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
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
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
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
Why do I always use 32-bit payloads?
Yesterday, one of my customers asked about x64 payloads in Cobalt Strike. Specifically, he wanted to know why Cobalt Strike doesn’t expose them. I’ve already
Reverse Meterpreter Connect-backs through a Compromised Host
<update 03:30pm> I’ve had some feedback that this post describes a concept that is too basic to put into blog form. I can see where this
Evade Egress Restrictions with Staged Payloads
Sometimes, it’s easy to get code execution in a network, but very difficult to egress out of it. When you are an external actor trying