Penetrating an information system can be done in several technical and non-technical ways. For example, one non-technical penetration technique is the social engineering method of misrepresentation. Attackers can misrepresent themselves as employees of a company, ask help desk for a password reset, and gain intranet access and all its application. Another non-technical, more dangerous penetration technique is known as the insider threat. Insider threat is when an employee or vendor with system-level credentials implements a virus, trojan horse, or steals the company's data.
On the Technical penetration side, one commonly used method is the "man-in-the-middle" attack. Man-in-the-middle penetration is when the attackers essentially eavesdrop and listen to data links between communication points with the network. Another commonly used technical penetration technique is to breach the system's access control. For example, an attacker may breach the access control through joint SQL injections in the hope of gaining "root" access or higher level, unauthorized methods.
Both non-technical and technical methods of penetration are often used in combination to achieve the desired results of unauthorized access. However, the approach of both methods differs from each other in the way they attempt to gain unauthorized access. Non-technical penetration relies on the human factor and human errors. Technical penetration relies on flaws within the software, hardware, and network layers.
Non-technical techniques, such as social engineering, are effective when dealing with an organization that relies heavily on call centers. Call center representatives helps thousands of people and often will not detect smooth, social engineering attackers. The attackers gain the trust of the call center representative and are giving sensitive user and company information. Specialized techniques, such as man-in-the-middle attacks, rely on software and hardware flaws. A typical man-in-the-middle attack is eavesdropping on wifi routers and user data transfer. The objective is to gain network credential access.
Minus the human, social engineering aspect , the following are useful cybersecurity tools to keep in the tool bag.
On the Technical penetration side, one commonly used method is the "man-in-the-middle" attack. Man-in-the-middle penetration is when the attackers essentially eavesdrop and listen to data links between communication points with the network. Another commonly used technical penetration technique is to breach the system's access control. For example, an attacker may breach the access control through joint SQL injections in the hope of gaining "root" access or higher level, unauthorized methods.
Both non-technical and technical methods of penetration are often used in combination to achieve the desired results of unauthorized access. However, the approach of both methods differs from each other in the way they attempt to gain unauthorized access. Non-technical penetration relies on the human factor and human errors. Technical penetration relies on flaws within the software, hardware, and network layers.
Non-technical techniques, such as social engineering, are effective when dealing with an organization that relies heavily on call centers. Call center representatives helps thousands of people and often will not detect smooth, social engineering attackers. The attackers gain the trust of the call center representative and are giving sensitive user and company information. Specialized techniques, such as man-in-the-middle attacks, rely on software and hardware flaws. A typical man-in-the-middle attack is eavesdropping on wifi routers and user data transfer. The objective is to gain network credential access.
Minus the human, social engineering aspect , the following are useful cybersecurity tools to keep in the tool bag.
