UTILITIES CASE STUDY
Powered Protection
From access to assets, providing our insurer client security at every step.
Summary
Conduct structured, ethical penetration testing exercises to identify potential
vulnerabilities that could expose sensitive customer data across the IT and OT network,
specifically related to active directory and authentication servers.
Goals
Perform reconnaissance to identify potential configuration issues related to cyber
hygiene via controlled exploitation to ensure the IT and OT network were not impacted:
Planning & Reconnaissance
Utilize open-source intelligence (OSINT) and network scanning tools.
Scanning & Enumeration
Execute automated and manual techniques to identify vulnerabilities.
Exploitation & Validation
Perform controlled exploitation of discovered vulnerabilities for impact.
Reporting & Remediation Support
Document vulnerabilities and provide remediation recommendations.
Re-Testing
Execute a re-test to validate the effectiveness of the remediation efforts.
Strategic Impact
Using the network intelligence and scanning tools, Ampcus Cyber pen testers were able to find
an open SMB-share (overly permissive) that we could access and exploit. A portion of the
stored files were encrypted using 4NET Symmetric Cryptography. Ampcus Cyber wrote a Python
script to decrypt the 4NET, gaining access to the username, password, key pair and eventually
sensitive network devices in the IT and OT networks. The client’s SOC protocols locked that
machine out of the network, but all this happened on Day 1 of the engagement.