Cyber Reconnaissance
Learning Outcomes
After completing these activities you should be able to:
- Demonstrate the importance of reconnaissance in offensive cyber operations
- Perform simple reconnaissance actions using Nmap and interpret output
- Use open-source tools, such as CVE databases, to research vulnerable software
- Generate simple attack vectors for a vulnerable target
- Articulate pros and cons of proposed offensive operations
Overview
Over the course of the next three labs, you will perform reconnaissance against a target, attack it, then analyze your attack from a defensive perspective in order to protect against it. Today, we'll focus on the reconnaissance portion of that process. In effect, your lab group will perform some of the basic steps of a penetration test (pen test, for short), where hackers are hired to test the security of an organization by attacking it, then share their findings and recommendations afterwards. (For more on the overall methodology of pen-tests, read here; for an example high-level overview, see the graphic below.)
Specific lab directions are posted in Blackboard. Most actions will be performed through virtual machines using the vSphere Client. You may also wish to have notes on File Systems and Hierarchies, Operating System Shells and Permissions, and Hashing, Passwords, and Authentication handy
NOTE: Although the lab directions will direct a designated 'group leader' to perform most command-line actions, all lab group members must answer all lab questions. You must work as a team, not leave everything to the group leader!