Chapter 8. Bypassing Firewalls and Avoiding Detection

The type and scope of the penetration test will determine the need for being stealthy during a penetration test. The reasons to avoid detection while testing are varied; one of the benefits would include testing the equipment that is supposedly protecting the network, another could be that your client would like to know just how long it would take the Information Technology team to respond to a targeted attack on the environment. Not only will you need to be wary of the administrators and other observers on the target network, you will also need to understand the automated methods of detection such as web application, network, and host-based intrusion detection systems that are in place to avoid triggering alerts.

Tip

When presented with the most opportune target, take the time to validate that it is not some sort of honeypot that has been set up to trigger alerts when abnormal traffic or activity is detected! No sense in walking into a...