In today’s threat landscape, meeting compliance requirements like PCI DSS, SOC 2, and the NIST Cybersecurity Framework is no longer just about ticking boxes. It's about proving that your security controls actually work under pressure. Internal threat simulations and real-world validation are increasingly being called for by auditors, regulators, and risk committees. That’s why Rapid7 is evolving how we help customers demonstrate resilience and readiness.
With Vector Command Advanced, the newest tier of our managed red team service, organizations can now incorporate internal network penetration and segmentation testing directly into their ongoing offensive security program — enabling them to validate the effectiveness of internal controls, prepare for audits, and align with key cybersecurity frameworks through hands-on attacker simulation.
Figure 1: Red Team Findings within Rapid7’s Command Platform
Why internal testing? Because real attackers don’t play fair.
Most organizations have spent years hardening the perimeter — but in practice, most modern attacks bypass it entirely. Whether it’s a phishing payload that lands successfully, a rogue employee, or an exposed asset in a hybrid environment, what matters most is how well you detect and respond after initial access.
Internal network penetration testing simulates what an attacker can do once they’ve landed inside the environment. It identifies:
Lateral movement paths through Active Directory or flat networks
Privilege escalation opportunities and misconfigured access
Sensitive data exposure across file shares, databases, or internal apps
Gaps in EDR/NDR visibility and response time
With Vector Command Advanced, these assessments are no longer separate engagements — they’re embedded directly into the cadence of your red team program.
CTEM alignment, from assessment to validation
While tactical in its own right, this evolution also maps directly to strategic frameworks like Gartner’s Continuous Threat Exposure Management (CTEM). Gartner states that ‘at any stage of maturity, a CTEM cycle must include five phases: scoping, discovery, prioritization, validation and mobilization’ (1). From Rapid7’s perspective, a brief description of those steps would include:
Scoping – Identify critical assets and likely attack paths
Discovery – Enumerate exposures across internal and external environments
Prioritization – Rank risks based on attacker likelihood and business impact
Validation – Test exposures through simulated attacks to prove exploitability
Mobilization – Remediate and improve based on real attack outcomes
Vector Command Advanced accelerates your CTEM maturity by addressing all five stages — and especially validation, the stage where many organizations fall short.
Traditional assessments show you what could happen; red teaming with internal testing shows you what actually happens when your defenses are challenged under real-world conditions.
Figure 2: External Attack Surface Management - IP addresses to be tested
The path to adversarial exposure validation (AEV)
It is our view that Vector Command Advanced exemplifies what Gartner defines as adversarial exposure validation (AEV) — technologies that deliver “consistent, continuous and automated evidence of the feasibility of an attack”
By embedding internal network penetration testing into a persistent red teaming program, Vector Command Advanced doesn't just identify theoretical vulnerabilities; it proves exploitability, confirming which exposures adversaries could actually exploit and whether defensive controls would detect or block them.
This mirrors AEV best practices by enabling the continuous validation of true risks — prioritizing what really matters and empowering organizations to refine their security posture based on empirical attacker scenarios in real time.
How Vector Command Advanced works
With this expanded service, Rapid7’s red team engagements now extend beyond external access and privilege escalation into the internal network — where adversaries live post-compromise.
Here's what you can expect:
Secure internal access via dedicated VPN or on-prem drop box
Lateral movement simulation testing traversal, escalation, and evasion techniques
Hybrid environment coverage across cloud-connected assets, domain trusts, and segmented networks
Actionable reporting aligned to MITRE ATT&CK, with both executive summaries and deep technical detail
Not just a one-and-done test, this is part of a continuous offensive security program that adapts to your changing environment.
Why now? Because modern exposure management requires a multi-vector approach.
The addition of internal testing is a critical leap forward in operationalizing continuous exposure management. With attack surfaces expanding and dwell times still high, organizations can’t afford blind spots inside the firewall.
By expanding Vector Command into the internal network, Rapid7 helps you:
Improve detection and response through real-world testing
Prioritize fixes based on validated attacker paths
Build confidence with stakeholders that controls actually work
Mature your CTEM program with continuous, contextual threat simulation
Ready to go beyond the perimeter?
Learn how Vector Command Advanced can help your team simulate, detect, and respond to real-world threats from the inside out.
Request a demo
Download the new Vector Command Solution Brief
Click through our self-guided product tour
(1) Gartner, “Use Continuous Threat Exposure Management to Reduce Cyberattacks”, July 2025 ID G00831705 (For Gartner subscribers only). GARTNER is a registered trademark and service mark of Gartner, Inc. and/or its affiliates in the U.S. and internationally and is used herein with permission. All rights reserved.
(2) Gartner, “Market Guide for Adversarial Exposure Validation”, March 2025 ID G00787029 (For Gartner subscribers only). GARTNER is a registered trademark and service mark of Gartner, Inc. and/or its affiliates in the U.S. and internationally and is used herein with permission. All rights reserved.
Gartner does not endorse any vendor, product or service depicted in its research publications and does not advise technology users to select only those vendors with the highest ratings or other designation. Gartner research publications consist of the opinions of Gartner’s research organization and should not be construed as statements of fact. Gartner disclaims all warranties, expressed or implied, with respect to this research, including any warranties of merchantability or fitness for a particular purpose.