Penetration Testing via Multiple Lateral Movement Strategies
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Solution Overview
Problem
Prior art penetration testing systems are limited in their ability to effectively simulate various lateral movement strategies, leading to incomplete network vulnerability assessments due to the use of a single predefined strategy, which can result in misleading test outcomes and prolonged discovery times for new threats.
Innovation Solution
The system executes multiple penetration testing campaigns, each employing a different lateral movement strategy, allowing for a comprehensive assessment of network vulnerabilities by varying the attacker's path through the network, thereby increasing the likelihood of detecting vulnerabilities that might be missed with a single strategy.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Productivity
If a single predefined lateral movement strategy is used in penetration testing, then the testing process is simpler and faster to execute, but the vulnerability assessment becomes incomplete and may produce misleading results
Solution Approach 1:
The penetration testing system divides the assessment into multiple independent campaigns, each executing a different lateral movement strategy (e.g., breadth-first search, depth-first search, random walk). This segmentation allows comprehensive vulnerability coverage while maintaining manageable execution complexity for each individual campaign.
Solution Approach 2:
The system dynamically selects and switches between multiple lateral movement strategies during penetration testing campaigns. Rather than being static, the testing approach adapts by employing different strategies for different campaigns, enabling the system to overcome the limitations of any single predefined strategy while maintaining execution efficiency.
2Reliability
If multiple penetration testing campaigns with different lateral movement strategies are executed, then the vulnerability detection completeness improves, but the testing complexity and time required increase
Solution Approach 1:
The penetration testing system is designed with multi-functionality to execute multiple types of lateral movement strategies through a unified platform. The system can perform breadth-first search, depth-first search, random walk, and other strategies using the same infrastructure, reducing overall complexity despite the diversity of testing approaches.
Solution Approach 2:
The system manages complexity by changing parameters (lateral movement strategies) rather than adding fundamentally different testing mechanisms. Each campaign uses the same core testing framework but with different strategy parameters, allowing comprehensive vulnerability detection without proportionally increasing system complexity.
3Reliability
If multiple penetration testing campaigns are executed with different lateral movement strategies, then the likelihood of detecting all vulnerabilities increases, but the time required for complete testing increases
Solution Approach 1:
The system applies partial action by executing multiple campaigns with different lateral movement strategies rather than one exhaustive campaign. Each individual campaign may not detect all vulnerabilities alone, but the combination of multiple campaigns with different strategies achieves comprehensive coverage more efficiently than a single prolonged testing effort.
Solution Approach 2:
The penetration testing is structured as periodic action through multiple discrete campaigns, each using a different lateral movement strategy. This periodic execution of varied testing approaches allows the system to cover different vulnerability types systematically, achieving thorough detection while managing overall testing time through structured intervals between campaigns.
Data Source
AI summary
Methods and systems for carrying out multiple campaigns of penetration testing using different lateral movement strategies for discovering and reporting security vulnerabilities of a networked system, the networked system comprising a plurality of network nodes interconnected by one or more networks.