2026 lateral movement exposure report unveils network vulnerabilities

In the evolving landscape of cybersecurity, exposure of internal network vulnerabilities is a continuing concern for enterprises. Zero Networks has published its 2026 Lateral Movement Exposure Report, which examines network security conditions and vulnerabilities across 312 enterprise environments over a one-month period.

The report highlights that 80% of enterprise servers are accessible internally, which can increase the potential impact of issues such as ransomware attacks and operational disruption. This internal communication, often referred to as East-West traffic, accounts for over 70% of organisational communications and is frequently less strictly controlled than external traffic.

To support visibility into these risks, Zero Networks introduced Breach Map, a complimentary tool intended to help security teams visualise internal network vulnerabilities. A live demonstration of the tool is scheduled for June 11 during a webinar.

The report identifies eleven lateral movement risks; the following are included among them:

• Widespread internal AI deployment: approximately 80% of enterprises use internal AI agents, while governance over these systems is reported as limited, which may create unmanaged internal access points.
• Internal security configurations: over 87% of enterprise servers allow inbound RDP or SSH connections, which can be used as access paths after initial compromise.
• Administrative protocol exposure: 78% of servers are accessible via protocols such as SMB or WinRM, which are commonly associated with lateral movement in ransomware incidents.
• Legacy authentication usage: 43% of networks still use NTLM for internal authentication, which may be vulnerable to credential replay and privilege escalation techniques.
• Direct user access paths: in 12% of environments, compromised devices can provide access to critical systems through user-to-server administrative channels.

Overall, the report describes a pattern where, once initial access is achieved, movement within enterprise networks may be insufficiently restricted, allowing broader system exposure. It also notes that the use of AI within environments may contribute to expanding internal attack surfaces if not properly managed.

The findings are presented as supporting a shift in focus toward internal network controls, with emphasis on limiting lateral movement and reducing the potential scope of impact following a breach.