Full Report
SensePost will be at Black Hat Europe 2013 to deliver the Bootcamp module of the Hacking by Numbers series. This method based introductory course emphasizes the structure, approach, and thought-processes involved in hacking (over tools and tricks). The course is popular with beginners, who gain their first view into the world of hacking, as well as experts, who appreciate the sound, structured approach. A break down of what will be covered during this course:
Analysis Summary
Based on the provided article, which describes a training course focused on the *methods* and *structure* of hacking, rather than providing explicit security recommendations, the extracted best practices will focus on the **defensive posture required to mitigate the specific attack vectors covered in the course content.**
Since the article lists topics covered in a *hacking* course, the guidelines below address the necessary controls to defend against those listed penetration testing methodologies.
# Best Practices: Structured Defense Against Hacking Methodologies
## Overview
These practices outline a structured, methodical approach to bolstering security defenses by addressing common attack phases and specific vulnerability classes typically explored in advanced penetration testing and introductory hacking courses, such as those covering reconnaissance, web application exploitation, and CMS targeting. The focus is on adopting a structured defense model mirroring the structured offense taught.
## Key Recommendations
### Immediate Actions (Addressing Reconnaissance and Basic Exploitation)
1. **Implement Strict External Information Control:** Immediately audit and restrict public-facing information sources (job postings, forum activity, outdated press releases) that could be utilized during the Internet Reconnaissance phase.
2. **Enforce Principle of Least Privilege (Initial Review):** Conduct a rapid audit of the most commonly targeted low-privilege accounts (e.g., default CMS user accounts) and enforce MFA on all administrative/privileged access immediately.
3. **Deploy Basic Web Application Firewalls (WAF):** Enable and tune a WAF in monitoring mode immediately to begin passively logging common signature-based SQL Injection attempts identified during early Vulerability Discovery phases.
### Short-term Improvements (1-3 months)
1. **Systematic Vulnerability Discovery Remediation:** After system scans, prioritize patching and configuration changes based on the severity and exploitability of identified vulnerabilities, focusing first on known flaws in Content Management Systems (CMS).
2. **Develop Standardized SQL Injection Defenses:** Mandate the transition of all new database queries toward parameterized queries, stored procedures, or ORMs to actively prevent successful SQL Injection attacks.
3. **Establish Baseline Fingerprinting Countermeasures:** Review web server banner grabbing results (if applicable) and disable or obfuscate non-essential server headers to complicate Internet Fingerprinting efforts.
### Long-term Strategy (3+ months)
1. **Integrate Structured Security Mindset:** Implement security standards (like using the structure of the Hacking by Numbers methodology in reverse) to guide defensive architecture planning, ensuring security controls are built against specific attack steps rather than isolated vulnerabilities.
2. **Establish CMS Hardening Standard Operating Procedure (SOP):** Develop and automate a dedicated SOP for deploying, hardening, and routinely updating all Content Management Systems, ensuring zero reliance on default accounts or themes.
3. **Implement Continuous Security Training:** Roll out regular, structured security awareness training based on common exploitation vectors (like SQLi) rather than generic phishing campaigns, ensuring employees understand *how* an attack unfolds.
## Implementation Guidance
### For Small Organizations
- **Focus on Defaults:** Concentrate efforts on systematically changing all default credentials, configuration files, and themes across all installed software (especially CMS instances).
- **Leverage Managed Services:** Utilize managed WAF or cloud security services to gain external expertise in handling initial SQL Injection filtering without requiring dedicated internal specialists.
### For Medium Organizations
- **Establish Vulnerability Triage Team:** Formalize a process where vulnerabilities discovered through internal testing or external sources are triaged based on potential exploitability (mirroring the *Exploiting Known Vulnerabilities* step) and assigned SLAs for remediation.
- **Inventory Core Web Assets:** Create a definitive, controlled inventory of all public-facing web applications, prioritizing those handling sensitive data for immediate SQL Injection vulnerability assessment.
### For Large Enterprises
- **Integrate Offensive Testing into SDLC:** Mandate security testing steps mimicking the "Vulnerability Discovery" and "Exploiting" phases within the Software Development Life Cycle (SDLC) for all internal applications before production deployment.
- **Develop Customized Signatures:** Integrate findings from internal (and potentially external) penetration tests into Web Application Firewalls and Intrusion Detection Systems to catch logic-based attacks that standard tools might miss during high-level reconnaissance.
## Configuration Examples
*Note: Specific code examples are not provided in the source text, therefore this section outlines configuration *areas* to address.*
1. **Server Header Stripping (Web Server Configuration):** Configure your web server (e.g., Apache/Nginx) to suppress or alter headers that reveal underlying software versions (e.g., `Server: Apache/2.4.1 (Unix)` should be changed or removed).
2. **Database Parameterization Enforcement:** Implement pre-commit hooks or linting rules within the codebase to flag any new code that builds SQL queries using string concatenation instead of parameter binding functions.
3. **CMS Patch Management:** Configure automated checks for CMS core files and installed plugins/modules, blocking administrative access if versions lag more than 48 hours behind the vendor's latest stable release.
## Compliance Alignment
- **ISO/IEC 27001:** A12.6.1 (Management of technical vulnerabilities) and A14.2.1 (Secure development policy).
- **NIST SP 800-53:** RA-5 (Vulnerability Scanning) and SI-4 (Information System Monitoring).
- **CIS Controls:** Control 7 (Vulnerability Management) and Control 12 (Application Software Security).
## Common Pitfalls to Avoid
- **Focusing Only on Tools, Not Thought Process:** Do not rely solely on automated vulnerability scanners without understanding the underlying methodology an attacker uses to chain reconnaissance, fingerprinting, and exploitation steps.
- **Neglecting CMS Specific Hardening:** Treating Content Management Systems (which are often complex, frequently updated applications) as static infrastructure elements; they require continuous, specialized hardening.
- **Treating SQL Injection as a Simple Patch:** Avoiding the common mistake of only fixing the immediate SQL error found, rather than fundamentally shifting to parameterized query usage across the entire application.
## Resources
- **Security Frameworks:** OWASP Top 10 (particularly Injection and Broken Access Control sections for foundational guidance).
- **Application Security Tooling (Conceptual):** Review documentation for tools used in vulnerability discovery and exploitation to understand the specific functions they automate, enabling better defense implementation.