PHASES OF HACKING

PHASES OF HACKING

As you may know by now, hacking has various phases because without them the hacker will be lost in the world of codes and data in a loop.

This video goes into depth with the five phases of hacking using a real-life example.

The five phases of hacking includes:

·        Footprinting or gathering information.

·        Scanning or looking for vulnerabilities.

·        Gaining access by breaking into the system.

·        Maintaining access of the system.

·        Clearing tracks because hackers are too cool to not be anonymous.

Gathering Information

The first step in any hacking to be carried out is the gathering of information, reconnaissance. The hackers use various tools and methods to collect information. Similar to how we research about different restaurants before heading out for the night, A hacker gathers information on the system he is about to attack.

There are mainly two types of Footprinting

1.      Active Footprinting: This is the method employed by hackers where they get into direct contact with the target system and collect all the necessary information.

2.      Passive Footprinting: Here the hackers are in contact with the target system remotely and collect information without and direct contact with the system.

There are various types of information that a hacker can collection from a system.
They include

 

·        Firewall passwords

·        IP addresses

·        Network roadmaps

·        Security Credentials

·        Server configurations

·        Browser history etc…

 

So, make sure you always delete your browser history: p

SCANNING

Once all information about the target system that the hacker is about to attack is collected, the hacker should look for vulnerabilities in the system that he/she can attack to gain access into the system successfully. Vulnerabilities are nothing but the weakness of the system.

For example, take into consideration the auto-fill techniques that we use to remember the usernames and passwords. The information is stored as cookies on the browser. The hacker can hack the browser, access these cookies and easily gain access into.

The other different vulnerabilities that a hacker can exploit to gain access include

·        Weak Passwords

·        Installing software infected with virus

·        Use of Broken algorithms

·        Clicking on infected links on the Internet (aka clickbait)

A recent hack carried out on Home Box Office (HBO) resulted in the Hackers exploiting the company’s cloud resources to gain access to unreleased episodes and scripts of the hit show Game of Thrones! They demanded a ransom of $7.5 Million in ransom in exchange to not leaking the show online.

GAINING ACCESS

We are all familiar with Quora. It is the number one place to visit for any type of questions we may have during our daily routine. Did you know that Quora was recently hacked and upto 100 million user data including usernames, passwords and questions asked was compromised?

One of the world’s biggest hotel chains The Marriot recently gave a press statement that personal information of more than 500 Million guests was stolen by hackers.

So why do hacker steal information or content? We can answer this question by looking into the types of hackers.

1.      Black Hat: These types of hackers steal information for malicious content. To either sell the information for profit or to intentionally ruin the future of a company or organization

2.      White Hat: They are the good guys. They work along with organisations to strengthen or to set up Honey pots for other hackers.

3.       Grey Hat: They are similar to the black hat hackers in that they steal information to deliberately hurt the target. However, they leak the stolen information to the law enforcement and let them handle it.

MAINTAINING ACCESS

Once the hacker has collected information on the target system, scanned for any possible vulnerabilities, attacked it any possible vulnerabilities, attacked it and gained access into the system to steal information, the hacker has to maintain his access into the system continuously.

Most hacks do not complete in a few seconds as shown in the movies. Neither do they take place after a single click on the keyboard. Sometimes the hackers can continue to hack a system for months on end without the knowledge of the owner. They use several tools to help them achieve a successful hack.

1.      Rootkits: This is a tool that gives the hackers access to the target system remotely whenever it interacts with the internet. The rootkit enables the hacker to install a backdoor into the system which he/she can use anytime they want to gain access into the system.

2.      Keyloggers: This tool logs every keystroke that the target system performs. If used on the right system, this tools gives the hackers a continuous stream of credit card number, phone numbers and passwords. So, the next time you enter your details on a shady website, be aware!

CLEARING TRACKS

We have all played the game of cops and robbers when we young. We have all managed to evade the cops in video games. None of us like to get caught! Do we?

A hacker always works under the shadows of anonymity. Be it a Black hat hacker or an ethical hacker, he/she will not leave any traces behind. Some of the techniques that the hackers can use to clear the tracks include.

1.      Erasing Log files: Every software on a computer has its’s own set of logfiles that record certain events on the user such as router logs and IDS logs. The hackers usually use a script called clear to clear all logs records.

2.      Disable auditing: The routine auditing usually brings into light that a system was hacked. A hacker usually disables auditing of a system to avoid getting caught.

3.      Modifying/Deleting Folders created: Sometimes the hacker will have to create additional files or install software to conduct a hack on the system. Deleting those before exiting the system will help cover his tracks.

4.      It goes without saying that a Hacker always uses a VPN to make his location and his IP Address.

1.      Which one of the following is stored as cookies on the browser and is a vulnerability?

a.      Autofill username and passwords.

b.      Clickbait’s

c.      Browser History

Ans- Autofill username and passwords.

2.      Which one of the following acts as backdoors for maintaining access to a site?

a.      Userlogs

b.      Keyloggers

c.      Rootkits

        Ans- Rootkits.

Key Takeaways!

Let’s revise what we have learnt from the previous video

·        Footprinting is the process of collecting information on the system that the hacker is going to attack. Information collected may include passwords and other login credentials.

·        Scanning is the process of Identifying the weak and vulnerable points of the targets system that the hacker can use to gain access into the system.

·        The hacker uses different hacking techniques as discussed to gain access to the target system.

·        The hacker needs to maintain access to the system that he/she has hacked into to complete the hack. Hackers make use of several tools to help them maintain access.

·        Once the hack is successfully completed, the hacker should erase all traces by deleting log files and entries.