflaging and countermeasures mean?

Ethical hackers may set up controlled access points to test how well a company can detect and block unauthorized re-entry into the network. They also try to mimic normal network activity to see if security teams can spot unusual behavior. As they gain access to more legitimate accounts, they assess how easily an attacker could move unnoticed. This practice is coined as ‘camouflaging and countermeasures.’

Common Lateral Movement Techniques

Barracuda Networks’ research, covering August 2023 to July 2024, found that 44% of ransomware attacks were detected during the lateral movement phase. This underscores the importance of monitoring internal network activities to identify and mitigate threats before they escalate. ​

So, here are the lateral movement techniques simulated by professional ethical hackers to gain access and move through a network so that the company can improve its defenses in time-

●     Credential Dumping

In this lateral technique, penetration testers usually steal the credentials of admins who have recently logged in to the device and then ‘dump’ them onto their own machine.

●     Pass the Hash Attacks

Some systems transform or ‘hash’ passwords into illegible data. Ethical hackers steal these passwords to get access to protected systems and devices.

●     Brute Force Attacks

Penetration testers use scripts or bots to generate and test potential passwords until one of them works.

●     Hijacking Shared Resources

In this method, the white hat hacker simulates an attack by spreading malware through shared resources, databases, and file systems.

●     PowerShell Attacks

This method works by using the Windows command line interface and scripting tool PowerShell, which helps alter configurations, steal passwords, or run malicious codes.

●     Pass the Ticket

In the ‘pass the ticket’ method, pen testers use a stolen Kerberos ticket (the default authentication protocol used in Microsoft Active Directory) to break into devices and accounts.

Why Should Organizations Simulate Lateral Movement Attacks?

These days, every department is technology-driven, leading to thousands of users and devices in a company. An extensive IT infrastructure is prone to have security vulnerabilities, especially if it’s dynamic and constantly evolving. Since black hat hackers rely on lateral movement to silently infiltrate networks, white hat hackers must think like them—simulating these attacks to uncover hidden security gaps before real threats do. By exposing weak spots, they help strengthen defenses and keep cybercriminals on the back foot. After all, cybersecurity is all about outpacing threats.

Here are detailed reasons on why preemptive attacks using the lateral movement technique is better-

1.    Lateral Movement Helps Security Teams Prioritize High-Risk Assets

Not every detail or file in your system is critically important. Also, it’s fairly unrealistic to try to protect every small asset. Think of this situation like guarding a building— not every room needs the same level of security. A lobby brochure stand doesn’t require the same level of protection as the vault holding sensitive records. Right?

That’s why companies should focus on identifying and shielding valuable assets that help the blue teams remediate vulnerabilities and misconfigurations.

2.    Attacks Driven by Lateral Movement Leave Heavy Financial Traces

The lateral movement technique allows threat actors to penetrate deep into the system and gain high-level account privileges. This empowers them to steal or intercept highly confidential data. If that happens, the company gets subjected to financial loss because of fines, litigations, poor sales due to a hampered reputation, etc.

According to IBM’s 2024 Cost of a Data Breach Report, the global average cost of a data breach has reached $4.88 million, marking a 10% increase from the previous year and the largest yearly jump since the pandemic. This figure is even higher in the financial sector, with companies incurring an average of $6.08 million per breach, which is 22% above the global average.

So, with a white hat hacker already simulating an attack using the lateral movement techniques, a company can fix the exploitable gateways and deflect financial repercussions.

3.    Lateral Movement Attacks Can’t be Detected Easily

Detecting lateral movement attacks is tough because malicious activity often looks like normal network traffic or user behavior. Attackers move between different systems, making it harder to stop them. Even if security teams find the first infected device, disconnecting it won’t help much—hackers have likely already spread deeper into the network, stealing credentials and exploring other systems.

That’s why it’s only wise to think like a hacker yourself and figure out breakable assets before an adversary feeds on them.

Final words

Understanding your entire attack surface—both internal and external—is key to staying ahead of cyber threats. By thinking like a hacker, you can identify critical security gaps and prioritize the most dangerous attack paths. Strengthening your security isn’t a one-time task; it’s an ongoing process. Continuously optimizing your defenses will boost resilience and minimize risks that could impact your business.

Hi, I’m Daksh Kaur, a freelance cybersecurity writer who primarily covers content on email authentication, penetration testing, vulnerability assessment, and general phishing trends. If you like what you just read and want similar blogs for your website, then we can go a long way. Please contact me at daksh@turtlewords.com  to see how we can collaborate and boost your website’s footfall.