Re: Need Some Guidance Please

["Nate" <marshallnate () hotmail com>]

Well said Jeff. Don't give a person with four fingers a hammer... Doesn't 
this job include the deep, fast-talking voice "results may very. Only at 
participating stores. etc..."

-N

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From: "Jeffrey Walton" <noloader () gmail com>
Sent: Friday, April 17, 2009 10:35 PM
To: "Elizabeth Tolson" <elizabethtolson () gmail com>
Cc: <pen-test () securityfocus com>
Subject: Re: Need Some Guidance Please

> Hi Elizabeth,
>
> > I am finishing up my Master's Degree in Information Assurance
> Congratulations.
>
> > During my research, I saw someone who was a
> > Licensed Pen Tester/Consultant.
> You'll get lots of answers from folks who do it for a living. Allow me
> offer the SysAdmin view. While glamorous, the penetration testing can
> be very destructive on a network. I perform regular audits with MBSA,
> NetChk, NMap, and Nessus. As a SysAdmin, I am really interested in two
> things: what ports are open (and why), and what hosts are not patched
> to the latest revision (and why). I have no desire to walk around
> rebooting workstations and servers after a test.
>
> MBSA and Shavlik are least destructive - it's all about versioning.
> NMap can be hard on a poorly written service. It does some interesting
> things (both inside and outside of the three way TCP handshake) while
> trying to eek out if a host is present on the other side of the wall.
> Nessus, can be especially destructive when *not using* safe checks.
> And I have never found a need to use MetaSploit and its tools.
>
> > He would "ethically hack" without the employees knowing it.
> This can get you in trouble. I've been part of many incidences where
> alarms start going off (literally - What's Up Gold and NetIQ) in the
> NOC because the Security Team was testing without informing anyone.
> The result is that someone higher up on the food chain gets very
> irritated because the NOC team had to report downtime on servers. And
> it only gets worst when Domain Controllers are forced to reboot
> because a test 'got away' from the Security team. I was also part of a
> database recovery because a server was rebooted due to a penetration
> test. Again, no one was informed, the DBA did not have an up to date
> backup, and the instantaneous reboot corrupted the database.
>
> In the end, nearly anyone can acquire and use the tools. It's all in
> the proper application to achieve the goals of the organization.
>
> Jeff
>
> On 4/17/09, Elizabeth Tolson <elizabethtolson () gmail com> wrote:
> > Hi Everyone:
> >
> > I am finishing up my Master's Degree in Information Assurance from
> > Capitol College.  I had one Penetration Testing Classes which I really
> > enjoyed.
> >
> > I have done some research on Pen Testing and this seems to be
> > something that I might be interested in doing.
> >
> > During my research, I saw someone who was a Licensed Pen
> > Tester/Consultant.  Basically, he was hired by companies -- anywhere
> > from banks, law firms, accountants, merchants, etc --- to conduct pen
> > testing.  He would "ethically hack" without the employees knowing it.
> > He would also do some pen testing via social engineering.  He would
> > conduct Pen Testing during different hours of the day and night to
> > discover vulnerabilities, etc.  After the testing, he would submit a
> > report to the president/owner of the company with suggestions on
> > making his network a stronger, more secure network.
> >
> > Does anyone do this as a consultant?  Or, is this guy blowing smoke
> > and this is not a "real job".  I have seen some companies that do
> > this, but have not seen any individuals who do this.
> >
> > Also, if I am interested in pursing Pen Testing, what certs would you
> > recommend.  What additional training would you recommend.  What books
> > would you recommend?
> >
> > Thanks a lot.
> >
> > Elizabeth
> >
> > [SNIP]
>
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