Book Image

Windows and Linux Penetration Testing from Scratch - Second Edition

By : Phil Bramwell
Book Image

Windows and Linux Penetration Testing from Scratch - Second Edition

By: Phil Bramwell

Overview of this book

Let’s be honest—security testing can get repetitive. If you’re ready to break out of the routine and embrace the art of penetration testing, this book will help you to distinguish yourself to your clients. This pen testing book is your guide to learning advanced techniques to attack Windows and Linux environments from the indispensable platform, Kali Linux. You'll work through core network hacking concepts and advanced exploitation techniques that leverage both technical and human factors to maximize success. You’ll also explore how to leverage public resources to learn more about your target, discover potential targets, analyze them, and gain a foothold using a variety of exploitation techniques while dodging defenses like antivirus and firewalls. The book focuses on leveraging target resources, such as PowerShell, to execute powerful and difficult-to-detect attacks. Along the way, you’ll enjoy reading about how these methods work so that you walk away with the necessary knowledge to explain your findings to clients from all backgrounds. Wrapping up with post-exploitation strategies, you’ll be able to go deeper and keep your access. By the end of this book, you'll be well-versed in identifying vulnerabilities within your clients’ environments and providing the necessary insight for proper remediation.
Table of Contents (23 chapters)
1
Part 1: Recon and Exploitation
9
Part 2: Vulnerability Fundamentals
17
Part 3: Post-Exploitation

Chapter 3: Sniffing and Spoofing

During the 1970s, the United States conducted a daring Signals Intelligence (SIGINT) operation against the Soviet Union called Operation Ivy Bells in the Sea of Okhotsk. Whereas any other message with a reasonable expectation of being intercepted would have been encrypted, some key communications under the Sea of Okhotsk took place in plaintext. Using a device that captured signals moving through the cable via electromagnetic induction, United States intelligence was able to retrieve sensitive military communication from hundreds of feet below the surface of the sea. It was a powerful demonstration of sniffing – the ability to capture and analyze data moving through a communications channel.

Decades earlier, the Allies were preparing to liberate Nazi-occupied Western Europe in the 1944 Battle of Normandy. A critical component of success was catching the Germans unprepared, but they knew an invasion was imminent; so, a massive deception campaign...