527

Exploit Security Vulnerabilities by Penetration

Testing
Devin Sweigert*, MD Minhaz Chowdhury*, Nafiz Rifat**
Department of Computer Science*
2022 IEEE International Conference on Electro Information Technology (eIT) | 978-1-6654-8009-3/22/$31.00 ©2022 IEEE | DOI: 10.1109/eIT53891.2022.9813929

East Stroudsburg University

East Stroudsburg, USA
Department of Computer Science**
North Dakota State University
Fargo, ND, USA
Email: dsweigert @esu.edu, [email protected], [email protected]

Abstract-When we setup a computer network, we pen tester to put a plan in place to figure out
need to know if an attacker can get into the how the client or company will implement a fix
system. We need to do a series of test that shows for the vulnerabilities for and put into place a
the vulnerabilities of the network setup. These way to prevent any further attack from
series of tests are commonly known Penetration affecting the company or facility. The idea of
Test. The need for penetration testing was not well
pen testing started in the sixties and was not
known before. This paper highlights how
penetration started and how it became as popular something that was extremely popular. It
as it has today. The internet played a big part into became more well known as the FBI started
the push to getting the idea of penetration testing using it on their computers in the seventies.
started. The styles of penetration testing can vary
When companies decided that penetration
from physical to network or virtual based testing
which either can be a benefit to how a company testing could be beneficial to them, it became
becomes more secure. This paper presents the more of a priority to perform such tests [2]. As
steps of penetration testing that a company or hacking became more advanced so did pen
organization needs to carry out, to find out their testing.
own security flaws.
There are two distinct types of virtual pen
Keywords- Black Box Test, White Box Test, testing. The first type is white box penetration
Hashcat, DoS, DDoS, Kali Linux, Dark Web.
testing, this strategy looks are going over the
entire system with the most amount of prior
knowledge to access information in the system.
1. Introduction Both on the physical and virtual side this
The first thing that might come to mind is involves taking more of an obvious approach
what is penetration testing? Pen testing is rather than more of a stealthy approach [3].
discovering vulnerabilities, threats, and risks. with this strategy the penetration tester can find
These can be risks in the actual infrastructure the most information because they are granted
of a facility or a break in the security of a the most access. One of the downsides to this
company’s network. This involves the pen idea is that would not replicate a fully accurate
tester to find the risks to the system and figure form of how an actual hacker would be
out how they need to go about fixing the issue accessing the system. The next method that is
[1]. During a pen test you are trying to see what used is called black box penetration testing.
parts of the current defenses that are in place With black box penetration testing it is the
you can get past. Once the pen tester figures opposite of what white box penetration testing.
out what risks there are their job is to report The black box pen testing is more of realistic
back to the client or company. With the report way of testing an organizations system or
that is received after the test it is the job of the network. This method could be looked at as

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more of a realistic approach since the tester sure that you are equipped with the right tools
would be give the same information as the that are needed to get the job done. When
actual hacker would, which is little to not getting that portion done that is when you will
information. This would all be based on how move on to planning on how to conduct the test
much information the hacker was able to find you have at hand and what types of strategies
ahead of time or was able to get from a are going to be put in place to infiltrate the
previous reconnaissance attempt. This strategy facility whether it be for a physical test or
is looked at as being more discreet than the virtual test or even both. Most test will
other approach since the company or client be incorporate at least a little bit of both types of
evaluated would not necessarily know when testing, but that is something that comes down
the tester would be performing this test. Which to the company and what the needs of the
is more realistic to how a hacker would company are. Research shows that, most of the
perform their attack. When that attack is done network penetration threats can be categorized
it will show how vulnerable the system may be and detected from pen test [17]. Hence the
to a real-world attack. dimensions of cyber-attacks are vastly
responsible on the performance of pen test
When performing the physical pen test that [21].
involves actual breaking into the facility or
trying to gain access to sensitive information
by the means of locking picking doors or
climbing fences for example. First before
2. Background
performing these tactics the penetration tester Now that vulnerabilities are more of a
will produce a plan on how they will perform problem it is essential to make sure to have a
the physical test by scouting out the location computer security plan in action. Planning for
first [2]. In this paper we would like to an attack can be exceedingly difficult since
highlight and explain to the reader what pen there are several various attacks that have
testing is and how it is beneficial to a company become common withing the computer
or organization. security field with hackers. And it is easier than
ever to watch videos online or read about how
Whether the test is a physical or a virtual to perform these attacks. When first starting
penetration test they both involve the same with penetration testing it wasn’t something
purpose of trying to gain access to sensitive essential that all organizations or companies
information. And penetration testing is useful had access to. It was just used in the military
in many different environments, and it will when it first started. In the sixties hacking was
allow for more security in many ways since it not something that was being used for the same
will stop physical and virtual access for purpose at it is today [4]. During that time, it
intrusion of sensitive information. One of the was used to test the performance and see how
main aspects to remember when performing well the machines ran. It was used more as a
these penetration tests is to make sure the tests test for the computer in a performance aspect.
being performed are tests that fall in between Which is widely different then how we use it
the law, and no laws are being broken in the today? In the seventies there was more of a
process. Along with this you must make sure worry about hacking when there were people
to keep a good team on hand that can work well hacking into the phone lines to make long
together to make sure an appropriate test is distance calls for free. That is something that is
being performed for each situation or task at hard to believe since today home phones are
hand. But before starting the test or making not common. However, during that time it was
plans to perform the test you will have to make a bad issue, and it was making security

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 529

something that was profoundly serious. From penetration tester to test how secure all the
there in the eighties and nineties were when networks are with full knowledge of the
computers and the internet would become a big systems. This is also a way for the penetration
start into the world of the internet. That is when tester to still try and not been identified while
the internet started to become what it is today. doing the testing. There can also be specific
During the nineties is when you started to see requirements that the companies put in place if
the big names in hacking, and it became widely they only want certain requirements met for the
known as a big issue that would continue to test to be done. It is not only important to have
grow. During the early two thousand is when these physical or virtual penetration test done.
companies decided to take on the idea of using
penetration testing as a widespread practice to It is also important to provide your
make sure their company and their data is safe. employees with training on what they can do
It was big wakeup call in the mid 2000’s and to stop or to cut down on several types of
later that if some of the big companies that attacks that the company is at risk for
were affected by hacking would have benefited encountering. Using a schedule of six months
by using a penetration tester to find the or sooner to keep your employees informed on
vulnerabilities these companies had and to of the new and constant security issues that are
stopped these big data breaches from becoming a problem. It is important to keep
happening in the first place. this a constant practice to make sure your
employees are informed of the practice’s
Now some companies even employee their hackers are using today. This is something that
own personal penetration testing teams. Now is constantly changing that needs to be kept up
that it has become easier for about anyone to on. If you do not constantly and consistently
learn how to penetrate physical, virtual keep up on this, it can be something that some
security and even personnel security. individuals may not know. That is because the
Companies must step up their game to combat tactics hackers are using are becoming
this situation before it leads to companies increasingly advanced and it is even hard for
losing profit and loosing sensitive information experts in the field to even keep up with this.
that affects the company or the individuals the
company is working with. Performing the
penetration test is something that a company 3. Mandatory Tests
must weigh out to make sure that the assets
When performing a penetration test it is
being attacked are worth the extra expense. By
more important to make sure that every aspect
performing a penetration test it highlights the
the company wants to be tested is tested. This
flaws in a company’s security and what they do
is important for so many businesses because so
implement to fix these issues.
much of their information for these companies
There are two different variations of is based on a network or stored in a cloud. This
penetration testing. The first being black box allows for many ways for hackers to identify
testing and the other being white box testing. the weak points in the system [2]. By hacker, it
They are similar but different in a few ways. means all the categories of hacker, including
With the black box testing the person involved ethical or white-hat hackers [12][13].
in doing the testing they are not giving any
There are some companies now that
prior information and they try to penetrate the
make this a mandatory process to perform
network [5]. With white box testing this allows
yearly or quarterly penetration tests. Where
the tester to gain full knowledge of what they
this comes to be a huge benefit for a company
need for the network, and this allows the
is by the penetration test showing what aspects

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 530

of their system has vulnerabilities that need to 5. Virtual Pen Testing Tools
have more money invested into protecting. The
results though with a penetration test can be The virtual side of penetration testing
mixed depending on different companies can be traced back to how the entire system is
approaches and the individuals doing the tests. setup. From the start if the system was not
This can cause the results of two penetration properly setup this can allow for weak
tests to differ. With these tests there is not a passwords or lacking security. To find and fix
standard for the company performing the this lack of security there are some common
penetration test to go by. These tests can be tools used by penetration testers. One of the big
broken down into several types of tests. A tools the pen testers use is Kali Linux. Kali
physical penetration test or a virtual/network Linux is a variant of Linux that has tools built
penetration test. into the software for trying to perform
offensive tactics by trying and testing how
secure a company’s network is [7]. And it
4. Pen Testing Steps shows the major flaws in the system by using
the supplied tools in the software. Most of the
This is where the steps to penetration tools mentioned can either be installed or are
testing come into play. The first step would be already installed on Kali Linux for example a
reconnaissance. As mentioned previously this tool included with Kali Linux is Wireshark.
is where the pen tester will either be given a Wireshark is a tool that is used to monitor
job based on white or black box testing. Which packet loss, view network traffic and any
decides how much information the tester will variant of malicious activity that is happening
be given for this portion of the test. Either way on the network. Another tool available for Kali
they will do their own observations. Whether it Linux is Hashcat which is a hash cracking tool.
be physically by trying to gain as much It uses password attacks such as mass and
information prior to seeing the location or dictionary techniques to try and crack
virtual by getting domain names or checking passwords. A tool on the virtual side as
on the network to see what is accessible [6]. important would be Nmap. Nmap is a port
The next part of the test is scanning, with the scanning software. This is important because
scanning portion of the test it involves this allows you to scan all the ports available
scanning the network to see what is available. and check for unwanted activity on these ports
As well as scanning the physical environment [7]. Extreme caution should be used when port
to see how the tester will approach the situation scanning because it is easy to accidentally
and what tools will be needed. The next step in cause a DoS or DDoS (denial of service)
the phase is Gaining access, during this process attacks [10][11].
this is where the user will try to gain control of
the system whether it be breaking into the Nmap is also a tool available on Kali
network and gaining access to the required Linux, all the software tools talked about are
information the user is trying to access available on Kali Linux, so it is obvious that
physically. During this step is where you could Kali Linux is such an important broad tool with
use social engineering to gain information other added tools that make it essential for
during this step. The next step is maintaining good penetration testing. Kali Linux allows for
access; this is where the tester tries to continue a lot of expansion of tools based on the
access, if possible, without being detected to situation and case that needs to be addressed.
gain the most amount of information possible. Despite Kali Linux’s usability, this Linux
This step is more applicable to the virtual side. distribution is inherent to security flaws [9].

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 531

Recently machine learning is relying of threat if there is no such action take for these
on the pen test historical datasets to train the issues. since knowing does not fix the problem
infrastructure for future intrusion detections it just makes you more aware of it. An
[8][16][17]. organization shall protect its assets from
threats by regular pen testing its assets,
especially to check the possibility of an attack
6. Physical Pen Testing Tools from the Dark Web. Dark web facilitates the
black hat hackers [14].
There is a very wide variety of tools used
for the virtual side of penetration testing. On
the physical side of penetration testing, this
will vary job by job. Some of the tools used are
7. Conclusion
bolt cutters, binoculars, ladders, hammers, We think that the takeaway for this should
crowbars, and other various tools that are be that more than ever penetration testing is
required for breaking into the building/office almost essential for a company. We think that
or other type of building. Most locations are it is a wonderful way for a company to find the
going to have a similar approach on how to flaws that may not be obvious to the company
gain access to the facility. If the job These tools since a penetration tester has a different
are quite different than the tools used on the mindset or way of thinking than the company
virtual penetration test, but it is all part of or business would. There are very few
doing the same job. Most of the tools are downsides to have a penetration test done for a
typical tools that you would think of someone company. It is only beneficial for them to find
breaking into a building would use. There are vulnerabilities and fix them if there was an
a lot of factors of the building that play into issue or prevent future problems with data loss
what is required. and sensitive information getting into the
wrong hands. With lots of big leaders of large
Each part whether it be the virtual or companies becoming the targets of even small-
physical side of the penetration testing is for scale attacks it makes obtaining sensitive
the same purpose of making sure that at the end information a hot commodity. There have been
when the company receives the final report that major benefits for companies who have had
they have all the information needed to make penetration tests done to their establishment
their system more secure than it was before the because it has helped them determine the
penetration test was done. If this is not taken problem areas for their security. They are also
into effect, then companies will continue to an effective way for the pen tester to inform
have the same issues they had before without you with information that you can pass on to
any improvements. your employees to educate them in what is a
Once these tests are done it is the job of the vulnerability. It can also be effective to allow
tester to show everything that was found and for the company to have meetings every couple
everything that they were able to access on the of months to inform employees of all the
virtual and physical side. This is the threats they are vulnerable to. That is because
opportunity to provide a solution for the weakest link in security comes to the user
preventing the same issues again. That is when themselves. By eliminating this factor out of
the company has testers come back to perform the equation for a “hacker” then this makes it
testing again. It is also important that the harder this to become a weak point in the
company makes the necessary changes that the security of a business or company. Then at that
testers bring up to them. If not, then the whole point it comes down to the business or
test will become useless for stopping any kind company to make the necessary fixes to make

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 532

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