Penetration testing is the act of attempting to break systems, networks and software in order to determine where the bad guys might get in. Once you have determined the holes, they can be fixed but until they have been located, they are exposures to your organization.Penetration testing is an art. You can learn a lot of techniques and understand all of the tools, but the reality is that software is complex, especially when you start putting a lot of software systems together. It’s that complexity that means that there is no one-size-fits-all solution when it comes to finding ways to get into systems. An attack that may work against one Web server may not work for the same Web server running on a different system. Sometimes, you can try a particular attack a number of times without success before it suddenly starts working and you find a way to break into the system. A skilled and successful penetration tester has not only the technical skills necessary to run the tools and understand what is happening, but also the creativity necessary to try different approaches.Anyone who has some familiarity with computers and an interest in information security and penetration testing could be the audience for this book. Learn how to break systems, networks, and software in order to determine where the bad guys might get in. Once the holes have been determined, this short book discusses how they can be fixed. Until they have been located, they are exposures to your organization. By reading Penetration Testing Basics, you'll gain the foundations of a simple methodology used to perform penetration testing on systems and networks for which you are responsible. What You Will Learn Identify security vulnerabilities Use some of the top security tools to identify holes Read reports from testing tools Spot and negate common attacks Identify common Web-based attacks and exposures as well as recommendations for closing those holes Who This Book Is For Anyone who has some familiarity with computers and an interest in information security and penetration testing. Penetration testing is the act of attempting to break into systems, networks, and software in order to determine where the bad guys might get in. By reading this book, you'll gain the foundations of a simple methodology used to perform penetration testing on systems and networks for which you are responsible. Penetration Testing Basics explains: How to identify security vulnerabilities How to use some of the top security tools in order to identify holes How to read reports from testing tools Common vulnerability types and attacks Common Web-based attacks and exposures as well as recommendations for closing those holes 1. What Is Penetration Testing? Information Security Penetration Testing vs Security Assessments Who does Penetration Testing2. Digging for Information Google Hacking Social Networking Job Sites Technical sources (e.g., regional Internet registries)3. What's Open? Port scanning Banner grabbing4. Vulnerabilities Scanning for vulnerabilities Nessus vs Nexpose vs OpenVAS Fuzzing5. Exploitation Using Metasploit Exploit Database6. Breaking Web Sites Common Vulnerabilities< Web Scanning7. Reporting
