Category: Gaining Access

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Linux hacking guide for beginners

Hello, aspiring ethical hackers. In this blogpost, you will learn about Linux hacking. It comes under gaining access, third of the 5 phases of ethical hacking.

What is Linux hacking?

Although Linux hacking can be generalized as any type of hacking attempt made on Linux systems, gaining initial access to the Linux system can be termed as Linux Hacking.

Why is it important?

Linux hacking is one of the most important topics in ethical hacking. Why? According to the Statcounter global stats, as of March 2024 operating system market share, the topmost operating systems being used around the world are Linux or its variants. The same report also states that usage of Linux as desktop increased to 4.05% this year. Also note that majority of the servers around the world are Linux servers. So, learning Linux hacking can provide lot of knowledge. But what are the various methods used for hacking Linux systems.

Linux hacking techniques

There are multiple ways by which hackers can gain initial access on Linux systems. They are,

  1. Vulnerabilities in the operating system or kernel
  2. Application vulnerabilities.
  3. Payloads & malicious software.
  4. Password attacks.
  5. Misconfigured services.
  6. Social- engineering

1. Vulnerabilities in the operating system or kernel:

An operating system or kernel is the core of any Linux system. Organizations around the world use various versions of Linux operating system for different purposes. So, any vulnerability exposed in the operating system can be exploited by hackers to gain initial access.

For example, in 2014, a vulnerability named Heartbleed was detected in the OpenSSL package that comes inbuilt with Linux kernel. It was used to exploit HTTPS enabled websites of Yahoo, Google, Dropbox, Facebook and other thousands of websites.

2. Application vulnerabilities:

A lot of applications or programs are installed on Linux for performing various functions. Any vulnerabilities in these installed programs can be exploited successfully to hack the Linux system. For example, hackers exploited Apache ActiveMQ software to deploy Kinsing malware on the infected systems in November 2023, Apache ActiveMQ is used as a communication bridge between multiple components that can be hosted on separate servers.

3. Malicious payloads:

Hackers just don’t use vulnerabilities to gain access. They also use malicious payloads like malware and virus to hack Linux systems. Since 2023, malware especially ransomware designed for Linux systems in or the rise. This malware is usually delivered by exploiting vulnerabilities, phishing attack or drive-by downloads. Examples of some payload generators are msfvenom, Veil, MSFPC, Cypher etc.

4. Password attacks:

As already mentioned, most of the servers in the world are built on Linux as it is open source. These include services like FTP, HTTP, SSH etc. If credentials of any of these services are cracked by hackers, it will provide a way to gain access to the underlying Linux server. Learn more about password cracking.

5. Misconfigured services:

Sometimes, services being used in the target Linux systems can be misconfigured either by mistake or by ignorance. Hackers can exploit these misconfigurations to hack the Linux system. For example, in March 2023, an advanced malware campaign exploited misconfigurations in Apache Hadoop, YARN, Docker, Confluence and Redis on Linux instances.

7. Social-engineering:

No matter how strong the firewall on the network is or how secure the Linux devices are in a network, if the employees of the organization are not well trained, they can eventually give hackers access into the network or Linux devices. Social-engineering is often very underrated as a factor that allows hackers to hack Linux systems. Learn more about social engineering.

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Windows hacking guide for beginners

Hello, aspiring ethical hackers. This article is a beginners guide for Windows hacking. It comes under gaining access, third of the 5 phases of ethical hacking.

What is Windows hacking?

Although Windows hacking can be generalized to any hacking performed on the Windows operating system, gaining initial access to the Windows systems is known as Windows hacking.

Why is it important?

According to StatCounter Global Stats, over 72.52% of people worldwide use Windows as their Desktop. That is the reason why Windows hacking is one of the most important topics of ethical hacking.

Windows hacking techniques

There are multiple ways by which hackers can gain initial access on Windows systems. They are,

  1. Vulnerabilities in the operating system or kernel
  2. Application vulnerabilities.
  3. Payloads & malicious software.
  4. Password attacks.
  5. Misconfigured services.
  6. Social- engineering

1. Vulnerabilities in the operating system or kernel:

An operating system or kernel is the core of any Windows system. Enterprises around the world use Windows operating system for various purposes. As already mentioned, according to StatCounter Global Stats, over 72.52% of people worldwide use Windows as their Desktop. So, any vulnerability exposed in the operating system can be exploited by hackers to gain initial access.

For example, in 2008, ms08-067 vulnerability was exploited by Conficker worm to infect millions of devices around the world. Similarly, another vulnerability in Windows software, Eternal Blue (ms17-010) was exploited by NSA for intelligence gathering and counter terrorism missions. When this vulnerability got leaked, it was exploited by the WannaCry ransomware attack that infected 2,30,000 Windows PCs across 150 countries.

2. Application vulnerabilities:

A lot of applications or programs are installed in Windows operating system to perform various functions. Any vulnerabilities in these installed programs can be exploited successfully to hack the Windows system. For example, macros feature in Microsoft office has been exploited for a long time by hacker groups around the world to gain initial access until this was banned officially by Microsoft. Macros is a feature in Microsoft office to automate procedures.

In 2022, Chinese hacker group Cicada, exploited VLC Media Player, a popular and open source multimedia player to hack Windows systems and installed malware for espionage purpose. They did this by embedding a malicious file alongside the VLC Media Player’s export functions.

3. Malicious payloads:

Hackers just don’t use vulnerabilities to gain access. They also use malicious payloads like malware and virus to hack Windows systems. These payloads can be spread by using dive-by downloads or phishing. For example, Zeus trojan that specializes stealing banking information is spread through same techniques mentioned above. Examples of some payload generators are msfvenom, Veil, MSFPC, Cypher etc.

4. Password attacks:

Some Enterprise Windows systems are enabled with remote access so that employees can connect to them remotely for the purpose of their work. The protocols enabling remote access like SSH, FTP, Telnet and RDP etc. Cracking the credentials of these services give hackers a way to gain access to the servers and subsequently to the Windows system. Learn more about password cracking.

As recently as November 2023, a Russian Hacker group (Midnight Blizzard) used password spraying attack, a type of password attack to compromise some corporate accounts of Microsoft users.

5. Misconfigured services:

Sometimes, services being used in the target Windows network can be misconfigured either by mistake or on purpose. Hackers can exploit these misconfigurations to hack the Windows system. In October 2022, Microsoft company exposed one endpoint to public internet without authentication. This led to data leak of 65,000 customers in 111 countries. The total size of the stolen data was 2.4 terabytes.

7. The human factor:

No matter how strong the firewall on the network is or how secure the Windows devices are in a network, if the employees of the organization are not well trained, they can eventually give hackers access into the network or Windows devices. Social-engineering is often very underrated as a factor that allows hackers to hack Windows systems. Learn more about social engineering.

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Gaining access in ethical hacking: Techniques

Hello, aspiring ethical hackers. This article is a beginner guide to gaining access. Gaining access is the third phase in ethical hacking after footprinting and scanning & enumeration. It should be noted that the earlier two phases will play a major role in gaining access. This blogpost will explain you about different ways in which hackers or pen testers gain access to a target system or network.

What is gaining access?

In our previous blogpost, you learnt what a shell is and types of shell in cybersecurity. When a hacker or pen tester gains a shell on the target system or network, it is called as gaining access. Gaining access is the first phase where a hacker or pen tester gains some control on the target system.

Methods of gaining access

There are multiple ways by which hackers can gain initial access. They are,

  1. Vulnerabilities in the operating system or firmware.
  2. Application vulnerabilities.
  3. Payloads & malicious software.
  4. Password’ cracking.
  5. Misconfigured services.
  6. Social- engineering.
  7. Wi Fi hacking

1. Vulnerabilities in the operating system or firmware:

An operating system is the core of any computing device. Enterprises around the world use different operating systems for different purposes. Some of the popular operating systems used by enterprises around the world are Windows, Linux, MacOS, Android, IOS, chrome OS, Red Hat Enterprise Linux, Solaris, Centos, Ubuntu, IRIX and FreeBSD etc. No matter what operating system it is, it is a software consisting of programs. So, any vulnerability exposed in the operating system can be exploited by hackers to gain initial access. For example, ms08-067 and EternalBlue.

2. Application vulnerabilities:

An operating system is by itself not useful. So, a lot of application or programs are installed over the operating system to perform certain functions. Any vulnerabilities in these installed programs can be exploited successfully gain initial access. For example, Macros or Excel Macros.

3. Malicious payloads:

Hackers just don’t use vulnerabilities to gain access. They also use malicious payloads like malware and virus to gain access. Learn more about payload generators.

4. Cracked passwords:

Sometimes enterprise systems are enabled with remote access so that employees can connect to them remotely for the purpose of their work. The protocols enabling remote access like SSH, FTP, Telnet and RDP etc. Cracking the credentials of these services give hackers a way to gain access to the servers and subsequently to the entire system or network. Learn more about password cracking.

5. Misconfigured services:

Sometimes, services being used by the target network can be misconfigured either by mistake or on purpose. Hackers can exploit these misconfigurations to gain initial access.

6. Hacking Wi-Fi network:

Wi Fi hacking is often sometimes ignored as a factor that can provide initial access to the hackers. Hacking WiFi (especially if the password is not complex) is very easy compared gaining access through the above explained methods. It also provides easy access to hack. Learn more about WiFi hacking.

7. The human factor:

No matter how strong the firewall on the network is or how secure the devices are in a network, if the employees of the organization are not well trained, they can eventually give hackers access into the network or devices. Social-engineering is often very underrated as a factor that allows hackers to gain access. Learn more about social engineering.

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Beginners guide to Social Engineering

Hello, aspiring ethical hackers. In this blogpost you will learn about Social Engineering. Social Engineering is one of the most important techniques in Black Hat Hacking. It is used by APTs and Threat Actors even now.

What is Social Engineering?

Social Engineering is the art in which a human is convinced to perform actions which he is not intended to or shouldn’t be performing under normal circumstances. Hackers use social engineering to grab credentials, gather any required information about the organization or to gain initial access etc. It exploits human emotions like intention to trust, curiosity and other emotions.

Types of Social Engineering

Social Engineering can be classified into three types. They are: Human based, Computer based and Mobile based.

social_engineering

Human based Social Engineering

In human based social engineering, hacker interacts with a human personally to perform the attack. There are many types of social engineering attacks. Some of them are,

1. Dumpster diving:

Dumpster diving is a technique in which a hacker searches the dump or dustbin to gather any information about the organization.

2. Impersonation:

In this attack, attacker impersonates as another user to gather important information about any organization or performing hacking attacks. Any information obtained in dumpster diving can be useful in this stage. Obviously, an attacker will impersonate as a legitimate user of the organization or a person of authority or anyone else who has a chance to enter a company physically or virtually.

In June 2023, hacking group tracked as “Pink Drainer” impersonated journalists in phishing attacks to gain access to 1932 Discord and Twitter accounts. They stole approximately $29,97,707 worth of cryptocurrency.

3. Piggybacking:

Piggybacking is used to gain access to the premises of a company or organization. In piggybacking, a genuine employee of an organization allows access to the attacker because he/she thinks that the attacker has genuine reason to be on the organization’s premises. It usually happens when the hacker impersonates as anyone who is allowed into company’s premises. For example, delivery boy, technician etc.

4. Tailgating:

In tailgating, which is another social engineering techniques to gain illegal access to the company’s premises, a hacker tries to gain access to the company’s premises by quickly following behind a legitimate or genuine user immediately after he/she gains access into company’s premises.

5. Eavesdropping:

Eaves dropping is secretly listening to the conversation of employees of the organization etc. This can happen anywhere but mostly happens at recreational spots.

6. Shoulder surfing:

Shoulder surfing is the technique in which an attacker spies on the legitimate users of the organization by staying behind them. Shoulder surfing is normally used to see the legitimate user is entering his credentials but it can also be used to gather any valuable information.

7. Vishing:

In vishing, also known as voice phishing, a hacker uses voice over a phone or a VOIP call to perform social engineering.
In July 2020, hackers used vishing to trick Twitter employees into revealing account credentials of 130 Twitter account including that of Barack Obama, Joe Biden and Kanye West. The share value of Twitter plummeted by 7% after this incident.

8. Pretexting:

In pretexting, attacker creates specific scenarios or events by which the user he is targeting reveals information he/she makes.

Computer based Social Engineering

When a computer is used in an engineering attack, it is known as computer based social engineering attack. There are two types of computer based social engineering attacks. They are,

1. Phishing:

In phishing, attackers create a fake website (impersonating a genuine website) and divert the target users to this fake website to grab their credentials or make them download malware. There are multiple examples of hackers creating a fake phishing website to steal credentials, credit card information or other sensitive information. In August 2023, Supreme Court (the highest court of India) warned users about a fake website impersonating website of the Supreme Court trying to solicit personal details and confidential information from users.

2. Spear Phishing:

In spear phishing, a hacker selects specific users as targets and sends them an email with malware attached to the email and luring them to download and execute the attached payloads or take some other action. In February 2022, Russian hacking group known as Gamaredon, targeted Ukrainian government agencies and NGO’s with a spear phishing email campaign with malware laden emails.

Mobile based Social Engineering

If an engineering attack uses mobile it is known as mobile based social engineering. SMishing is a type of mobile based social engineering attack.

1. SMishing:

SMishing or SMS phishing is a phishing attack which is performed by sending a SMS to the target user’s mobile phone with a link to the fake website attacker created. In 2020, cyber criminals sent SMS messages to various user’s mobile phones asking them to click on a link to view important information about an upcoming delivery from United States Post Office (USPS). When users clicked on the links in these SMS, it took them to a malicious website that was designed to steal user’s Google account credentials.

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Beginners guide to Computer Virus

Hello aspiring Ethical Hackers. In this blogpost, you will learn in detail about computer virus. In our previous article on malware, you have read that virus is one type of malicious software.

What is a VIRUS?

Virus stands for Vital Information Resources Under Seize (VIRUS). Once a computer virus infects any system it tries to seize is resources. Like it’s pathological name sake, a virus attaches itself to an executable or program to propagate or infect computers. VIRUS always requires human action or interaction to infect systems. Let’s now study about different types of Virus and what resources they affect.

Types of Computer VIRUS

1. Browser Hijacker:

Have you ever opened your browser and noticed that all of its settings have changed? These settings include but not restricted to the URL of the home page, favorites and even the default search engine. Well, this is the case of a Browser Hijacker. It is called so because it simply hijacks your browser to alter its settings and also redirect to a phishing site or to display advance.

Browser hijackers are used by hackers to earn some good amount of money. For example, a browser hijacker named CoolWebSearch infected victim’s browsers and redirected the homepage and search results to the links the hackers wanted. Every time a victim clicked on these links, the hacker was paid money.

2. Web scripting virus:

A web scripting is a virus that exploits vulnerabilities in browser to infect web pages or websites and inject malicious code. This virus is useful to send spam or for stealing cookies.

3. File Infector virus:

One of the most common viruses, file infector virus infects files and copies itself into other executable programs such as .COM and EXE files. Some file infecting viruses infect critical system files too thus affecting the operating system.

4. Macro virus:

Macro virus is a virus that is written in the language of Microsoft Office macros or Excel Macros. They are embedded into a Word document on Excel file

5. Direct Action virus:

Also known as Non-resident virus, this type of virus directly connects itself to executables like EXE and COM file. This virus is also known as Non-resident Virus as it doesn’t install itself on the target system. Direct Action Virus becomes active only when the victim executes the file.

6. Resident virus:

Resident virus install itself in the memory to the system and then from there, infects other files while they are opened by the users.

7. Boot Sector virus:

This type of virus infects the Master Boot Sector of the hard disk or a USB drive. Master Boots Record (MBR) is the boot sector that is located at the very beginning of partition table. It contains information about operating system’s location and how it can be booted. Once this section is infected, the infected system will face bootup problems etc.

8. Multipartite virus:

A virus that uses multiple methods to infect the target system is known as multipartite virus.

9. Polymorphic virus:

A polymorphic virus or metamorphic virus is a virus that constantly changes its appearance or signature files to avoid detection.