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Brief Introduction
- Date of recording – May 28th, 2015
- Hosts – Tobias Macey and Chris Patti
- Overview – Interview with Mark Bagett
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Interview with Mark Bagett
- Introductions
- How were you first introduced to Python? – Chris
- Started using it for automating tasks while working as a sysadmin
- Found code that launched an attack on FTP server – in Python
- What are some of the tasks in your job that you use Python for? -Tobias
- Trusted command & control backdoor for Windows
- Mostly not used by malware authors – thus far (at least Mark hasn’t seen it used that way)
- Flame virus – 5MB payload – incredibly advanced
- Lua interpreter bundled along with the scripts
- Vale framework – Python framework that takes payloads out of penetration testing executables
- What is it about Python that makes it useful for penetration testing and other information security tasks?
- Same thing that makes it useful for anything else
- mpacket from core security
- What are some of the more useful Python penetration testing tools?
- We’ve noticed that a lot of the literature around information security and penetration testing focuses on targeting Windows. Can you enlighten us as to why that is?
- Windows event tracing
- logman
- event trace providers – implement packet sniffing (Can turn every browser into a key logger)
- Primary attack surface – Where most attacks are targeted
- Fewer purely Linux systems
- Very few ports open – maybe 80, 22
- Very likely no user just sitting there waiting to run an executable you send
- More freedom on Linux – less formalized patching process, more variable tools = more exploits
- Will write code to only use built in modules for Python that will run in customer target environments
- What are some of the legal considerations that you have to deal with on a regular basis as a penetration tester?
- There have recently been a number of attacks based on hijacking the TCP/IP stack. Is Python being used for any of these exploits or tools to defend against them?
- Data analytics
- Detect repeated sequence numbers – Man in the Middle Attack
- As simple as 5 lines of Python code
- import scapy, start sniffing packets, pull together all packets – make list of associated packets
- Can pull together all packets inside of stream
- Time spefic source communicates with specific destination
- Bro – intrusion detection suite
- Built into Security Onion – Doug Berks
- FLOSS Weekly episode 296 with Bro developers
- What are some activities that you do on a regular basis for which you would turn to another language or toolchain, rather than using Python?
- Powershell – The Python of windows
- Whitelisted and ubiquitous
- Password cracking – compiled language like C or assembly
- For anyone who is interested in getting involved in the security industry, and penetration testing in particular, what resources or tools would you recommend?
- Developers make the best InfoSec professionals
- Lots of jobs and opportunities
- Developer -> Systems Administration -> Information Security
- Security conferences – BSides, Defcon, Black Hat
- Online capture the flag challenges (google it) – good practice for critical thinking and using code for security exercises
- Get involved in the industry – Meetups, etc.
- SANS institute course, Python for Penetration Testers, SEC573 by Mark Baggett – sans.org
- Lots of free online resources
- Violent Python
- PicoCTF
- Counter Hack Challenges
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The intro and outro music is from Requiem for a Fish The Freak Fandango Orchestra / CC BY-SA
