Category: ethical hacking

Thoughts on Infostealers

I’ve been thinking about infostealers. Why? Well I’ve been doing a few ethical hacking challenges recently and when you find an exploit like an LFI, directory traversal, XSS, or some other method of obtaining data from a target you tend to build a playbook of places to look for data. I have a list of configuration file locations based on the target OS, and what appears to be installed (thanks to nmap and whatever the LFI can return).


Infostealers work in a similar way. They are essentially software programs designed to look for patterns: file name extensions such as PDF DOC DOCX etc, files containing bank details (X-digit strings), email addresses, contact books, login credentials, browser history. You get the idea. Depending on the infostealers purpose it will be programmed to look for patterns on each target. Once installed they begin scanning, looking for possible matches. They collate this data then covertly send it back to whomever set the infostealer in motion.


Treat infostealers like any other malicious software: employ a good antimalware strategy. Use a firewall, install good antivirus and antimalware software and keep your sensitive data protected with encryption and 2FA. Keep regular backups and monitor your accounts.

Protect your data.

Thoughts on CCTV hacking

CCTV stands for Closed-Circuit TeleVision. Or at least stood for, as today it’s rarely a closed circuit nor TV. It’s usually online and over IP and available to access via an app on your phone, making it all the more hackable.

So how easy is it to hack modern CCTV?

I did some research and the answer is it depends. It depends on the manufacturer, the availability of software and firmware updates, and how it is configured.

Let me explain by switching sides to that of a potential attacker. First you have to find the target CCTV system. This can be achieved using a database like Shodan and tools like Angry IP Scanner. With an IP address and a port scanner such as nmap or the aforementioned Angry IP you can locate the login page. Then it’s just a matter of trying the manufacturer’s default passwords, employing a brute force attack, or making use of an exploit where available.

So how do you secure your online CCTV system? First, make sure it’s a closed system unless you really need to be able to access it remotely; in which case secure the connection by changing any default passwords, make sure all software and firmware is up to date, employ a firewall and VPN (or whitelist IPs for access) and monitor access logs for anything suspicious.

Simple?

Ways drones could be used and abused

I’ve been thinking about drones recently. I have a friend that races them, a neighbour that has one to map out the local area, and I own a tiny in-door one myself. Drones seem to be growing in popularity and so I started looking into the security implications of drones and noted all the ways that drones could be hacked, used and abused.

Here’s my list:

– Crashed on purpose or flown into obstacles, vehicles, or people.

– Used for remote surveillance, monitoring, eavesdropping, shoulder-surfing of keypad entry use, invasion of personal privacy.

– To steal other drones using techniques such as jamming and spoofing. See Samy Kamkar’s Skyjack experiment as an example.

– To steal on-board data from other drones. Drones have digital storage for video, image, and audio recorded data. This could be stolen. Also the interception of the data streams that a drone sends back to its base station could be intercepted.

– To steal wireless data. Drones can be used to intercept Wifi, Bluetooth, RFID, ZigBee, and any other wireless data by carrying the appropriate hacking tools and communications equipment. The drone can be flown within range of the target communications signals and then spoof and hack its way in. It could even be flown onto an office building roof in order to become a WiFi pineapple device then return to base with no human required to access the target location.

– To deliver contraband across borders, fences, and other restricted areas.

– To hack vehicles by flying above the vehicle and employing vehicle hacking technology.

– To create a communications network. Instead of using the cell towers of a communications company a network of drones with specialist on-board software and equipment could act as a mobile cell network to provide communications for an organisation preventing eavesdropping from the authorities.

– To map out locations and buildings in greater detail than Google streetview and Google Earth can offer.

– To disable security cameras in an area by locating the cameras and using various techniques such as IR to disable the cameras for a period of time before criminals access the location.

– To assist with heists from vehicle hijacks to museum robberies.

Can you think of any others? 

Who called me

Who called me

When you work with computers and possess at least one certification in cyber security, you tend to have friends or family that call or message you on occasion asking you to trace a phone number for them as if you are some form of digital private eye.

The truth is that only the authorities with the assistance of the telecom providers can legally do that. All these websites that say they can trace any number in the world for you are lying. They are just scams after your money. At best they have scraped open source content for numbers and can tell you the network provider, country of origin, and anything that is available online for free. Maybe they’ve concatenated and absorbed phone directories and public domain phone number repositories. They certainly can’t trace an unlisted number for you.

That said, if the number does have a footprint of some kind in the public domain then there are ways of finding it. Using Google Dorking to scour search engine data may uncover something useful. Governmental company registration databases that are open to the public may also reveal data. Whois records, club memberships, company websites, etc.

The phone number is just a character string. Play with the format when searching. For example if you were called by 07709 123456 and you are in the UK you could search for exact string matches of:

07709 123456
07709123456
7709 123456
7709123456
44 07709 123456
44 7709 123456
4407709123456
447709123456

Google for OSINT tools and techniques related to phone numbers for more suggestions.

OSINT yourself

When learning anything new, knowing where to start can prove a challenge. Do you pay for a course, buy a book, or maybe look online?

With OSINT I recommend starting with yourself. Imagine you are an in-house digital private detective hired by yourself to investigate, well, yourself. Maybe you are about to apply for a high-profile job or are about to be security vetted for some reason. Either way, the client, you, wants to know what information is out there in the wide world about you.

OSINT stands for Open Source INTelligence and relates to the accessing of freely available information sources in order to process the data retrieved in order to obtain some form of intelligence, in this case learning what information is available about your subject online. The subject being you.

It’s a great way to learn OSINT techniques and it can be both fun and illuminating. Good or bad, whatever you find will be useful. If you find good things that you are happy to be out there then great. If you find bad things then at least you now know about them and can do something about them.

Start with search engines like Google. Search for all variations of your name. If you find images of yourself, paste them into reverse image search engines to see where else they may appear. Log and record everything you find. URLs, images, text, everything. Map out your findings and follow every lead. Leave no stone unturned. Your job as an OSINT investigator is to find everything about your client that is publicly available.

Carry out web searches for OSINT tools and techniques. Have a play with the tools as part of your endeavour. Note what is useful and what is not. Start creating your own playbook and make lots of notes. The deeper you dive the more you learn.

Take your time, don’t rush things. Learn how to look up company information, property details, employment history, social network accounts, and so on.

Search for report templates and create something that suits you. Write up your findings with recommendations.

Congratulations! You just got started in OSINT and you had fun doing it. You learned new tools and techniques and you also learned what information about you is freely available. Now action any recommendations and run a periodic check. Plus sign up to OSINT groups, newsletters, and websites and keep learning!

Hack your home network

A great way to learn ethical hacking in the comfort of your own home, is to hack your own home.

When asked how I got started and which courses I recommended, I always suggest to start at home.

Most people have internet access served by a home router, with at least one computer, maybe some tablets, mobile phones, smart TVs, set-top boxes, and possibly some IoT devices connected in order to receive updates and serve content.

Why not learn the tools and techniques of hacking by running a security test on your own home network? Start by using a tool like nmap to scan your network and see what devices you can find. Map out the connected devices by IP address and try to fingerprint each. Look at open ports. Is the device located at a particular IP address a printer or mobile phone? How can you tell? Probe the device further. Is the operating system and software being reported out dated? Are there known vulnerabilities and exploits for your device? Google the versions being reported by nmap.

Once you have mapped out your network, run periodic scans to see if new devices connect. Walk around your house and turn things on that you know will connect to the home network or wait for other occupants of your household to enable their devices. Let them know what you are doing. Remember, you are scanning not exploiting!

Next use a packet sniffer like Wireshark to inspect the traffic between your devices and the router and the internet. Are there any security holes you can see? Use an application programming interface (API) tool to try to communicate with your devices. Understand how they work. Probe for weaknesses.

Once you are done write a report for yourself on your findings along with recommendations. Look online for vulnerability analysis or penentration test report templates. What could you do to improve the security of your home network and home devices? Maybe change some settings on the router? Remove permissions granted to devices that you no longer own. Maybe you added a port-forwarding rule for a games console that is long gone. Delete the rule if still present.

Congratulations. You have learned how to scan a network, probe for weaknesses, and compose a report on your findings with recommendations, and all from the comfort of your own home with no cost to you other than your time. Next, fix the problems that you found and action any recommendations.

Ready player one

Ready Player One by Ernest Cline is one of my favourite books. Although to be honest I’ve never actually read it. I have had it read to me, three times in fact, by Wil Wheaton. In my opinion it is absolutely the best way to consume this book. Go try it. Get the audio book and sit back and revel in both the future and the 1980s at the same time. You’ll thank me later.

That’s not the point of this post however. No, I wanted to compare the aforementioned experience to hacking, well ethical hacking obviously. You see, when learning the craft you often spend time exploring virtual rabbit holes getting side-tracked with learning fun tools and techniques. Kind of like Parcival on his egg hunt. Whether he’s learning the lines to War Games or mastering ancient arcade games.

With hacking you can spend days learning a new tool or figuring out how a protocol works. Under normal circumstances that may sound as dull as dishwater, but as part of a gamified hacking challenge it can be a lot of fun. Lots of fun in fact. Especially if it gets you a foothold on a box, or even privilege escalation to root!

Sign up to an ethical hacking platform like Hack The Box or Try Hack Me and you’ll see what I mean. It suddenly becomes fun to learn as you earn points and level up. Plus you start to fill your brain with useful skills and knowledge during the process. Go give it a try. Gamified ethical hacking can be a lot of fun.

Ready player one?

ChatGPT hacking buddy

I’ve given many talks on cyber security and ethical hacking over the past few years and one of the things I tend to say a lot is: “There is no such thing as cheating in hacking”.

What I mean by this is that as long as you are learning you are not cheating. It’s only when you take shortcuts and learn nothing in the process that you are cheating yourself.

So when attempting a CTF or Hack the Box or Try Hack Me machine and you get stuck and you have exhausted every technique and trick that you know and nothing is working, sure, go search for a writeup or forum posts on how to progress. Read just enough to get yourself unstuck and then keep going. Learn the technique, tool, or whatever you needed to know to progress. Add it to your knowledge-base.

This is learning not cheating. Finding the answer but not learning how and why it worked is just cheating yourself.

Recently I found myself stuck on a CTF that I was taking part in for fun. It was brand new so there were no writeups or forum articles to peek at. And I was stuck. In theory I could just move on to the next challenge and come back to this one later, time allowing, but I was having fun and I wanted to figure out why my solution wasn’t working. I wanted to learn, now.

I decided to see if AI could help. I’ve been playing around with the free version of ChatGPT recently and wondered if I could make use of it in this situation. I gave it a copy of the code from a program I had disassembled as part of the CTF and asked it to tell me what the code was doing. It did, in great detail. I then asked it how I could extract certain data that the program was storing in memory. It gave me detailed instructions using a tool that I was unfamiliar with. I asked if if I could do the same with another tool I was familiar with. It kindly said no and offered to teach me how to use the tool it recommended. I agreed and learned how to use the tool and managed to make progress.

I then continued hacking at the CTF asking ChatGPT for assistance when required. Although technically cheating, I was constantly learning throughout, and allthough I managed to get some virtual points on a virtual scoreboard, they were worthless in the real world, but the knowledge I gained from hacking with ChatGPT was priceless.

So now when I get really stuck and I’ve exhausted everything I know, I turn to ChatGPT as my AI hacking buddy. Only after I’ve finished the challenge, or both ChatGPT and I have failed to come up with a solution do I go looking for a writeup.
  

HTB peer snooping

HTB (Hack The Box) offers a free and premium (VIP) tier for its members. It’s a great platform for learning ethical hacking (along with Try Hack Me). I promised myself that after I’d gotten through the free content that I would treat myself to VIP membership, but have yet to do so. You see, I discovered that there are unintended benefits of free membership. In addition to lots of free content including the seasons machines, there is a little known way of learning on HTB: Peer snooping.

You see, when you access a machine via a non-VIP account you are essentially sharing the (virtual) machine with other users. And when you have a foothold on a box and you are stuck on privilege escalation you can snoop on other players. You can look at who else is logged on and you can monitor what they are doing. You can see what tools, commands, CVEs, etc they are trying and can learn from them.

So next time you are trying a HTB machine and you have a foothold (a login with shell) try snooping on others that are also trying to pwn the machine. You may learn something.