User Account Control – What Penetration Testers Should Know
UAC is User Account Control. Introduced in Windows Vista, UAC is a collection of technologies that make it convenient possible to use Windows without administrator
Cobalt Strike 03.13.14 – NECCDC Edition
I’m writing this from a New Hampshire Bed and Breakfast where I’ve apparently received the Jacuzzi suite. I’m here for a romantic weekend running psexec
CCDC Red Teams: Ten Tips to Maximize Success
The CCDC season is upon us. This is the time of year when professionals with many years of industry experience “volunteer” to hack against college
Cobalt Strike 02.27.14 – Details Matter
Cobalt Strike 1.48 (02.27.14) is now available. This release is the byproduct of a very intense development cycle. The theme of this release is: details
Modifying Metasploit’s Stager Shellcode
If you’ve ever had to change a module in the Metasploit Framework, you know the go to place is the modules/ directory off of the
Why I give all of my training material away—for free
I’m the developer of a commercial penetration testing product, Cobalt Strike. People are often amazed that I have a free 9-part Penetration Testing course on
Four Levels of Hacking Sophistication with Beacon
Beacon is Cobalt Strike’s payload for red team actions. Beacon is a stable lifeline that can serve as a communication layer. Meterpreter is a fantastic post-exploitation agent
Obituary: Java Self-Signed Applet (Age: 1.7u51)
The Java Signed Applet Attack is a staple social engineering option. This attack presents the user with a signed Java Applet. If the user allows
Cloud-based Redirectors for Distributed Hacking
A common trait among persistent attackers is their distributed infrastructure. A serious attacker doesn’t use one system to launch attacks and catch shells from. Rather,
Cobalt Strike 01.08.14 – EXE Artifacts: A New Hope
Cobalt Strike has always exposed the Metasploit Framework’s tool to generate executables. Unfortunately, these executables are caught by anti-virus products. I’ve had a lot of