By Ashwani Mishra, Editor-Technology, 63SATS
In an era where external cyberattacks dominate headlines, the true danger often lurks within.
When one of India’s largest steel companies sought to test the resilience of their internal security, a Red Teamer was handed a unique challenge: simulate the actions of a disgruntled employee and exploit any vulnerabilities they could find.
“The mission was simple: act like a frustrated insider and see just how far I could go in compromising their network,” the Red Teamer reflects.
Armed with nothing more than a standard company-issued laptop—devoid of any advanced tools—they set out on a mission that would expose the critical gaps in the company’s defenses.
The goal? To see how much chaos a single employee could create from the inside. And it didn’t take long before the network was cracked wide open, revealing the chilling reality of insider threats.
First Steps: Slipping Past Defenses
The first obstacle was bypassing system defenses to load up the necessary hacking tools—a classic move in an insider attack scenario. “Once I got past that, the network exploration started,” the Red Teamer notes.
Almost instantly, visibility of all domain-joined computers was achieved, all from that single laptop. “You’d be amazed how much you can uncover with basic access,” the Red Teamer quips. But gaining visibility was just the beginning.
Navigating Antivirus and Policy Missteps
The next hurdle? The company’s antivirus software, which was robust—but not enough. The Red Teamer skillfully dodged the antivirus without triggering any alerts. “From there, I turned to their domain policies, and that’s where the opportunity opened up,” he explains.
A critical misconfiguration presented itself, allowing for privilege escalation—essentially, a ladder to higher-level access.
Privilege Escalation: Climbing to Domain Control
With the misconfiguration exploited, the Red Teamer jumped from a semi-privileged account to one with significant control. “This account was a gateway to the sensitive stuff—emails, credentials, confidential data. The works,” he reveals. In no time, they had full control over the company’s top-tier access
The Aftermath: A Wake-Up Call for Security Teams
The debrief with the company’s IT and security teams was eye-opening. The Red Teamer walked them through the entire breach, step by step, showcasing how the entire network had been compromised.
The Takeaway: Insider Threats are the Real Danger
The lesson from this exercise was clear: companies focus heavily on keeping hackers out, but often overlook the threats that come from within.
“You build walls, but what if the threat’s already inside? That’s the real danger,” the Red Teamer warns.
For this steel company, the takeaway was a sobering reminder that insider threats are just as critical—if not more dangerous—than external attacks.
As for the Red Teamer? “It was just another day at the office.”
So, there I was, once again initiating a conversation with a Red Teamer who this time was tasked with pulling off a unique challenge: simulating a disgruntled employee attack into one of India’s largest steel companies
“The mission was to act like a frustrated insider and see just how far I could go in compromising their network,” says the Red Teamer.
Spoiler alert: It didn’t take long to crack the system wide open.
Mission: Disgruntled Employee Role Play
The setup was pretty straightforward. The Red Teamer was was handed a standard company laptop, the kind that any regular employee would get. No fancy hacking tools pre-installed—just your average, run-of-the-mill machine.
“My task was simple but critical: sneak in some malicious software, exploit any vulnerabilities I could find, and see how much damage I could do from the inside,” he recalls
First Steps: Slipping Past Defenses
The first hurdle? Bypassing the system defenses and loading up my hacking tools. It’s a classic move in any insider attack scenario, and it worked like a charm. Once I got past that, the real fun began.
With the tools in place, the Red Teamer started exploring the network. Almost immediately, he had visibility of all domain-joined computers in the system, all from this one laptop. You’d be amazed how much you can uncover with just basic access.
But getting visibility was only half the battle.
Navigating Antivirus and Policies
Next challenge? The antivirus software. This company had invested heavily in its defenses, but it wasn’t enough. The Red teamer anaged to dodge their antivirus without raising any alarms. With that hurdle out of the way, he then turned his attention to their domain policies.
“And there it was—clear as day—a misconfiguration that opened up a golden opportunity for privilege escalation,” he says
Privilege Escalation: Climbing the Ladder
Using that misconfiguration, he then jumped from a regular semi-privileged account to something with a bit more weight. From there, he had the keys to a high-priority account. You know the type—an account that unlocks access to the really sensitive stuff. It wasn’t long before he had full control over the domain.
I’m talking top-tier access: emails, credentials, confidential data. The works.
The Aftermath: Facing the Security Team
The debrief with the company’s IT and security teams was almost surreal. The Red Teamer laid out everything he had done—step by step—demonstrating how he had compromised the entire network. The looks on their faces said it all. In just a few days, with nothing but a company-issued laptop and some clever moves, I had infiltrated their entire system.
The Takeaway: It’s All About the Insiders
This exercise wasn’t just about finding weaknesses. It was a cold, hard look at how vulnerable companies can be to insider threats. You spend all this time building walls to keep hackers out, but what if the threat’s already inside? That’s the real danger here.
For this steel company, the takeaway was clear: the inside is just as dangerous as the outside. And for me? Well, it’s just another conversation with a Red Teamer
