Burglars and testers share steps
A burglar looks at a house first. Which windows are open? Is there an alarm? Who is home?
Then the burglar tries a door. A tester with permission works in the same order, but every step is agreed and written down.
Learn the order and you can follow any test.
By the end of this lesson
Note
I can put the six stages of a penetration test in order and say what each one does.
Key words
| Word | What it means |
|---|---|
| Reconnaissance | finding out about the target before touching it |
| Scanning | using tools to find open ports and running services |
| Open port | a door on a computer that is listening for connections |
| Vulnerability | a weak point that an attacker could use |
| Exploit | to use a weak point to get in |
| Network topology | how the devices of a network are laid out and joined |
| Penetration testing | trying to break in, with permission, to find weak points |
| Network | devices linked so they can share data |
| Operating system | the main software that runs a computer |
The cells students fill in are left blank in this preview.
Starter
Have a go
Starter
3 questionsYour answers are marked here and are not kept. A college account keeps every student’s marks.
Plan, look, then scan
Planning and scoping. Agree the rules, timings, legal matters and contract.
Reconnaissance. Learn about the business and its systems: the network topology, operating systems and applications. A website and job adverts can give clues.
Scanning. Use tools to find open ports and network services.
Assess, exploit, report
Vulnerability assessment. Scan the system for weak points. Judge whether each could be used to get in.
Exploitation. Try to use a weak point and get in.
Reporting. Write the findings and give advice to fix or reduce each weak point.
Check
Have a go
Check
3 questionsYour answers are marked here and are not kept. A college account keeps every student’s marks.