Introduction

Exploiting the vulnerability : Using the failure of the system to violate the site security policy.Unexpected behavior are considered "program security flaw" : Fault : Programming errorFailure : deviation from unexpected behaviorTwo categories of flaw Intentional malicious flaw Unintentional human error Note : Unintentional human error are more dangerous than the intentional ones because in the former the errors are hard to diagnose. And due to that fact, they are hard to solve as well. Penetration Testing : Attempt to gain access of resources without the username or password or other credentials.Penetration Study : The study to evaluate strength of security policies and intend to find all the possible gaps and provide suggestion to fix them is penetration study.In practice : resource, money and time affect penetration study.The penetration tester will have the permission of the owner of the computer resources that shall be tested and will not be responsible in case of any loss.Goal of penetration test is to increase the security of the computer resources that are being tested.A pen tester will have user level access but not necessary.A pen tester may not be able to find all the security issues.Maintaining a secure network requires constant vigilance.Security assessment is an in depth look at network evaluating configuration of all system and analyzing the network diagram.Penetration Testing ProcedureResearch information about the target system or Discovery Social engineering, Dumpster diving, Physical break in , Web search engine, DNS ServersScan target systems for services on offer or EnumerationWireless access points, Modems, Network Mapping, Port Scanning, OS Fingerprinting, Firewall settingsIdentify systems and applications or Vulnerability MappingScanner, Web Application AttacksResearching Vulnerabilities or ExploitationMetasploit, Password Attack, Sniffing, DOSExploiting Vulnerabilities or Report to ManagementTypes of Test Internal Penetration Testing : Tries to complete the activities from inside the network. External Penetration Testing : Tries to complete the activities from outside the network. Full knowledge Test (White box test) : Attacker has extensive knowledge about the network and its operations. Hence it becomes easy for him to penetrate. Partial knowledge Test (Grey box test) : Attacker has partial knowledge that is only specific vulnerabilities are known to him. Zero knowledge Test (Black box test) : Attacker has zero knowledge. Closed box Test : Testing team do not have any access to internal system code. Open box Test : Testing team has access to internal code. Double blind environment : No one except the security team of the organization knows about the penetration testing. This is done to achieve the effectiveness of security team.

Web Browser SecurityPrivacy vs Security Security is is concerned with confidentiality, integrity and availability whereas Privacy is concerned with unintended disclosure of information.CGI : Common Gateway Interface scriptsThere is very tight integration between inbuilt web browsers and the OS. For this reason, very tight integration means more risk.Use for more critical work equals more risk.Convenience may introduce security risks but its productivity and popularity make up susceptible to risks. Browser parasite : It is a program that changes some settings in the browser and can have many effects.To operate server securelyControl server configuration. Physically secure the system. Minimize the risk to host system by removing unneeded services. Back up the host system time to time to mitigate the risk.Control users and access.Least privilege is that no user should have more access or control than needed to perform the functionality.Server should employ a session timeout and session tracking.Server must include special access to update and maintain sensitive information.Monitoring, auditing and logging.Logging is the act of recording key information about the server and the service. Logs can be generated both by OS and application.Greatest benefit of log is their use for monitoring the server.Monitoring is the periodic review of log and other information.Monitoring is active sometimes real time process which identifies and reports security events that might be harmful to network and its components. Intrusion detection mechanism, penetration testing (Scanner, war dialer, protocol analyzer, social engineering) and violation processing (Clipping levels : Establishes baseline for violation activities that maybe normal user errors) are used to accomplish monitoring.Logging and monitoring is the passive but effective way for intrusion detection.Auditing is the process of verifying that Monitoring and Logging is done according to the plan and procedures. Typically done quarterly or semi-annually. Result of audit is usually change in logging and monitoring procedures. Standards related to auditing were provided by the Information Systems Audit and Control Association (ISACA). Determines how much monitoring is required.Audit trails are log of events that provide history of occurrence in IT systems. It enables the enforcement of individual accountability by reconstructing events.Audit associated with Information security system searches for : Internal and external attempts to gain unauthorized access. Pattern and history of access. Unauthorized privilege granted to users. Occurrence of intrusion and their resulting consequence.