DoS attacks result in a multitude of consequences. Let’s look at some common examples of what is seen in the real world, and what you’ll most likely see on the exam: Web Server Compromise A successful DoS attack and subsequent compromise of a web server constitutes the widest public exposure against a specific target. What … Read more
Denial of service is an attack that aims at preventing normal communication with a resource by disabling the resource itself, or by disabling an infrastructure device providing connectivity to it. The disabled resource could be in the form of customer data, website resources, or a specific service, to name a few. The most common form … Read more
social networking has exploded in popularity so quickly, companies and individuals have not had much time to deal with the problems the technology has brought to bear. Surveys taken in recent years have found that many companies either do not have a policy in place regarding social networking or are unaware of the risks. Recently, … Read more
Social media can be made safer if you take simple steps to strengthen your accounts. In fact, it has been found in many cases that with a little care and effort, you can lessen or avoid many common security issues and risks. You can reuse some of the guidance from earlier chapters and apply it … Read more
Over the last decade, some of the biggest security threats have come from the use of social networking. The rapid growth of these technologies lets millions of users each day post on Facebook, Twitter, and many other networks. What type of information are they posting? ■ Personal information ■ Photos ■ Location information ■ Friend … Read more
An attacker will look for targets of opportunity or potential victims who have the most to offer. Some common targets include receptionists, help desk personnel, users, executives, system administrators, and outside vendors. Let’s look at each and see why this is. Receptionists—one of the first people visitors see in many companies—represent prime targets. They see … Read more
Social engineering can have many potential outcomes on an organization, some obvious and some less so. It is important that you understand each of these, because they can have far-reaching effects: Economic Loss This one is fairly obvious. A social engineer may cause a company or organization to lose money through deception, lost productivity, or … Read more
Social engineering, like the other attacks we have explored in this book, consists of multiple phases, each designed to move the attacker one step closer to the ultimate goal. Let’s look at each of these phases and how the information gained from one leads to the next: 1. Gather information and details about a target … Read more
Why has social engineering been successful, and why will it continue to be so? To answer this, you must first understand why it works and what this means to you as a pentesters. Going after the human being instead of the technology works for a number of reasons: Trust Human beings are a trusting lot. … Read more
Social engineering is a term that is widely used but poorly understood. It’s generally defined as any type of attack that is nontechnical in nature and that involves some type of human interaction with the goal of trying to trick or coerce a victim into revealing information or violate normal security practices. Social engineers are … Read more