How ShadowPlex Detected a Red Team Attack Others Missed: A Real-World Case Study

As an official distributor of Acalvio Technologies, Softprom highlights how Acalvio’s ShadowPlex platform played a key role in uncovering a red team operation that bypassed traditional security tools.

The Objective: Stealthy Domain Admin Takeover

A large enterprise, facing continuous cyber risks, initiated a red team engagement with one critical goal: compromise a Domain Admin account within their Active Directory (AD). The red team used Link Local Multicast Name Resolution (LLMNR) poisoning, a common Man-in-the-Middle (MITM) tactic. Using tools like Responder.py or Inveigh.ps1, they intercepted internal traffic to harvest credentials and escalate privileges, eventually gaining full AD control. This stealthy technique often slips past traditional defenses. Why?

Why MITM and LLMNR Poisoning Go Undetected

LLMNR poisoning is particularly dangerous because it exploits a built-in Windows fallback mechanism when DNS resolution fails. Attackers intercept broadcast traffic and trick systems into sending them credentials—no brute force required. Traditional Endpoint Detection and Response (EDR) tools and logging solutions often fail to monitor this low-level network activity, especially if it originates from a fully compromised endpoint. As a result, the red team can operate silently, leaving defenders blind to malicious lateral movement.

The Defensive Breakthrough: AI-Powered Cyber Deception

Recognizing the gap in their detection stack, the blue team deployed Acalvio’s ShadowPlex platform to introduce deception-based security into the environment. Using ShadowPlex, they seeded the network with deceptive LLMNR broadcasts—strategically designed to lure attackers scanning for vulnerable systems. It worked. As soon as the red team engaged with the decoy traffic, ShadowPlex triggered a real-time alert, enabling the SOC team to take immediate action—well before any further damage could be done. This was a game-changer: what was once an undetectable tactic became a visibility point for defenders.

Lessons Learned: Deception Technology in Action

This case proves a critical point: even well-resourced security teams can miss stealthy attack methods that operate below the radar of standard tools. By introducing deception with ShadowPlex, the organization:

• Exposed attacker movement that evaded other defenses
• Gained early warning on privilege escalation attempts
• Reduced detection and response time
• Enhanced SOC efficiency without additional overhead

Deception didn’t replace their existing tools—it amplified their effectiveness.

Take the Next Step: Fortify Your Cyber Defense with ShadowPlex

At Softprom, we help organizations detect what others miss. As the official distributor of Acalvio Technologies, we can help you integrate AI-powered deception into your existing security infrastructure—quickly and efficiently.

Contact Softprom today to schedule a ShadowPlex demo and see how deception can close the gaps in your cyber defense.