Everything starts with a goal to achieve. Remember, there are only two types of people, those who get hacked and those who hack. Therefore, in this chapter, we will discuss the importance of goal-based penetration testing and also how vulnerability scans (Vscans), penetration tests (pentests), and Red Team Exercises (RTEs) typically fail in the absence of a goal. This chapter also provides an overview of security testing and setting up a verification lab, and focuses on customizing Kali to support some advanced aspects of penetration testing. By the end of this chapter, you will have learned about the following:
- Security testing
- Classical failures of vulnerability scanning, penetration testing, and red teaming exercises
- Updating and organizing Kali
- Using Bash scripts to customize Kali
- Setting up defined targets
- Building a verification lab
