Hack the Stack
Using Snort and Ethereal to Master The 8 Layers of An Insecure Network
Published on 6. November 2006
Book
Paperback/Softback
481 pages
978-1-59749-109-9 (ISBN)
Description
This book looks at network security in a new and refreshing way. It guides readers step-by-step through the "stack" -- the seven layers of a network. Each chapter focuses on one layer of the stack along with the attacks, vulnerabilities, and exploits that can be found at that layer. The book even includes a chapter on the mythical eighth layer: The people layer.
This book is designed to offer readers a deeper understanding of many common vulnerabilities and the ways in which attacker's exploit, manipulate, misuse, and abuse protocols and applications. The authors guide the readers through this process by using tools such as Ethereal (sniffer) and Snort (IDS). The sniffer is used to help readers understand how the protocols should work and what the various attacks are doing to break them. IDS is used to demonstrate the format of specific signatures and provide the reader with the skills needed to recognize and detect attacks when they occur.
What makes this book unique is that it presents the material in a layer by layer approach which offers the readers a way to learn about exploits in a manner similar to which they most likely originally learned networking. This methodology makes this book a useful tool to not only security professionals but also for networking professionals, application programmers, and others. All of the primary protocols such as IP, ICMP, TCP are discussed but each from a security perspective. The authors convey the mindset of the attacker by examining how seemingly small flaws are often the catalyst of potential threats. The book considers the general kinds of things that may be monitored that would have alerted users of an attack.
This book is designed to offer readers a deeper understanding of many common vulnerabilities and the ways in which attacker's exploit, manipulate, misuse, and abuse protocols and applications. The authors guide the readers through this process by using tools such as Ethereal (sniffer) and Snort (IDS). The sniffer is used to help readers understand how the protocols should work and what the various attacks are doing to break them. IDS is used to demonstrate the format of specific signatures and provide the reader with the skills needed to recognize and detect attacks when they occur.
What makes this book unique is that it presents the material in a layer by layer approach which offers the readers a way to learn about exploits in a manner similar to which they most likely originally learned networking. This methodology makes this book a useful tool to not only security professionals but also for networking professionals, application programmers, and others. All of the primary protocols such as IP, ICMP, TCP are discussed but each from a security perspective. The authors convey the mindset of the attacker by examining how seemingly small flaws are often the catalyst of potential threats. The book considers the general kinds of things that may be monitored that would have alerted users of an attack.
More details
Language
English
Place of publication
Rockland, MA
United States
Target group
Professional and scholarly
The book has a broader market than most pure hacking books. While pure hacking books focus exclusively on the security market, this book targets the information needed for IT security professionals, those involved in networking, programmers, and general IT specialists. There are many people in the world of IT that may not be full-time security professionals but have the need to understand security and apply it to their job. Anyone that has a basic understanding of networking and security concepts can gain from this book.
Dimensions
Height: 229 mm
Width: 178 mm
Weight
670 gr
ISBN-13
978-1-59749-109-9 (9781597491099)
Copyright in bibliographic data and cover images is held by Nielsen Book Services Limited or by the publishers or by their respective licensors: all rights reserved.
Schweitzer Classification
Other editions
Additional editions
Stephen Watkins | George Mays | Ronald M. Bandes
Hack the Stack
Using Snort and Ethereal to Master The 8 Layers of An Insecure Network
E-Book
11/2006
Syngress
€39.95
Available for download
Persons
Stephen Watkins (CISSP) is an Information Security Professional with more than 10 years of relevant technology experience, devoting eight of these years to the security field. He currently serves as Information Assurance Analyst at Regent University in southeastern Virginia. Before coming to Regent, he led a team of security professionals, providing in-depth analysis for a global-scale government network. Over the last eight years, he has cultivated his expertise with regard to perimeter security and multilevel security architecture. His Check Point experience dates back to 1998 with FireWall-1 version 3.0b. He earned his B.S. in Computer Science from Old Dominion University and his M.S. in Computer Science, with Concentration in InfoSec, from James Madison University. George Mays (CISSP, CCNA, A+, Network+, Security+, INet+) is an independent consultant with 35 years' experience in computing, data communications, and network security. He holds a B.S. in Systems Analysis. He is a member of the IEEE, CompTIA, and Internet Society. Ronald M. Bandes (CISSP, CCNA, MCSE, Security+) is an independent security consultant. Before becoming an independent consultant, he performed security duties for Fortune 100 companies such as JP Morgan, Dun and Bradstreet, and EDS. Ron holds a B.A. in Computer Science. Brandon Franklin (GCIA, MCSA, Security+) is a network administrator with KIT Solutions, Inc. KIT (Knowledge Based Inormation Technology) Solutions, Inc. creates intelligent systems for the health and human services industry that monitor and measure impact and performance outcomes and provide knowledge for improved decision making. A KIT system enables policy makers, government agencies, private foundations, researchers, and field practitioners to implement best practices and science-based programs, demonstrate impacts, and continuously improve outcomes. Brandon formerly served as the Team Lead of Intrusion Analysis at VigilantMinds Inc., a Pittsburgh-based managed security services provider. Michael Gregg is the President of Superior Solutions, Inc. and has more than 20 years' experience in the IT field. He holds two associate's degrees, a bachelor's degree, and a master's degree and is certified as CISSP, MCSE, MCT, CTT+, A+, N+, Security+, CNA, CCNA, CIW Security Analyst, CCE, CEH, CHFI, CEI, DCNP, ES Dragon IDS, ES Advanced Dragon IDS, and TICSA. Michael's primary duty is to serve as project lead for security assessments, helping businesses and state agencies secure their IT resources and assets. Michael has authored four books, including Inside Network Security Assessment, CISSP Prep Questions, CISSP Exam Cram2, and Certified Ethical Hacker Exam Prep2. He has developed four high-level security classes, including Global Knowledge's Advanced Security Boot Camp, Intense School's Professional Hacking Lab Guide, ASPE's Network Security Essentials, and Assessing Network Vulnerabilities. He has written over 50 articles featured in magazines and Web sites, including Certification Magazine, GoCertify, The El Paso Times, and SearchSecurity. Michael is also a faculty member of Villanova University and creator of Villanova's college-level security classes, including Essentials of IS Security, Mastering IS Security, and Advanced Security Management. He also serves as a site expert for four TechTarget sites, including SearchNetworking, SearchSecurity, SearchMobileNetworking, and SearchSmallBiz. He is a member of the TechTarget Editorial Board. Chris Ries is a Security Research Engineer for VigilantMinds Inc., a managed security services provider and professional consulting organization based in Pittsburgh. His research focuses on the discovery, exploitation, and remediation of software vulnerabilities, analysis of malicious code, and evaluation of security software. Chris has published a number of advisories and technical white papers based on his research and has contributed to several books on information security. Chris holds a bachelor's degree in Computer Science with a Mathematics Minor from Colby College, where he completed research involving automated malicious code detection. Chris has also worked as an analyst at the National Cyber-Forensics & Training Alliance (NCFTA), where he conducted technical research to support law enforcement.
Content
1 - Extending OSI to Network Security (20 pp) 2 - Layer 1 - Physical layer (30 pp) Introduction Perimeter security Facility security Device security Identification and authentication Biometrics Attacking physical security Lock picks Wiretapping and Scanners Hardware hacking Layer 1 security project - Building a one-way data reception cable Summary 3 - Layer 2 - Data Link layer (40 pp) Introduction The Ethernet Frame structure Understanding MAC addressing Understanding PPP and SLIP How a protocol analyzer works Attacking the Data Link Layer Passive versus active sniffing Sniffing Wireless (Wireless basics) Wireless vulnerabilities Defending the Data Link Layer Defenses against active sniffing Detecting promiscuous devices Security in switches Layer 2 security project - Using Auditor to crack WEP Summary 4 - Layer 3 - Network layer (40 pp) Introduction The IP packet structure Attacking the network layer IP Attacks Fragmentation Analyzing an IPID scan The ICMP packet structure Attacking ICMP Smurf Redirects Analyzing the ARP Process Attacking ARP ARP Poisoning Defending the Network Layer Securing IP, ICMP, and ARP Layer 3 security project - Fragmenting traffic to bypass an IDS Summary 5 - Layer 4 - Transport layer (40 pp) Introduction The TCP packet structure Attacking TCP TCP port scanning Advanced port scanning tools Watching Amap in action Using Snort to identify a port scans The UDP datagram Attacking UDP Defending the Transport Layer Watching TLS/SSL Amap and SSL Layer 4 security project - Building a Snort system Summary 6 - Layer 5 - Session layer (40 pp) Introduction Attacking the Session Layer Session hijacking ettercap Observing a SYN attack Sniffing usernames and passwords during a session setup Establishing a session Lophtcrack Dsniff Using ettercap and Hunt Defending the Session Layer Port knocking Layer 5 security project - Building Snort filters to capture malicious traffic Summary 7 - Layer 6 - Presentation layer (40 pp) Introduction An analysis of the NetBIOS and SMB Attacking the Presentation layer NetBIOS and enumeration Sniffing Kerberos Using BurpProxy to intercept traffic Cracking weak encryption Defending the Presentation Layer Encryption Adding confidentiality and integrity with IPSec Protecting email with S-MIME Layer 6 security project - Cracking passwords and other encryption schemes Summary 8 - Layer 7 - Application layer (40 pp) Introduction The structure of FTP Analyzing DNS and its weaknesses Other insecure applications Attacking the Application layer Web Applications Cross site scripting DNS Spoofing and pharming Buffer Overflow attacks Using Snort to detect a buffer overflow attack Reverse engineering code Using the Exploitation Framework Metasploit Defending the Application Layer SSH PGP Vulnerability scanners Nessus Layer 7 security project - Using Nessus to secure the stack Summary 9 - Layer 8 - The People layer (35 pp) Introduction Attacking the People Layer Social Engineering Person to person and remote attacks Fun with Caller ID spoofing Defending the People Layer Policies, procedures, and guidelines Regulatory Requirements SOX / HIPAA / California law / PIPDA, etc. Making the case for stronger security Building a better stack Layer 8 security project - Building an orange box Summary 10 - Appendix A (12 pp) Risk Mitigation - Securing the Stack Tying the layers together Defense in depth