Name the Pen Test Phase — TechKnowSurge

About this interactive

The Penetration Testing lesson follows an outside pen test from start to finish. Pre-engagement: before any testing, the client and testers agree the contract, the payment terms and the scope: which systems, when, and how far the testers may go (social engineering, physical entry, staging rather than production). Reconnaissance: the testers gather information about the company, its network and its people. Passive reconnaissance only watches or reads; active reconnaissance touches the target, for example with a port scan. Exploitation: the testers use a vulnerability they found to get in. Post-exploitation: once in, they do what a real attacker would: set up persistence, such as an extra account or a remote access tool so they can get back in, and cover their tracks. Reporting: they write up what they found and hand the report to the client. Privilege escalation is left out of the cards: the lesson places it inside the exploitation it describes, and other models put it after, so it has no single right bin. A quick test for each card: are they still agreeing terms, learning about the target, getting in, acting once inside, or writing it up?

What you'll learn

Place a penetration tester's action in its phase: pre-engagement, reconnaissance, exploitation, post-exploitation, or reporting
Recognize post-exploitation as what testers do once they are in, such as setting up persistence and covering their tracks, and passive and active reconnaissance as the information-gathering before it

Aligned to

CompTIA Security+

5.5 Explain types and purposes of audits and assessments

NIST NICE

K0955 Knowledge of penetration testing principles and practices

ISC2 CISSP

6.2 Conduct security control testing

Key terms

Penetration Testing: An authorized simulated attack on a system to identify and evaluate security vulnerabilities.
Rules of Engagement: Contract terms that define the boundaries, schedule, and procedures governing an activity such as penetration testing.
Reconnaissance: The first phase of an attack in which an adversary gathers information about a target — such as open ports, employee names, and technology stacks — before launching an attack. Reconnaissance can be passive (using public sources) or active (directly probing the target).
Persistence: A MITRE ATT&CK tactic in which an adversary maintains their foothold within a compromised network to survive restarts, credential changes, or other interruptions.
Port Scanning: A technique used to discover open ports and services available on a networked device.

Topics

Vulnerability Management Penetration Testing Interactive Categorize

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