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
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
Schtasks Persistence with PowerShell One Liners
One of my favorite Metasploit Framework modules is psh_web_delivery. You can find it in exploits -> windows -> misc. This module starts a local web
Tradecraft – Red Team Operations Course and Notes
A few days ago, I posted the YouTube playlist on Twitter and it’s made a few rounds. That’s great. This blog post properly introduces the
Email Delivery – What Pen Testers Should Know
I get a lot of questions about spear phishing. There’s a common myth that it’s easy to phish. Start a local mail server and have your hacking