Preventing Lateral Movement in SAP Environments

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What is Lateral Movement?

Lateral movement occurs when an attacker successfully compromises a computing environment and penetrates deep into a network or system. In many cases, attackers are looking for sensitive data or more credentials. They try to use administrative accounts such as IT admins, network admins and system admins to elevate their privileges and access more important assets.

When valuable data or assets are discovered, attackers slowly move that data outside the environment. The whole process can take days, weeks, or even months. The goal of the attacker is to remain undetected until it is too late for the victim to react. Cyber attackers aim to be completely out of the system when a breach is detected.

How Does Lateral Movement Happen in a SAP Environment?

There are many ways that attackers can perform lateral movement within a SAP network. Some common tactics include:

• Using stolen or weak credentials: Attackers may use credentials that they have obtained through phishing attacks, password cracking, or other means to log into systems and move laterally within a network.
• Exploiting vulnerabilities: Attackers may use vulnerabilities in software or hardware to gain access to systems and move laterally within a network. This could include vulnerabilities in operating systems, applications, or network devices.
• Using legitimate tools and services: Attackers may use legitimate tools and services, such as Remote Desktop Protocol (RDP), to move laterally within a network. These tools and services may be misconfigured or not properly secured, allowing the attacker to gain unauthorized access.
• Escalating privileges: Attackers may try to escalate their privileges on a system, either by exploiting vulnerabilities or using stolen credentials, in order to gain access to more sensitive data or systems.

To prevent lateral movement, it is important to regularly update software and devices to fix vulnerabilities, implement strong authentication practices, and configure security controls correctly. It is also important to monitor for suspicious activity and respond quickly to any potential threats.

Combating Lateral Movement With SAP Security Tools

SAP Enterprise Threat Detection

SAP Enterprise Threat Detection is a security tool that helps organizations detect and respond to threats within their SAP systems. It uses machine learning models and behavioral analytics to identify unusual activity and provide real-time alerts to security teams. Some key features of SAP Enterprise Threat Detection include:

• Real-time monitoring: SAP Enterprise Threat Detection continuously monitors SAP systems for suspicious activity and provides real-time alerts to security teams.
• Behavioral analytics: The tool uses machine learning and behavioral analytics to identify unusual activity and potential threats within SAP systems.
• Customizable rules: Administrators can customize the rules that SAP Enterprise Threat Detection uses to detect threats, allowing them to fine-tune the tool to the specific needs of their organization.

SAP Governance, Risk, and Compliance (GRC)

SAP Governance, Risk, and Compliance (GRC) is a tool that helps organizations manage risks, ensure compliance, and optimize business processes. Some key features of SAP GRC include:

• Risk management: SAP GRC helps organizations identify and manage risks by providing tools for risk assessment, risk treatment, and risk monitoring.
• Compliance management: The tool helps organizations ensure compliance with regulations and industry standards by providing tools for compliance assessment, compliance monitoring, and compliance reporting.
• Business process optimization: SAP GRC provides tools to optimize business processes and improve efficiency, including tools for process automation, process mapping, and process improvement.

SAP EarlyWatch

SAP EarlyWatch is a monitoring and analysis tool that helps organizations optimize the performance and availability of their SAP systems. Some key features of SAP EarlyWatch include:

• Real-time monitoring: SAP EarlyWatch continuously monitors SAP systems for performance issues and provides real-time alerts to administrators.
• Analysis and optimization: The tool provides tools for analyzing system performance and identifying areas for optimization, including tools for performance tuning, capacity planning, and problem diagnosis.
• Maintenance and support: SAP EarlyWatch provides tools for maintaining and supporting SAP systems, including tools for monitoring system availability, managing system patches, and providing support for system upgrades.

Best Practices for Preventing Lateral Movement in SAP

Perform the following assessments to ensure data is secure in your SAP environment. You should evaluate:

• Access control
• Change and delivery procedures
• Network setup and architecture
• Operating system security
• Database Management System (DBMS) security
• SAP NetWeaver security
• Sensitive SAP components including SAP Gateway, SAP Messenger Server, SAP Portal, SAP Router, and SAP GUI.
• Compliance with SAP, ISACA, DSAG, OWASP, and other applicable standards.

After conducting the above assessments, use these steps to improve the security posture of SAP systems:

1. Adjust security settings—make sure access control and security settings are in line with your organizational structure and security requirements. Update permission lists regularly, especially when employees join the company, depart, or change roles.
2. Train your team—ensure all team members are familiar with security requirements and know what is needed to deploy them.
3. Create emergency procedures—when a security incident occurs, you need to have a plan to respond quickly and effectively. An important aspect of the plan is allowing network administrators to easily revoke access and permissions when needed.
4. Ongoing monitoring and audits—continuously monitor your SAP systems, identify anomalies and react to them.

Conclusion

In conclusion, lateral movement is a tactic that attackers use to move within a network or system in order to gain access to additional resources or compromise additional systems. It is an important aspect of many cyber attacks, and can be especially dangerous in SAP environments where sensitive data and critical business processes are at risk. 

To prevent lateral movement, organizations need to implement strong security measures such as strong authentication, role-based access controls, network segmentation, and least privilege principles. In addition, it is important to regularly patch and update SAP systems, monitor for suspicious activity, and respond quickly to potential threats. 

By following these best practices, organizations can effectively prevent lateral movement within their SAP environments and reduce the risk of successful attacks.