Hacking Your Way to System Security: Internet Penetration Testing
Overview: This sample chapter from Hack I.T.: Security Through Penetration Testing describes a consistent approach to penetration testing that involves three steps: network enumeration, vulnerability analysis, and exploitation.
Professional consultants hired to perform penetration testing need a well-defined methodology to systematically check for known vulnerabilities and identify potential security holes in a limited time frame. A single methodology also helps ensure a consistent level of reliability in results across multiple engagements. This sample chapter from Hack I.T.: Security Through Penetration Testing introduces tools and an overall methodology for penetration testing that can be broken into a three-step process:
- Network enumeration - discovering as much as possible about the target.
- Vulnerability analysis - identifying all potential avenues of attack.
- Exploitation - attempting to compromise the network by leveraging the results of the vulnerability analysis and following as many avenues identified as time allows.