Understanding and Preventing Lateral Movement: A Strategic Guide for Enterprise Security Leaders

Introduction: The Evolution of Lateral Movement in Modern Cyberattacks

Lateral movement has emerged as a critical concern for security leaders, particularly in manufacturing, industrial control systems (ICS), and healthcare organizations. Over 70% of successful breaches involved the use of lateral movement techniques. As documented in the MITRE ATT&CK framework, adversaries increasingly employ sophisticated lateral movement tactics to expand their reach within compromised networks, often maintaining persistence for months before detection.

Key Takeaway: The average time for detecting lateral movement in enterprise networks is 95 days, highlighting the critical need for proactive detection and prevention strategies. Organizations that actively hunt for threats, including lateral movement, can reduce attack dwell time by up to 70%.

Here is an analysis of the top cyberattacks in 2023-2024 that used lateral movement.

Understanding Lateral Movement in Context

Lateral movement refers to the techniques threat actors use to progressively move through a network after gaining initial access. Unlike traditional perimeter-focused attacks, lateral movement is when adversaries systematically explore and exploit users, workloads and devices via network resources while evading detection. This is particularly concerning for organizations with complex operational technology (OT) environments or those handling sensitive data.

Primary Lateral Movement Tactics in Enterprise Environments

Remote Services Exploitation

The exploitation of remote services remains one of the most prevalent lateral movement techniques. Organizations have seen a significant increase in attacks targeting Remote Desktop Protocol (RDP), Server Message Block (SMB), and Windows Remote Management (WinRM) services. This is particularly critical in manufacturing and healthcare environments, where remote access requirements have expanded dramatically.

Practical Tip: Implement granular access controls and continuous monitoring for remote service usage, especially in OT and medical device networks.

Credential-Based Movement Techniques

Modern attackers frequently leverage credential-based techniques such as Pass-the-Hash and Pass-the-Ticket attacks. These methods are particularly effective because they exploit legitimate authentication mechanisms, making detection challenging through traditional means.

Industry-Specific Impact and Considerations

Manufacturing and Industrial Control Systems

In manufacturing and ICS environments, lateral movement presents unique challenges due to the integration of IT and OT networks. Attackers targeting these environments often exploit the interconnections between traditional IT systems and industrial controllers, potentially leading to physical process disruption.

Key Takeaway: Industrial organizations must implement microsegmentation strategies that account for both IT and OT network components while maintaining operational efficiency.

Healthcare Environment Challenges

Healthcare organizations face particular challenges in preventing lateral movement due to the diverse array of IoMT-connected medical devices and strict regulatory requirements. The need to maintain continuous patient care while securing sensitive data requires a balanced approach to security controls across networks.

Advanced Detection Strategies

Behavioral Analytics and Monitoring

Modern detection approaches focus on understanding normal network behavior patterns and identifying anomalies. This includes monitoring authentication patterns, process creation, and network traffic flows.

Practical Tip: Deploy behavioral analytics and/or modern microsegmentation solutions that can baseline normal operations across both IT and OT networks to quickly identify potential lateral movement.

Identity-Based Detection

Identity-based monitoring has emerged as a crucial component in detecting lateral movement. By tracking user and device identities across the network, organizations can more effectively identify unauthorized access attempts and suspicious behavior patterns.

Identity-based microsegmentation is an advanced approach to network security that goes beyond traditional network segmentation methods; instead of relying on rigid network boundaries such as IP access lists and firewall rules, identity-based microsegmentation segments a network based on the identity and attributes of users, devices, and applications. This enables organizations to apply granular access controls to specific identities, providing a more flexible and adaptable security posture.

Prevention Through Modern Security Architecture

Network Segmentation Evolution

Traditional network segmentation has evolved into more sophisticated microsegmentation approaches. Identity-based microsegmentation, in particular, offers more granular control over network access and movement.

In the context of microsegmentation, identity-based microsegmentation is considered a best practice for improving network security. It offers a more dynamic way of segmenting the network, allowing organizations to adapt to the ever-changing threat landscape. To gain a deeper understanding of microsegmentation and its various applications, we recommend reading our comprehensive blog post, What is microsegmentation and how does it work?.

Key Takeaway: Modern microsegmentation should be identity-centric rather than solely network-based, enabling more precise access control and threat containment.

Zero Trust Implementation

Implementing zero trust principles helps prevent lateral movement by requiring continuous verification of all network connections, regardless of their origin point or destination.

Implementing Effective Controls

Strategic Access Management

Organizations must implement comprehensive access management strategies that combine:

• Identity and access management (IAM)
• Privileged access management (PAM)
• Multi-factor authentication (MFA)

Continuous Monitoring and Response

Effective lateral movement prevention requires continuous monitoring and rapid response capabilities.

Practical Tip: Establish automated response procedures for common lateral movement indicators, ensuring rapid containment of potential threats.

Modern Solutions and Technologies

Identity-Based Microsegmentation Platforms

Modern security solutions have evolved to address the sophisticated nature of lateral movement attacks. Identity-based microsegmentation platforms, such as those offered by leading security vendors including Elisity, provide dynamic, context-aware security controls that can effectively prevent unauthorized lateral movement while maintaining operational efficiency.

Integration with Existing Security Infrastructure

Modern prevention solutions must integrate seamlessly with existing security infrastructure, including:

• Security information and event management (SIEM) systems
• Endpoint detection and response (EDR) platforms
• Network security monitoring tools

Best Practices for Implementation

Phased Approach to Deployment

Organizations should adopt a phased approach to implementing lateral movement prevention:

1. Assessment and Planning
2. Initial Implementation in Critical Areas
3. Gradual Expansion
4. Continuous Optimization

Key Takeaway: Success in preventing lateral movement requires a balanced approach combining technology, processes, and people.

Next Steps: Building a Resilient Security Posture

Preventing lateral movement requires a comprehensive approach that combines modern security technologies with effective processes and trained personnel. Organizations must focus on implementing identity-based security controls while maintaining operational efficiency and regulatory compliance.

For manufacturing, industrial, and healthcare organizations, the stakes are particularly high, given the potential impact on critical operations and patient care. By adopting modern approaches to microsegmentation and continuous monitoring, organizations can significantly reduce their exposure to lateral movement attacks while maintaining operational efficiency.

Practical Tip: Begin with a thorough assessment of your current security posture and gradually implement identity-based controls, starting with your most critical assets and expanding based on demonstrated success.

The future of lateral movement prevention lies in intelligent, identity-aware security solutions that can adapt to evolving threats while supporting complex operational requirements. Organizations that embrace these modern approaches will be better positioned to protect their critical assets and maintain resilient operations in the face of evolving cyber threats.

Reach out to our team for a custom consultation to learn how to align microsegmentation with your lateral movement prevention strategies.

Frequently Asked Questions About Lateral Movement

What is lateral movement in cybersecurity?

Lateral movement is a sophisticated cyberattack technique where cybercriminals navigate horizontally across systems within a network after gaining initial access. Unlike traditional attacks that might focus on a single endpoint, lateral movement allows attackers to expand their foothold by moving from one compromised system to another, often appearing as legitimate users due to stolen credentials. This technique enables attackers to explore network hierarchies, map devices and users, discover vulnerabilities, and ultimately access high-value assets like intellectual property, financial data, or critical systems. The process typically involves three stages: reconnaissance (mapping the network environment), privilege escalation (gaining higher-level access), and data exfiltration or system manipulation. According to recent cybersecurity research, over 60% of successful breaches now involve lateral movement, making it one of the most prevalent and dangerous attack vectors facing modern organizations.

How does lateral movement enable ransomware attacks?

Lateral movement serves as the critical pathway that transforms a simple initial breach into a devastating ransomware attack. Once attackers gain access to a single system through methods like phishing or credential theft, they use lateral movement techniques to spread throughout the network, identifying and accessing critical systems, backup servers, and high-value data repositories. This expansion phase allows ransomware operators to maximize their impact by encrypting multiple systems simultaneously, making recovery more complex and expensive. During lateral movement, attackers often establish persistent backdoors, escalate privileges to administrative levels, and disable security monitoring systems to avoid detection. They map network dependencies to understand which systems are most critical to business operations, ensuring their ransomware deployment will cause maximum disruption. By the time the ransomware is deployed, attackers have already compromised backup systems and exfiltrated sensitive data, creating multiple pressure points for ransom payment. Current statistics show that attackers can dwell in networks for an average of 280 days before detection, providing ample time to prepare devastating ransomware campaigns.

What are the most common lateral movement techniques used by attackers?

Cybercriminals employ several sophisticated techniques to move laterally through networks, each designed to exploit different aspects of network infrastructure and user behavior. Internal spear-phishing involves sending malicious emails from compromised internal accounts to other employees, leveraging the trust associated with internal communications to spread malware or steal additional credentials. Remote services exploitation targets systems like Remote Desktop Protocol (RDP), virtual private networks (VPNs), and collaboration platforms such as Microsoft Teams, using these legitimate administrative tools as entry points to access additional systems. Pass-the-hash attacks occur when attackers obtain password hashes and use them for authentication without needing the actual passwords, effectively impersonating legitimate users across Windows domains. Pass-the-ticket attacks involve stealing Kerberos authentication tokens to access multiple services throughout a Windows environment. Additionally, attackers conduct extensive reconnaissance through network scanning, port enumeration, and privilege escalation attempts to map the environment and identify vulnerable systems. These techniques are often combined in sophisticated attack chains, with attackers deploying automated scripts and tools to accelerate their lateral movement while maintaining persistence through hidden user accounts and scheduled tasks.

How can organizations prevent lateral movement in their networks?

Preventing lateral movement requires a comprehensive, multi-layered security strategy that combines technological solutions with strong policies and processes. Network segmentation stands as the primary defense, dividing networks into isolated segments to limit attacker movement and contain breaches. Modern identity-based microsegmentation solutions provide granular control by creating policies that follow users, workloads, and devices across environments, ensuring that compromised credentials cannot provide unlimited network access. Implementing Zero Trust architecture principles ensures that no user or device is trusted by default, requiring continuous verification for every access attempt. Organizations should deploy least-privilege access controls, granting users only the minimum permissions necessary for their roles, thereby limiting the potential impact of compromised accounts. Advanced threat detection technologies, including artificial intelligence and machine learning systems, can identify anomalous behavior patterns indicative of lateral movement attempts. Regular security assessments, including penetration testing and vulnerability scanning, help identify and remediate potential attack paths before they can be exploited. Employee training programs focused on recognizing phishing attempts and social engineering tactics reduce the likelihood of initial compromise. Additionally, maintaining robust incident response procedures ensures rapid containment when lateral movement is detected.

How long does it take to detect lateral movement attacks?

Detection timelines for lateral movement attacks vary significantly across organizations and attack sophistication levels, but industry statistics reveal concerning delays in threat identification. According to recent cybersecurity research, attackers can dwell in compromised networks for an average of 280 days before detection, providing extensive time to conduct reconnaissance, escalate privileges, and prepare major attacks like ransomware deployment. This extended dwell time occurs because lateral movement often appears as legitimate user activity, utilizing valid credentials and authorized network protocols to avoid triggering traditional security alerts. Healthcare organizations face particularly challenging detection scenarios, with average recovery times extending to 291 days after breach discovery, while 37% of healthcare organizations require over a month to recover from attacks. Manufacturing environments present similar challenges due to the convergence of information technology (IT) and operational technology (OT) systems, where lateral movement between corporate networks and production systems can remain undetected for months. Organizations with advanced security monitoring capabilities, including behavioral analytics and network detection systems, can reduce detection times to days or weeks rather than months. However, the most effective approach combines proactive threat hunting with automated detection systems and comprehensive network visibility to identify lateral movement attempts in real-time rather than waiting for obvious attack indicators.

What is identity-based microsegmentation and how does it prevent lateral movement?

Identity-based microsegmentation represents a revolutionary approach to network security that creates granular, context-aware access policies based on user, device, and workload identities rather than traditional network locations. Unlike legacy segmentation methods that rely on VLANs and firewall rules, identity-based microsegmentation applies dynamic policies that follow assets wherever they appear on the network, ensuring consistent security enforcement across physical, virtual, and cloud environments. This technology prevents lateral movement by implementing least-privilege access controls at the network level, automatically restricting communication between users, workloads, and devices to only what is explicitly authorized and necessary for business operations. When an attacker compromises a single system, identity-based policies prevent them from accessing other network resources because each connection attempt is evaluated against the compromised entity's specific identity and authorized access patterns. The system continuously monitors and analyzes communication patterns to detect anomalous behavior that might indicate lateral movement attempts. Modern microsegmentation solutions can be deployed without requiring new hardware, network reconfigurations, or software agents on endpoints, making implementation faster and less disruptive than traditional approaches. Organizations typically achieve over 1,000 actively enforced policies per customer, with 83% of users, workloads, and devices having protective policies within two months of deployment, significantly reducing the attack surface available for lateral movement.

Why is lateral movement particularly dangerous for manufacturing and healthcare organizations?

Manufacturing and healthcare organizations face heightened lateral movement risks due to their unique operational characteristics and regulatory environments. Manufacturing consistently ranks as the most targeted industry for ransomware attacks, with 67% of distinct ransomware groups claiming at least one manufacturing victim in 2024. This targeting stems from manufacturers' reliance on specialized operational technology (OT) systems that often run legacy software with known vulnerabilities and cannot be easily patched or updated without disrupting production. The convergence of IT and OT networks creates attack pathways that traditional security tools struggle to monitor and protect. Healthcare organizations face equally severe challenges, with 67% experiencing ransomware attacks in 2024 and average breach costs reaching $10.93 million per incident—the highest of any industry. Healthcare environments contain thousands of connected medical devices, from infusion pumps to MRI machines, that cannot run traditional security agents but remain network-connected and vulnerable to lateral movement attacks. These devices often communicate using proprietary protocols that security systems don't understand, creating blind spots that attackers exploit. Both industries face immediate operational impacts from lateral movement attacks: manufacturing disruptions can halt production lines worth millions per day, while healthcare breaches can compromise patient care systems and life-critical devices. The regulatory requirements in both sectors, including FDA oversight in healthcare and industrial safety standards in manufacturing, make rapid response and remediation particularly challenging and expensive.