Part I: Building the Foundation
for Ethical Hacking
This part covers the fundamental aspects of ethical hacking. It starts with an
overview of the value of ethical hacking and what you should and shouldn’t
do during the process. You get inside the malicious mindset and discover
how to plan your ethical hacking efforts. This part covers the steps involved
in the ethical hacking process, including how to choose the proper tools.
Part II: Putting Ethical Hacking in Motion
This part gets you rolling with the ethical hacking process. It covers several
well-known and widely used hack attacks, including social engineering and
cracking passwords, to get your feet wet. This part covers the human and physical
elements of security, which tend to be the weakest links in any information
security program. After you plunge into these topics, you’ll know the tips and
tricks required to perform common general hack attacks against your systems,
as well as specific countermeasures to keep your information systems secure.
Part III: Hacking the Network
Starting with the larger network in mind, this part covers methods to test
your systems for various well-known network infrastructure vulnerabilities.
From weaknesses in the TCP/IP protocol suite to wireless network insecurities,
you find out how networks are compromised by using specific methods
of flawed network communications, along with various countermeasures that
you can implement to avoid becoming a victim. This part also includes case
studies on some of the network hack attacks that are presented.
Part IV: Hacking Operating Systems
Practically all operating systems have well-known vulnerabilities that hackers
often exploit. This part jumps into hacking three widely used operating systems:
4 Hacking For Dummies, 2nd Edition
Windows, Linux, and NetWare. The hacking methods include scanning your
operating systems for vulnerabilities and enumerating the specific hosts to
gain detailed information. This part also includes information on exploiting
well-known vulnerabilities in these operating systems, taking over operating
systems remotely, and specific countermeasures that you can implement to
make your operating systems more secure. This part also includes case studies
on operating system hack attacks.
Part V: Hacking Applications
Application security is gaining more visibility in the information security
arena these days. An increasing number of attacks are aimed directly at various
applications, which are often able to bypass firewalls, intrusion-detection
systems, and antivirus software. This part discusses hacking specific applications,
including coverage of e-mail systems, instant messaging, and voice
over IP (VoIP), along with practical countermeasures that you can put in
place to make your applications more secure.
One of the most common network attacks is against Web applications.
Practically every firewall lets Web traffic into and out of the network, so most
attacks are against the millions of Web applications available to almost anyone.
This part also covers Web application hack attacks, countermeasures, and some
application hacking case studies for real-world security testing scenarios.
Part VI: Ethical Hacking Aftermath
After you’ve performed your ethical hack attacks, what do you do with the
information you’ve gathered? Shelve it? Show it off? How do you move forward?
This part answers all these questions and more. From developing
reports for upper management to remediating the security flaws that you discover
to establishing procedures for your ongoing ethical hacking efforts,
this part brings the ethical hacking process full circle. This information not
only ensures that your effort and time are well spent, but also is evidence
that information security is an essential element for success in any business
that depends on computers and information technology.
Part VII: The Part of Tens
This part contains tips to help ensure the success of your ethical hacking
program. You find out how to get upper management to buy into your ethical
hacking program so you can get going and start protecting your systems.
This part also includes the top ten ethical hacking mistakes you absolutely
must avoid.
follow my posts, you will know how to hack