Why conduct an assumed breach assessment?
Even the most secure environments can be compromised in today’s threat landscape. The assumed breach assessment assumes that threat actors have already bypassed your perimeter and focuses on how well your internal security mechanisms detect, contain, and mitigate the impact of such an event.
This proactive assessment is crucial for identifying vulnerabilities that could be exploited during a post-breach scenario, testing the effectiveness of the incident response, and enhancing overall resilience.
Scoping and planning
Define objectives
We work with your security teams to understand the specific objectives of the assumed breach assessment. Whether it’s testing lateral movement, credential harvesting, or privilege escalation, we tailor the methodology to your organisation’s risk profile and goals.
Requirements
Before the assessment begins, we collect key details about your network architecture, Active Directory structure, and internal security controls. This enables us to simulate an insider attack or post-compromise scenario that accurately reflects your environment, ensuring the test is relevant and aligned with your security objectives.
Collaborative approach
The assessment involves continuous collaboration between your defensive (blue) team and our expert consultants. As the assessment progresses, we share real-time insights and adjust tactics as necessary. This ensures that detection and response capabilities are rigorously tested and areas for improvement are identified dynamically and effectively.
Attack simulation
Our team simulates the actions of a sophisticated adversary who has already gained a foothold in your environment. The simulated attack vectors focus on high-risk areas such as:
- Lateral movement: Testing how an attacker could move through your network undetected.
- Privilege escalation: Attempting to escalate privileges to gain access to sensitive data or critical systems.
- Data exfiltration: Simulating the theft of sensitive information without triggering alerts.
These simulations help uncover internal monitoring, alerting, and response capabilities gaps.
Detection and response testing
The assessment provides an opportunity to test your incident response capabilities. We evaluate your team’s response to the assumed breach, identifying how effectively they detect malicious activity, contain the threat, and respond to post-compromise scenarios. We also analyse your existing detection tools and security measures to highlight areas of strength and areas needing improvement.
Knowledge transfer and improvement
As with all our assessments, continuous learning is a core component. Throughout the engagement, we provide your teams with real-time feedback and actionable insights, enabling them to enhance their detection capabilities and incident response procedures. Our experts work closely with your team to improve offensive and defensive measures.
Why choose Cognisys’ assumed breach assessment?
Cognisys offers a highly realistic and collaborative assumed breach assessment designed to challenge your organisation’s ability to detect, contain, and respond to security breaches. Our approach ensures that your team can handle post-compromise scenarios with practical knowledge of improving internal security controls.
The detailed report you receive provides comprehensive insights and recommendations that align with your security goals, helping you stay ahead of evolving threats.
FAQs
Let’s make things happen
Fill in the form and one of our team will be in touch for a no-obligation discussion or quote regarding your requirements.
info@cognisys.co.uk
Leeds office
5 Park Place
Leeds
LS1 2RU
info@cognisys.co.uk
London office
131 Finsbury Pavement
London
EC2A 1NT
