Atomic Red Team: The Last Line Of Defense Against Lateral Movement

Ensure a Secure Network

If your business works with sensitive data, a secure network is key. It is an ideal solution since it offers immediate security without any initial investment. Let’s understand how firewalls restrict lateral movement of the attackers.

Lateral Movement: How It Works

Attackers never compromise only one system. When they get a foot in the door, they attempt to crawl deeper inside, searching for more lucrative data. This is known as lateral movement.

Here’s how they do it:

• Initial access via phishing emails, weak password, or vulnerable systems
• Taking EHR access to the next level by escalating privileges
• Propagating throughout the network to reach important systems
• Data exfiltration or ransomware deployment

It is not enough to set up a simple firewall. A zero trust security model, intrusion prevention, firewall rules, and other tools should work in concert to stop fixated attackers in their tracks.

How to Use Network Segmentation

None of these will stop lateral movement, which is a network segmentation technique. It partitions the network, so attackers find it hard to move laterally.

How does it work?

• Internal firewalls: Filter the traffic between departments or sensitive systems
• Virtual Local Area Networks (VLANs) segregate users and restrict communication
• Micro-segmentation implements access authority on a more detailed scale
• Policies of Zero Trust confirm internal traffic as well

If one segment is penetrated by a malicious actor, they can’t move further without detection. In fact, using these high-performance firewall systems and their segmentation capabilities, your company may even remain safe by routing it as a service.

Least Privilege Access

Extra access means added risk to security. A least privilege access model limits what users can do, minimizing the attack vectors.

Least privilege access — best practices for ensuring it:

• Role-based access control (RBAC): Employees have access only to what they need
• Multi-factor authentication (MFA) to provide additional security
• Session tracking: User activities are monitored for suspicious activities
• Short-term access authorization: Limit access to certain operations or periods

Firewalls can enforce access control lists (ACL), which restrict access. If you’re handling sensitive environments, enterprise-grade firewalls are flexible and ensure that these security measures are as sound as possible.

IDS/IPS for Threat Detection

Despite segmentation and least privilege access, attackers may attempt to circumvent security controls. This is where IDS and IPS come in.

How do they help?

• Monitors network traffic for suspicious activity
• Detects lateral movement attempts by unauthorized parties
• Real-time threat automatic blocking
• Offers alerts for immediate action

It is essential to have a next-gen firewall with an integrated IDS/IPS to snuff out threats before they proliferate. If you do not have in-house security forces, you can rent a firewall with IDS/IPS and be protected immediately.

Automated Containment

Speed is key when it comes to halting cyberattacks. Automated containment tools are designed to sweep into action and isolate any infected devices before damage is done.

Some of the automated security features are as follows:

• Quarantine infected systems: Prevents infected systems from being used to attack the network
• Behavioral-based detection: Detects abnormal behavior and responds in real-time
• Network access control (NAC): Allows access to devices based on the levels of trust
• Firewall automation: Automatically updates rules in real-time to reject threats

These advanced capabilities allow us to prevent the spread of attacks. Next-gen firewalls can be rented with their automated response capabilities, ensuring that your network is secured at all times without having to intervene manually.

Conclusion

Attackers move laterally across networks, so firewalls need to be a primary line of defense. Business requirements transcend basic firewalls, so there is a need for implementing Zero Trust security, intrusion prevention, and automated containment.

For businesses seeking high-grade security but are not ready to invest in a product, renting firewalls, servers, and routers is a sensible way to go. Advanced IDS/IPS, Network Segmentation, and Least Privilege Access controls ensure that your business remains protected from modern cyberattacks.