Lateral Movement Assessment

Description: Forensically investigating lateral movement techniques on workstations and server systems is crucial to understanding how an attacker moves within a network after gaining initial access. Lateral movement involves techniques that enable an attacker to access and control remote systems within a network.

1. Understanding Common Lateral Movement Techniques

• Remote Services: Such as RDP, SSH, VNC.

• Exploitation of Trust: Utilising valid credentials or exploiting trusted relationships between systems.

• File Shares: Access network shares to move files or execute code.

• Pass-the-Hash/Pass-the-Ticket: Stealing and reusing authentication tokens.

• Remote Execution Tools: Tools like PsExec or remote scripting like PowerShell Remoting.

2. Initial Data Collection

• Forensic Imaging: Create exact copies of the hard drives of affected systems using tools like FTK Imager or dd.

• Memory Capture: Capture volatile memory from systems using tools like WinPmem or Magnet RAM Capture.

• Log Collection: Gather security logs, system logs, application logs, and especially Windows Event Logs.

3. Analysing Remote Access

• Security and System Logs: Review logs for signs of remote access activities, like RDP logins (Event ID 4624 with logon type 10).

• Authentication Logs: Examine logs for abnormal authentication patterns or use of unusual user accounts.

4. Network Traffic Analysis

• Network Monitoring Tools: Use tools like Wireshark or Tcpdump to analyse network traffic for remote access protocols or unusual internal traffic patterns.

• Flow Data Analysis: Review NetFlow data for evidence of lateral movements.

5. Investigating Account Usage

• User Account Analysis: Look for evidence of unauthorised use of user accounts, especially privileged ones.

• Pass-the-Hash/Pass-the-Ticket Detection: Analyse memory dumps or security logs for signs of these techniques.

6. File and Directory Analysis

• File Access and Movement: Check file access logs for indications of files being accessed or moved in a manner consistent with lateral movement.

• Artifact Analysis: Look for artifacts left by remote execution tools or scripts.

7. Analysing Use of Remote Services

• RDP, SSH, and Other Protocols: Examine logs and settings related to these services for unauthorised access or configuration changes.

• Service Configuration: Review the configuration of services commonly used for lateral movement.

8. Specialised Forensic Tools Usage

• Forensic Suites: Tools like EnCase, Autopsy, or X-Ways for comprehensive analysis.

• Sysinternals Suite: For in-depth analysis of Windows systems, including tools like Process Explorer and TCPView.

9. Documentation and Reporting

• Detailed Documentation: Record all findings, processes used and evidence paths.

• Forensic Report: Compile a comprehensive report detailing the lateral movement investigation.

10. Post-Investigation Actions

• Mitigation and Remediation: Implement necessary measures to contain and eradicate the attacker's presence.

• Recovery: Restore affected systems from clean backups.

• Enhancing Defenses: Update security policies and tools based on the findings.

11. Tools and Techniques

• Digital Forensics:

  • Specialised tools for evidence collection and analysis:

    • OpenText EnCase Forensics (commercial tool)

    • FTK (Forensic Toolkit)

    • Volatility (memory forensics)

    • Autopsy (open-source)

    • Cyber Triage (commercial tool)

    • Binalyze AIR (commercial tool)

    • Belkasoft (commercial tool)

    • Oxygen Forensics (commercial tool)

    • X-ways Forensics (commercial tool)

    • The Sleuth Kit (open-source tool)

    • Eric Zimmerman Tools (open-source tool)

  • Techniques include timeline analysis, file recovery, and reverse engineering.

• Incident Response:

  • Tools for monitoring, containment, and eradication:

    • SIEM (Splunk, QRadar, Microsoft Sentinel, Sumo Logic, Graylog, Elastic Security, LogRhythm, Datadog, Exabeam)

    • EDR (CrowdStrike, SentinelOne, Defender for Endpoint, Cortex XDR, FortiEDR)

    • Firewalls and IDS/IPS systems

  • Techniques include log analysis, threat containment, and system restoration.

12. Key Considerations

• Chain of Custody: Maintain an accurate chain of custody for all forensic evidence.

• Legal Compliance: Ensure that the investigation complies with legal requirements.

• Data Confidentiality: Maintain the confidentiality and integrity of data throughout the investigation.

Lateral movement investigations require a detailed and methodical approach, as attackers often use sophisticated methods to avoid detection. Tailor the investigation to the specifics of the incident and the environment in which you operate.