Cyberattacks rarely end with the initial compromise
Once attackers gain access to an environment, their next objective is typically to move progressively through it, become rooted inside, and conduct malicious unobserved activity.
This process, known as lateral movement, allows cybercriminals to locate valuable data, escalate privileges, and achieve their objectives, whether that's ransomware deployment, data theft, or disruption.
For many organizations, the true impact occurs once attackers can move freely across systems, applications, and networks without being detected.
Stopping lateral movement requires more than traditional security controls. It requires a Zero Trust approach that limits what users, devices, and applications can access at every stage of an attack.
What is lateral movement?
Lateral movement is the technique attackers use to move from one system to another within a network after gaining an initial foothold inside an environment.
Rather than targeting their ultimate objective directly, attackers often begin with a low-value target such as a phishing victim, vulnerable workstation, exposed credential, or unpatched application. From there, they work to expand access throughout the environment.
Common lateral movement techniques include:
- Stolen or compromised credentials
- Pass-the-hash attacks
- Remote Desktop Protocol (RDP) abuse
- PowerShell exploitation
- SMB and Windows administrative share abuse
- Credential dumping
- Privilege escalation
- Exploitation of unpatched vulnerabilities
The goal is simple: Gain broader access while avoiding detection. Once attackers reach critical systems, they can deploy ransomware, exfiltrate sensitive information, compromise backups, or establish persistence for future attacks.
Why is lateral movement so dangerous?
Many organizations focus heavily on preventing initial access. Firewalls and EDR tools all play important roles. However, attackers are increasingly assuming they will still be able to gain a foothold somewhere in the environment.
That’s why the important question has become, what can hackers do once they're inside?
Without proper controls, a compromised user account can access file shares, administrative tools, SaaS platforms, remote systems, and sensitive business applications. A single infected device can quickly become the launch point for a widespread attack.
This is why many ransomware attacks that begin with one compromised endpoint ultimately impact hundreds or thousands of systems. The ability to move laterally turns a minor security incident into a major breach.
Why traditional security tools struggle to stop lateral movement
Many security products focus on detecting malicious behavior after it occurs.
Unfortunately, attackers conducting lateral movement often use legitimate administrative tools and trusted applications already present in the environment. Security researchers commonly refer to these as "living off the land" (LOTL) techniques.
When attackers use valid credentials and approved software, detection becomes significantly more difficult. This creates a dangerous gap between detection and prevention. By the time an alert is generated, the attacker may have already gained access to additional systems, elevated privileges, or reached critical assets.
Organizations need controls that restrict movement before an attacker can pivot deeper into the environment.
How to prevent lateral movement with Zero Trust
The most effective way to prevent lateral movement starts with assuming nothing is secure. Zero Trust is a security model which assumes that even in the case of successful authentication, no user, device, application, or connection should be trusted automatically
Instead, access should be continuously validated and limited to only what is necessary. This dramatically reduces the pathways attackers can use to move throughout an environment.
The next step is to enforce layered controls.
No single security layer can stop every attack. Preventing lateral movement requires multiple working together:
- Deny unauthorized applications from running
- Restrict application behavior
- Eliminate unnecessary administrative privileges
- Limit network access
- Remediate vulnerabilities quickly
When these controls are combined, attackers face obstacles at every stage of the attack chain. Instead of moving freely throughout the environment, they become contained to the initial point of compromise.
ThreatLocker® applies these principles across endpoints, applications, privileges, and network access, helping organizations contain threats before they spread.
Application Allowlisting prevents unauthorized tools from running
Attackers frequently rely on unauthorized software, scripts, and tools to move laterally after gaining access. If those tools cannot execute, many attack chains stop before they begin.
ThreatLocker Allowlisting takes a deny-by-default approach, allowing organizations to define exactly which applications, scripts, and executables are permitted to run. Anything not explicitly approved is blocked automatically. This significantly reduces the attack surface and prevents attackers from introducing their own tools into the environment.
Instead of trying to determine whether a file is malicious, organizations can simply prevent unapproved software from executing at all.
Ringfencing™ contains applications and limits attacker movement
Even trusted applications can become attack vectors if compromised. Attackers commonly abuse legitimate tools such as PowerShell, Microsoft Office applications, browsers, and remote administration tools to pivot throughout an environment.
ThreatLocker Ringfencing helps contain applications by controlling what they can interact with, what resources they can access, and which processes they can launch.
For example, organizations can prevent applications from:
- Launching PowerShell
- Accessing credential stores
- Interacting with sensitive applications
- Reaching protected files and directories
- Connecting to the internet
By restricting application behavior, organizations can prevent attackers from using trusted software to move laterally. This creates additional barriers that limit an attacker's ability to progress through the environment.
Privileged Access Management reduces the impact of compromised credentials
Excessive privileges remain one of the biggest contributors to lateral movement.
When users operate with local administrator rights, attackers who compromise those accounts often inherit elevated permissions that make privilege escalation and network traversal significantly easier.
ThreatLocker Privileged Access Management helps organizations implement least privilege by removing unnecessary administrative rights while still enabling users to perform approved tasks when needed. This reduces the number of privileged accounts available to attackers and limits what compromised credentials can accomplish.
Even if an attacker gains access to a user account, they cannot automatically assume administrative control of systems across the environment.
Zero Trust Network Access limits network-based lateral movement
Traditional networks often assume that authenticated users should have broad internal access. Attackers take advantage of this trust model.
Once inside the network, they scan for accessible systems, identify targets, and move between devices. ThreatLocker Zero Trust Network Access (ZTNA) replaces broad network trust with granular access controls.
Users and devices receive access only to the resources they specifically require. Every connection request is validated, and access is denied by default unless explicitly permitted. Even if credentials have been compromised, this will dramatically reduce the number of systems attackers can reach.
By shrinking the accessible attack surface, organizations make lateral movement significantly more difficult.
Patch Management closes opportunities for exploitation
Unpatched vulnerabilities remain a common method for privilege escalation and lateral movement. Attackers actively look for outdated operating systems, applications, and services that can be exploited to gain deeper access into a network.
ThreatLocker Patch Management helps organizations identify and remediate vulnerabilities more efficiently, reducing opportunities for attackers to leverage known exploits. While patching alone cannot stop lateral movement, it removes many of the weaknesses attackers rely on to expand their access.
Stop attacks before they spread
The most successful cyberattacks are rarely successful because of the initial breach. They succeed because attackers can move undetected after gaining access. Organizations that focus only on preventing entry often leave themselves vulnerable to the stages of an attack that cause the greatest damage.
ThreatLocker helps organizations stop lateral movement through a layered Zero Trust approach because when attackers can't move, they can't reach their objective.
Want to see how ThreatLocker helps contain threats before they spread? Schedule a demo today.
