Penetration Testing & Tools

What is Penetration Testing?

It’s the method of testing where the areas of weakness in software systems in terms of security are put to test to determine, if ‘weak-point’ is indeed one, that can be broken into or not.

Performed for: Websites/Servers/Networks

How is it performed?

Step #1. It starts with a list of Vulnerabilities/potential problem areas that would cause a security breach for the systems.
Step #2. If possible, this list of items has to be ranked in the order of priority/criticality
Step #3. Devise penetration tests that would work (attack your system) from both within the network and outside (externally) to determine if you can access data/network/server/website unauthorized.
Step #4. If the unauthorized access is possible, the system has to be corrected and the series of steps need to be re-run until the problem area is fixed.

Who performs Pen-testing?
Testers/ Network specialists/ Security Consultants

Note: it is important to note that pen-testing is not the same as vulnerability testing. The intention of vulnerability testing is just to identify potential problems, whereas pen-testing is to attach those problems.

Good news is, you do not have to start the process by yourself – you have a number of tools already in the market.  Why tools, you ask?

• Even though you design the test on what to attack and how, you can leverage a lot of tools that are available in the market to hit the problem areas and collect data quickly that enables effective security analysis of the system.

Before we look into the details of the tools, what they do, where can you get them, etc. , I would like to point out that the tools you use for pen-testing can be classified into two kinds – In simple words they are: scanners and attackers. This is because; by definition pen-testing is exploiting the weak spots. So there are some software/tools that will show you the weak spots, some that show and attack. Literally speaking, the ‘show-ers’ are not pen-testing tools but they are inevitable for its success.

Top 20 Penetration Testing Tools

1) Metasploit 

This is the most advanced and popular Framework that can be used to for pen-testing. It is based on the concept of ‘exploit’ which is a code that can surpass the security measures and enter a certain system. If entered, it runs a ‘payload’, a code that performs operations on a target machine, thus creating the perfect framework for penetration testing.

It can be used on web applications, networks, servers etc. It has a command-line and a GUI clickable interface, works on Linux, Apple Mac OS X and Microsoft Windows. This is a commercial product, although there might be free limited trials available.

Download link: Metasploit Download

2) Wireshark

This is basically a network protocol analyzer –popular for providing the minutest details about your network protocols, packet information, decryption etc. It can be used on Windows, Linux, OS X, Solaris, FreeBSD, NetBSD, and many other systems. The information that is retrieved via this tool can be viewed through a GUI, or the TTY-mode TShark utility.  You can get your own free version of the tool from here.

Download link: Wireshark download

3) w3af

W3afis a Web Application Attack and Audit Framework.

Some of the features are: fast HTTP requests, integration of web and proxy servers into the code, injecting payloads into various kinds of HTTP requests etc.

It has a command-line interface, works on Linux, Apple Mac OS X and Microsoft Windows.
All versions are free of charge to download.

Download link: w3af download

4) CORE Impact

CORE Impact Pro can be used to test mobile device penetration, network/network devise penetration, password identification and cracking, etc. It has a command-line and a GUI clickable interface, works Microsoft Windows. This is one of the expensive tools in this line and all the information can be found at below page.

Download link: CORE Impact download

5) Back Track

Back Track works only on Linux Machines. The new version is called Kali Linux. This is one of the best tools available for Packet sniffing and injecting. An expertise in TCP/IP protocol and networking are key to succeed using this tool. For information and to download a free copy, visit below page.

Download link: Back Track download

6) Netsparker

Netsparker comes with a robust web application scanner that will identify vulnerabilities, suggest remedial action etc. This tool can also help exploit SQL injection and LFI (local file induction). It has a command-line and GUI interface, works only on Microsoft Windows. This is a commercial product, although there might be free limited trials available at below page.

Download link: Netsparker download

7) Nessus

Nessus also is a scanner and one that needs to be watched out for. It is one of the most robust vulnerability identifier tools available. It specializes in compliance checks, Sensitive data searches, IPs scan, website scanning etc. and aids in finding the ‘weak-spots’. It works on most of the environments.

Download link: Nessus download

8) Burpsuite

Burp suite is also essentially a scanner (with a limited “intruder” tool for attacks), although many security testing specialists swear that pen-testing without this tool is unimaginable. The tool is not free, but very cost effective. Take a look at it on below download page. It mainly works wonders with intercepting proxy, crawling content and functionality, web application scanning etc.  You can use this on Windows, Mac OS X and Linux environments.

Download link: Burp suite download

9) Cain & Abel

If cracking encrypted passwords or network keys is what you need, then Cain& Abel is the tool for you. It uses network sniffing, Dictionary, Brute-Force and Cryptanalysis attacks, cache uncovering and routing protocol analysis methods to achieve this. Check out information about this free to use tool at below page. This is exclusively for Microsoft operating systems.

Download link: Cain & Abel download

10) Zed Attack Proxy (ZAP)

ZAP is a completely free to use, scanner and security vulnerability finder for web applications. ZAP includes Proxy intercepting aspects, variety of scanners, spiders etc. It works on most platforms and the more information can be obtained from below page.

Download link: ZAP download

11) Acunetix

Acunetix is essentially a web vulnerability scanner targeted at web applications. It provides SQL injection, cross site scripting testing, PCI compliance reports etc. along with identifying a multitude of vulnerabilities. While this is among the more ‘pricey’ tools, a limited time free trial version can be obtained at below page.

Download link: Acunetix download

12) John The Ripper

Another password cracker in line is, John the Ripper. This tool works on most of the environments, although it’s primarily for UNIX systems. It is considered one of the fastest tools in this genre. Password hash code and strength-checking code are also made available to be integrated to your own software/code which I think is very unique. This tool comes in a pro and free form. Check out its site to obtain the software on this page.

Download link: John the Ripper download

13) Retina

As opposed to a certain application or a server, Retina targets the entire environment at a particular company/firm. It comes as a package called Retina Community. It is a commercial product and is more of a vulnerability management tool more than a pen-testing tool. It works on having scheduled assessments and presenting results. Check out more about this package at below page.

Download link: Retina download