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Hands-On Red Team Tactics
Hands-On Red Team Tactics

Hands-On Red Team Tactics: A practical guide to mastering Red Team operations

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Profile Icon Himanshu Sharma Profile Icon Harpreet Singh
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€8.99 €25.99
Full star icon Full star icon Full star icon Full star icon Half star icon 4.2 (6 Ratings)
eBook Sep 2018 480 pages 1st Edition
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€8.99 €25.99
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Arrow left icon
Profile Icon Himanshu Sharma Profile Icon Harpreet Singh
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€8.99 €25.99
Full star icon Full star icon Full star icon Full star icon Half star icon 4.2 (6 Ratings)
eBook Sep 2018 480 pages 1st Edition
eBook
€8.99 €25.99
Paperback
€32.99
Subscription
Free Trial
Renews at €18.99p/m
eBook
€8.99 €25.99
Paperback
€32.99
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Renews at €18.99p/m

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Hands-On Red Team Tactics

Pentesting 2018

For the past few years, we have been using tools such as the Metasploit Framework, routersploit, LinuxEnum.sh, nmap, and so on for post-exploitation and scanning. With the growing popularity of new tools, it would be good to learn about some new tools that can be used for post-exploitation. Out of the many available tools, we will be looking at MSFvenom Payload Creator (MSFPC)—a simple MSF-based payload generator; and Koadic—a COM-based Command and Control (C3) server, which can be used in red-team operations or penetration testing for post-exploitation.

In this chapter, we will cover the following tools:

  • MSFPC
  • Kaodic

Technical requirements

  • *nix-based system (Kali, Ubuntu, or macOS X)
  • The Metasploit framework (needed for MSFPC)
  • Python package version 2 or 3 (needed for Koadic)

MSFvenom Payload Creator

MSFvenom Payload Creator (MSFPC) is a user-friendly multiple payload generator that can be used to generate Metasploit payloads based on user-selected options. The user doesn't need to execute the long msfvenom commands to generate payloads anymore. With MSFPC, the user can generate the payloads with far fewer commands.

Before downloading the tool, Metasploit should be installed in the system. MSFPC is just a simple bash script, which means that it can be executed on *nix systems.

We can download the MSFPC package from https://github.com/g0tmi1k/mpc. We can either download the repository in a ZIP file or we can clone the repository on our local system by running the following command:

git clone https://github.com/g0tmi1k/mpc

After cloning the repo, let's issue an execute permission on msfpc.sh file.

cd mpc/
chmod +x msfpc.sh ./msfpc.sh
./msfpc...

Koadic

Koadic is a Windows post-exploitation toolkit with a similar interface to the other famous tools used for penetration testing purposes, namely, Empire and Metasploit. It's called C3 for a reason and that is because it uses the Component Object Model (COM) in Windows and operates using the script host utility (also known as JScript/VBScript). COM objects were introduced by Microsoft in 1993, which also means that Koadic's payloads are compatible with the older versions of Windows (NT/95/2000) up until the latest version, Windows 10. Koadic is built on Python and it's compatible with Python 2 as well as Python 3. The payloads generated by Koadic can be executed completely in-memory (from the stage 0 to the second stage and beyond) and it also supports the stager communication over SSL/TLS, although it depends upon what setting is enabled on the victim OS.

...

Summary

Let's quickly summarize what we have worked on until now. At the beginning of this chapter, you were introduced to MSF Payload Creator (MSFPC) and the steps to install MSFPC on the system. We looked at the use of resource files (.rc), which were generated by MSFPC besides the payload file. Different types of payload generation were presented, according to the scenario; that is, the type of shell dropped by the payload (cmd or msf), the type of payload connection used (bind versus reverse), the type of payload (staged or stageless), the communication method (tcp/http/https/find_ports), and the modes used for mass payload generation (batch mode or loop mode).

In the latter part of this chapter, you were introduced to Koadic, a C3 server, its installation and usage, and the stages for performing a Koadic-style post-exploitation.

...

Questions

  1. Why use MSFPC when you can use msfvenom?
  2. Should we expect new features in MSFPC?
  3. Where can we use the loop and batch modes in a real-world scenario?
  4. Is MSFPC already installed in Kali Linux?
  5. Why use Koadic when you can use Empire and Metasploit?
  6. There's not many modules (implants) in Koadic as compared to metasploit or Empire. Why is that?
  7. What else can we use instead of these boring command-line tools?

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Key benefits

  • Target a complex enterprise environment in a Red Team activity
  • Detect threats and respond to them with a real-world cyber-attack simulation
  • Explore advanced penetration testing tools and techniques

Description

Red Teaming is used to enhance security by performing simulated attacks on an organization in order to detect network and system vulnerabilities. Hands-On Red Team Tactics starts with an overview of pentesting and Red Teaming, before giving you an introduction to few of the latest pentesting tools. We will then move on to exploring Metasploit and getting to grips with Armitage. Once you have studied the fundamentals, you will learn how to use Cobalt Strike and how to set up its team server. The book introduces some common lesser known techniques for pivoting and how to pivot over SSH, before using Cobalt Strike to pivot. This comprehensive guide demonstrates advanced methods of post-exploitation using Cobalt Strike and introduces you to Command and Control (C2) servers and redirectors. All this will help you achieve persistence using beacons and data exfiltration, and will also give you the chance to run through the methodology to use Red Team activity tools such as Empire during a Red Team activity on Active Directory and Domain Controller. In addition to this, you will explore maintaining persistent access, staying untraceable, and getting reverse connections over different C2 covert channels. By the end of this book, you will have learned about advanced penetration testing tools, techniques to get reverse shells over encrypted channels, and processes for post-exploitation.

Who is this book for?

Hands-On Red Team Tactics is for you if you are an IT professional, pentester, security consultant, or ethical hacker interested in the IT security domain and wants to go beyond Penetration Testing. Prior knowledge of penetration testing is beneficial.

What you will learn

  • Get started with red team engagements using lesser-known methods
  • Explore intermediate and advanced levels of post-exploitation techniques
  • Get acquainted with all the tools and frameworks included in the Metasploit framework
  • Discover the art of getting stealthy access to systems via Red Teaming
  • Understand the concept of redirectors to add further anonymity to your C2
  • Get to grips with different uncommon techniques for data exfiltration

Product Details

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Publication date : Sep 28, 2018
Length: 480 pages
Edition : 1st
Language : English
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Publication date : Sep 28, 2018
Length: 480 pages
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Table of Contents

15 Chapters
Red-Teaming and Pentesting Chevron down icon Chevron up icon
Pentesting 2018 Chevron down icon Chevron up icon
Foreplay - Metasploit Basics Chevron down icon Chevron up icon
Getting Started with Cobalt Strike Chevron down icon Chevron up icon
./ReverseShell Chevron down icon Chevron up icon
Pivoting Chevron down icon Chevron up icon
Age of Empire - The Beginning Chevron down icon Chevron up icon
Age of Empire - Owning Domain Controllers Chevron down icon Chevron up icon
Cobalt Strike - Red Team Operations Chevron down icon Chevron up icon
C2 - Master of Puppets Chevron down icon Chevron up icon
Obfuscating C2s - Introducing Redirectors Chevron down icon Chevron up icon
Achieving Persistence Chevron down icon Chevron up icon
Data Exfiltration Chevron down icon Chevron up icon
Assessment Chevron down icon Chevron up icon
Other Books You May Enjoy Chevron down icon Chevron up icon

Customer reviews

Top Reviews
Rating distribution
Full star icon Full star icon Full star icon Full star icon Half star icon 4.2
(6 Ratings)
5 star 50%
4 star 16.7%
3 star 33.3%
2 star 0%
1 star 0%
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Saibal Dasgupta Mar 06, 2020
Full star icon Full star icon Full star icon Full star icon Full star icon 5
Great book for hands on security training. Practical, crisp and clear.
Amazon Verified review Amazon
Arjun Kamble Jan 05, 2019
Full star icon Full star icon Full star icon Full star icon Full star icon 5
This book is perfect for those who want to learn hardcore PT skills & wants to reach a Red Teamer level.Stuck at reverse shell? Buy this bookStuck at pivoting? Buy this bookStuck at post exploitation? Buy this bookWant to look for new exploitation tools? Buy this bookWant to learn about infiltration & exfiltration? Buy this bookThis book covers almost all the basic tools and concepts which are required for a Pentester to become a Red Teamer. The authors have done an amazing job here! Kudos to you guys.
Amazon Verified review Amazon
Aryan Mishra Jan 04, 2019
Full star icon Full star icon Full star icon Full star icon Full star icon 5
If you are having basic understanding of security and want to improve your PT skills, this is the book you should read. This book introduces you to the world of red teaming. Info of some new tools you must hands on. In short it’s worth buying book.
Amazon Verified review Amazon
Amazon Customer Nov 22, 2018
Full star icon Full star icon Full star icon Full star icon Empty star icon 4
A must buy for people who wants to move up the ladder in cyber security realm. Many interesting topics like C2 servers, Redirectors, data exfiltration and many more are covered which makes this book one of a kind. This book is recommended for pentesters who wants to enter the world of red teaming. The screenshots could have been more clear but other than that, I would rate this book 4.5/5. Authors have really done a great job.
Amazon Verified review Amazon
David Dec 07, 2019
Full star icon Full star icon Full star icon Empty star icon Empty star icon 3
The book contains good concept on how to get started in a Red Team Engagment. There is explanation about how to use Metasploit, Empire and Cobalt Strike. If you already know how to play with them, you can definitely skip those chapter. More interesting chapter are in the end. It's an easy read book. However, if you are looking for a deep Red Team attack, this is not the book for that. I have put 3 stars because I didn't learn that much stuff in it. The cheatsheet will be useful for some engagement. There is a lot of screenshot in it and it's not in color (black & white).
Amazon Verified review Amazon
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