Penetration Testing Flashcards
Penetration testing
a way of testing the areas of weaknesses in systems by using various malicious techniques. A penetration test simulates methods that an attacker would use to gain unauthorized access to a network and compromise the systems and allows an organization to understand how well it would tolerate a real attack.
Black box testing
Black box testing is the least time consuming and the least expensive. When conducting black box testing, the specialist has no knowledge of the inner workings of the system, and attempts to attack it from the viewpoint of a regular user.
Gray box testing
Gray box testing is a combination of black box and white box testing. The specialist will have some limited knowledge about the system, so it is a partially known environment, which gives some advantage to these hacking attempts.
White box testing
White box testing is the most time consuming and the most expensive because it is carried out by a specialist with knowledge of how the system works. It is therefore a known environment when they attempt to hack into it, emulating a malicious attack by an insider or by someone who has managed to gain such information beforehand, at the recon stage.
Penetration Phases
- Planning: Establishes the rules of engagement for conducting the test.
- Discovery: Conducting reconnaissance on the target to gain information.
- Attack: At this phase, you seek to gain access or penetrate the system using the information gathered in the previous phase.
- Reporting: At this phase, the tester delivers to the organization detailed documentation that includes the vulnerabilities identified, actions taken and the results.
Security assessment
A vulnerability scanner assesses computers, computer systems, networks, or applications for weaknesses. Commonly used vulnerability scanners on the market include Nessus, Retina, Core Impact and GFI LanGuard. Vulnerability scanners may be network scanners, application scanners or Web application scanners.
Network Security Testing Techniques
Operations security is concerned with the day-to-day practices necessary to first deploy and later maintain a secure system. Operations security starts with the planning and implementation process of a network. Typically, network security testing is conducted during the implementation and operational stages, after the system has been developed, installed, and integrated.
Network Security Testing Tools
Software tools that can be used to perform network testing include: Nmap/Zenmap, SuperScan, SIEM, GFI LANguard, Tripwire, Nessus, L0phtCrack, and Metasploit. Nmap provides classic TCP and UDP port scanning and sweeping, Stealth TCP and UDP port scans and sweeps, and remote operating system ID.
Penetration Testing
Penetration testing, or pen testing, is a way of testing the areas of weaknesses in systems by using various malicious techniques. A penetration test simulates methods that an attacker would use to gain unauthorized access to a network and compromise the systems and allows an organization to understand how well it would tolerate a real attack.
