Internal IT Infrastructure Penetration Testing
68% of ransomware attacks are insider threats or single account compromises. We test whether an attacker can take over the domain, access backups, and steal critical data. Without shutting down production.
What is Internal IT Infrastructure Penetration Testing?
Internal penetration testing simulates a real insider attack — starting from a single compromised user account or workstation and measuring how quickly an attacker can traverse the network, escalate privileges, and seize domain control. nFlo's certified red team operators (CRTP, CRTO) use the same techniques as ransomware groups: LSASS dumping, Kerberoasting, Pass-the-Hash, and lateral movement via SMB and WMI, then document every attack path against the MITRE ATT&CK framework. The result is a precise picture of your ransomware exposure — including whether your SOC/EDR detects the attack in real time — along with prioritized remediation steps.
One compromised laptop = full domain control
Insider attack and lateral movement simulation
Internal Recon
Network reconnaissance like a real attacker
Privilege Escalation
Escalation to Domain Admin
Crown Jewels
Access to critical systems
Ransomware in 72 Hours - Real Incident Story
A financial company with 500 employees fell victim to ransomware. Entry point: employee laptop from phishing. Within 72 hours the attacker:
- Collected passwords from LSASS (hour 2)
- Moved to file server via SMB (hour 8)
- Found service account with DA privileges (hour 24)
- Took domain control (hour 48)
- Encrypted all data (hour 72)
Cost: €600K (ransom, rebuild, downtime, regulatory fines). SOC didn’t detect a single attack phase.
Without internal penetration testing:
- Don’t know how fast attacker can take over domain
- Service accounts with Domain Admin privileges
- No segmentation - lateral movement without obstacles
- SOC/EDR doesn’t detect attacks or generates false alarms
From User to Domain Admin - We Measure Time
We simulate real attack from single account compromise moment. We don’t ask IT for passwords - we obtain them using attacker methods. We check if SOC detects our activities.
What you get:
- Full attack path map from user to Domain Admin
- High privilege account identification (service accounts, krbtgt)
- Lateral movement tests between systems
- SOC/EDR effectiveness verification (does it detect attacks)
- Backup and critical systems access assessment
- Documentation of all techniques used (MITRE ATT&CK)
- Report with attack timeline and prioritized actions
- Workshop for IT team with results review
Who Is It For?
This service is for you if:
- You have Active Directory domain and are concerned about its security
- You want to verify if SOC/EDR detects real attacks
- You deployed EDR/XDR and want to check effectiveness
- You need to meet NIS2 security testing requirements
Test Scope
Internal Attack Phases
1. Initial Access (starting point) We start from one of the positions:
- Regular domain user account
- Computer on network (simulating compromised laptop)
- VPN access (simulating credential theft)
2. Internal Reconnaissance
- Active Directory enumeration (users, groups, computers)
- Administrator and service account identification
- Infrastructure mapping (servers, databases, shares)
- Trust relationship analysis (domain trusts)
3. Credential Harvesting
- LSASS dumping (Mimikatz, alternatives)
- NTDS.dit extraction
- Kerberoasting (SPN accounts)
- AS-REP Roasting (pre-auth disabled)
- Password spraying
4. Lateral Movement
- Pass-the-Hash / Pass-the-Ticket
- PSExec, WMI, DCOM
- RDP/SMB lateral movement
- Abuse of trust relationships
5. Privilege Escalation
- Domain Admin account takeover
- ACL misconfiguration exploitation
- Delegation abuse (unconstrained, constrained)
- Golden Ticket / Silver Ticket
6. Persistence
- Backdoor accounts
- Golden Ticket persistence
- Skeleton Key
- DCShadow
7. Crown Jewels Access
- Backup access
- Databases (SQL, Oracle)
- Financial/HR systems
- Domain controllers
Detection Verification
For each phase we document:
- Whether SOC detected the action (alert)
- How quickly it was detected (time to alert)
- Whether alert reached the team
- Whether defensive actions were taken
Related Glossary Terms
Learn more about key concepts related to this service:
Contact your account manager
Discuss Internal IT Infrastructure Penetration Testing with your dedicated account manager.
How we work
Our proven service delivery process.
Initial Access
Start from regular user position
Network Recon
Active Directory and infrastructure reconnaissance
Lateral Movement
Moving between systems
Privilege Escalation
Escalation to privileged accounts
Report
Attack path documentation and recommendations
Benefits for your business
What you gain by choosing this service.
Ransomware Defense
Block paths used by attackers
SOC/EDR Verification
Check if systems detect attacks
NIS2 Compliance
Meet security testing requirements
Action Prioritization
Know what to secure first
Related Articles
Expand your knowledge with our resources.
Penetration test vs vulnerability scan: what really differs
A company that buys a scan instead of a pentest is not buying the same thing for less — it is buying different information. Here is exactly where the boundary runs and how to arrange both into one process.
Read more →CVE-2026-86218: Pre-Auth RCE in N-able N-central — A Flaw in the Tool That Manages Other People's Infrastructure
N-central is an RMM platform - it manages client endpoints from a single place. The flaw allows code execution without logging in, so compromising the server means access to the entire managed fleet...
Read more →CVE-2019-1068: Remote Code Execution in Microsoft SQL Server
Improper handling of internal functions in Microsoft SQL Server allows an attacker to execute code in the context of the Database Engine service account...
Read more →Frequently Asked Questions
Common questions about Internal IT Infrastructure Penetration Testing.
What position does the tester start from during an internal pentest?
Most commonly from a regular domain user account or a computer on the network (simulating a compromised laptop). We can also start from VPN access, simulating credential theft. The starting point is agreed upon together.
Can the tests disrupt production systems?
No. We use stealth techniques and avoid destructive exploits. Before testing, we agree on scope and systems excluded from testing (e.g., production databases). We test lateral movement and privilege escalation, not system stability.
How long does an internal penetration test take?
Typically 5-10 business days. It includes AD reconnaissance, credential harvesting, lateral movement, escalation to Domain Admin, and attempts to access critical systems (backups, databases, domain controllers).
Do you also verify the effectiveness of our SOC/EDR?
Yes. For each attack phase, we document whether the SOC generated an alert, how quickly it was detected, and whether defensive actions were taken. This is real-world verification of whether your security tools detect the techniques used by attackers.
What report do we receive after testing?
The report contains a full attack path map with timeline, technique documentation (MITRE ATT&CK mapping), prioritized remediation recommendations, and a workshop for the IT team reviewing the results.