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Kali Linux 2 ??? Assuring Security by Penetration Testing
Kali Linux 2 ??? Assuring Security by Penetration Testing

Kali Linux 2 ??? Assuring Security by Penetration Testing: Achieve the gold standard in penetration testing with Kali using this masterpiece, now in its third edition! , Third Edition

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Profile Icon Gerard Johansen Profile Icon Ali Profile Icon Heriyanto Profile Icon Allen
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Profile Icon Gerard Johansen Profile Icon Ali Profile Icon Heriyanto Profile Icon Allen
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Full star icon Full star icon Full star icon Full star icon Half star icon 4.2 (5 Ratings)
Paperback Sep 2016 572 pages 3rd Edition
eBook
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Kali Linux 2 ??? Assuring Security by Penetration Testing

Chapter 2. Penetration Testing Methodology

Penetration testing, often abbreviated as pentest, is a process that is followed to conduct an in-depth security assessment or audit. A methodology defines a set of rules, practices, and procedures that are pursued and implemented during the course of any information security audit program. A penetration testing methodology defines a roadmap with practical ideas and proven practices that can be followed to assess the true security posture of a network, application, system, or any combination thereof. This chapter offers summaries of several key penetration testing methodologies. Key topics covered in this chapter include:

  • A discussion on two well-known types of penetration testing—black box and white box
  • Describing the differences between the vulnerability assessment and penetration testing
  • Explaining several industry-acceptable security testing methodologies and their core functions, features, and benefits
  • A general penetration testing...

Types of penetration testing

Although there are different types of penetration testing, the three most general approaches accepted in the information security industry are black box, white box and grey box penetration tests. Each of these has distinct advantages and penetration testers should have a clear idea of each.

Black box testing

A black box penetration test mimics as closely as possible a real world attack. In this type of testing, the penetration tester has no knowledge of the system architecture, software, hardware, or any internal workings that are under assessment. In this way, the black box penetration test is conducted in much the same way that a threat actor would attack the system. This means that the penetration tester will ensure that all possible vulnerabilities are identified, that targets are properly enumerated, and all potential attack vectors are used to compromise the system.

Black box testing is very time consuming and expensive. There is also the potential to cause...

Vulnerability assessment versus penetration testing

There is always a need to understand and practice the correct terminology for security assessment. Throughout your career, you may run into commercial grade companies and non-commercial organizations that are likely to misinterpret the term penetration testing when trying to select an assessment type. It is important that you understand the differences between these types of tests.

Vulnerability assessment is a process to assess the internal and external security controls by identifying the threats that pose serious exposure to the organization's assets. This technical infrastructure evaluation not only points to the risks in the existing defenses, but also recommends and prioritizes the remediation strategies. The internal vulnerability assessment provides you with an assurance to secure the internal systems, while the external vulnerability assessment demonstrates the security of the perimeter defenses. In both testing criteria...

Security testing methodologies

Various open source methodologies have been created to address the security assessment's needs. Using these assessment methodologies, one can strategically accomplish the time-critical and challenging task of assessing the system's security regardless of its size and complexity. Some methodologies focus on the technical aspect of security testing, while others focus on managerial criteria, and very few address both sides. The basic idea behind formalizing these methodologies with your assessment is to execute different types of tests step-by-step in order to accurately judge the security posture of a system.

Therefore, you will be introduced to several well-known security assessment methodologies that provide you with an extended view of the assessing network and application security by highlighting their key features and benefits. These include the following:

  • Open Source Security Testing Methodology Manual
  • Information Systems Security Assessment Framework...

General penetration testing framework

Kali Linux is a versatile operating system that comes with a number of security assessment and penetration testing tools. Deriving and practicing these tools without a proper framework can lead to unsuccessful testing and might produce unsatisfying results. Thus, formalizing security testing with a structured framework is extremely important from a technical and managerial perspective.

The general testing framework presented in this section will constitute both the black box and white box approaches. It offers you a basic overview of the typical phases through which an auditor or penetration tester should progress. Either of these approaches can be adjusted according to the given target of assessment. The framework is composed of a number of steps that should be followed in a process at the initial, medial, and final stages of testing in order to accomplish a successful assessment. These include the following:

  • Target scoping
  • Information gathering
  • Target...

Information gathering

Once the scope is finalized, it is time to move into the reconnaissance phase. During this phase, a pentester uses a number of publicly available resources to learn more about his or her target. This information can be retrieved from Internet sources such as:

  • Forums
  • Bulletin boards
  • Newsgroups
  • Articles
  • Blogs
  • Social networks
  • Commercial or non-commercial websites

Additionally, the data can also be gathered through various search engines, such as Google, Yahoo!, MSN Bing, Baidu, and others. Moreover, an auditor can use the tools provided in Kali Linux to extract the network information about a target. These tools perform valuable data mining techniques to collect information through DNS servers, trace routes, the Whois database, e-mail addresses, phone numbers, personal information, and user accounts. As more information is gathered, the probability of conducting a successful penetration test is increased.

One area that is becoming more and more relevant is the use of the DarkWeb...

Types of penetration testing


Although there are different types of penetration testing, the three most general approaches accepted in the information security industry are black box, white box and grey box penetration tests. Each of these has distinct advantages and penetration testers should have a clear idea of each.

Black box testing

A black box penetration test mimics as closely as possible a real world attack. In this type of testing, the penetration tester has no knowledge of the system architecture, software, hardware, or any internal workings that are under assessment. In this way, the black box penetration test is conducted in much the same way that a threat actor would attack the system. This means that the penetration tester will ensure that all possible vulnerabilities are identified, that targets are properly enumerated, and all potential attack vectors are used to compromise the system.

Black box testing is very time consuming and expensive. There is also the potential to cause...

Vulnerability assessment versus penetration testing


There is always a need to understand and practice the correct terminology for security assessment. Throughout your career, you may run into commercial grade companies and non-commercial organizations that are likely to misinterpret the term penetration testing when trying to select an assessment type. It is important that you understand the differences between these types of tests.

Vulnerability assessment is a process to assess the internal and external security controls by identifying the threats that pose serious exposure to the organization's assets. This technical infrastructure evaluation not only points to the risks in the existing defenses, but also recommends and prioritizes the remediation strategies. The internal vulnerability assessment provides you with an assurance to secure the internal systems, while the external vulnerability assessment demonstrates the security of the perimeter defenses. In both testing criteria, each...

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Key benefits

  • Get a rock-solid insight into penetration testing techniques and test your corporate network against threats like never before
  • Formulate your pentesting strategies by relying on the most up-to-date and feature-rich Kali version in town—Kali Linux 2 (aka Sana).
  • Experience this journey with new cutting-edge wireless penetration tools and a variety of new features to make your pentesting experience smoother

Description

Kali Linux is a comprehensive penetration testing platform with advanced tools to identify, detect, and exploit the vulnerabilities uncovered in the target network environment. With Kali Linux, you can apply appropriate testing methodology with defined business objectives and a scheduled test plan, resulting in a successful penetration testing project engagement. Kali Linux – Assuring Security by Penetration Testing is a fully focused, structured book providing guidance on developing practical penetration testing skills by demonstrating cutting-edge hacker tools and techniques with a coherent, step-by-step approach. This book offers you all of the essential lab preparation and testing procedures that reflect real-world attack scenarios from a business perspective, in today's digital age.

Who is this book for?

If you are an IT security professional or a student with basic knowledge of Unix/Linux operating systems, including an awareness of information security factors, and you want to use Kali Linux for penetration testing, this book is for you.

What you will learn

  • - Find out to download and install your own copy of Kali Linux
  • - Properly scope and conduct the initial stages of a penetration test
  • - Conduct reconnaissance and enumeration of target networks
  • - Exploit and gain a foothold on a target system or network
  • - Obtain and crack passwords
  • - Use the Kali Linux NetHunter install to conduct wireless penetration testing
  • - Create proper penetration testing reports

Product Details

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Publication date, Length, Edition, Language, ISBN-13
Publication date : Sep 22, 2016
Length: 572 pages
Edition : 3rd
Language : English
ISBN-13 : 9781785888427
Vendor :
Offensive Security
Category :
Tools :

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Product Details

Publication date : Sep 22, 2016
Length: 572 pages
Edition : 3rd
Language : English
ISBN-13 : 9781785888427
Vendor :
Offensive Security
Category :
Tools :

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Table of Contents

17 Chapters
1. Beginning with Kali Linux Chevron down icon Chevron up icon
2. Penetration Testing Methodology Chevron down icon Chevron up icon
3. Target Scoping Chevron down icon Chevron up icon
4. Information Gathering Chevron down icon Chevron up icon
5. Target Discovery Chevron down icon Chevron up icon
6. Enumerating Target Chevron down icon Chevron up icon
7. Vulnerability Mapping Chevron down icon Chevron up icon
8. Social Engineering Chevron down icon Chevron up icon
9. Target Exploitation Chevron down icon Chevron up icon
10. Privilege Escalation Chevron down icon Chevron up icon
11. Maintaining Access Chevron down icon Chevron up icon
12. Wireless Penetration Testing Chevron down icon Chevron up icon
13. Kali Nethunter Chevron down icon Chevron up icon
14. Documentation and Reporting Chevron down icon Chevron up icon
A. Supplementary Tools Chevron down icon Chevron up icon
B. Key Resources Chevron down icon Chevron up icon
Index Chevron down icon Chevron up icon

Customer reviews

Rating distribution
Full star icon Full star icon Full star icon Full star icon Half star icon 4.2
(5 Ratings)
5 star 60%
4 star 0%
3 star 40%
2 star 0%
1 star 0%
CliveH Jun 06, 2017
Full star icon Full star icon Full star icon Full star icon Full star icon 5
Fantastic read / manual for anyone that is interested in learning Penetration Testing and may go on to take the OSCP course & exam to gain a recognised qualification in this field.
Amazon Verified review Amazon
Mark Courson Dec 09, 2016
Full star icon Full star icon Full star icon Full star icon Full star icon 5
This book is a value. I would say if one is serious about learning Kali Linux 2 and pen testing, go for it. There are some practical hands on tasks through out this book. I found it helpful to first read through them and then go back and preform them on my VM. I don't think I will doing any of this in the real world after learning about various cases of cyber crime and the punishments associated with them. It is nice (or scary) to understand how it all works and the possibilities of what can be done. A good understanding of Ruby, Perl, MySQL, Bash,...etc and various Linux OS commands would be helpful to know prior.
Amazon Verified review Amazon
Amazon Customer Dec 05, 2016
Full star icon Full star icon Full star icon Full star icon Full star icon 5
Very good book! Easy to use!
Amazon Verified review Amazon
Gerald Pottier Jan 27, 2018
Full star icon Full star icon Full star icon Empty star icon Empty star icon 3
Its a book about kali, i for once would like a book that has everything it needs to work out the details on a dvd included with it. A lot of downloading of other products other then Kali ~ to things that require a new set of creds at other sites.
Amazon Verified review Amazon
Rich Aug 09, 2017
Full star icon Full star icon Full star icon Empty star icon Empty star icon 3
Gods but you still need prior gen to get the most from this
Amazon Verified review Amazon
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