We sat down with John Stahmann, CISSP and Director of Sales Engineering for Offensive Security and Infrastructure Protection at Fortra, and asked him what he had learned after more than 20 years in the industry about the pitfalls, hacks, and little-known facts of offensive security. With so much architectural complexity, vendor sprawl, and multi-platform problems plaguing the cybersecurity...

Core Impact UpdatesDuring the month of February, updates have been made to Core Impact to enhance its functionality. New modules have been added to perform Active Directory attacks taking advantage of new features from the latest version of Impacket. There is also a new Web Applications Fuzzer that can find some of the directories and files that are not referenced by the pages discovered during...

NTLM (NT Lan Manager) relay attacks are still a significant threat to the security of Windows based networks. Though it is a well-known attack method that has been around for many years, it is no less dangerous than when it first emerged. In fact, it has been an attack method that is currently popular with “aggressive” hacking groups, including the Russian APT28. These groups have successfully...

When hashing out your offensive security strategy, it’s not all about winning – especially when you’re role-playing as the hacker. Red teams are out to attack. Blue teams are out to defend. While many assume that the goal of an engagement is for Red to best Blue, adopting a “Purple team” mindset focuses more on learning. It prioritizes growth over outcome and trains Blue so that Blue does better...

One of Core Impact’s most valuable features is its certified exploit library. Fortra’s Core Security has a team of expert exploit writers that conduct research, evaluating and prioritizing the most relevant vulnerabilities in order to update the library with critical and useful exploits. Additionally, the QA team creates its own clean environment to validate each exploit before its release to...

How the justice system deals with cybercrime is still relatively new and finding its footing. How cybercriminals are leveraging the legal system is relatively new, too. Imagine a world where your organization gets hacked, and then, to add insult to injury, gets reported by the hackers for being out of compliance. Well, you don’t have to imagine too hard because those days are upon us. While the...

One of Core Impact’s most valuable features is its certified exploit library. Fortra’s Core Security has a team of expert exploit writers that conduct research, evaluating and prioritizing the most relevant vulnerabilities in order to update the library with critical and useful exploits. Additionally, the QA team creates its own clean environment to validate each exploit before its release to...

We are thrilled to announce the latest release of Core Impact! Version 21.5 is packed with exciting features and improvements that provide a smoother and even more efficient user experience. Some of the new features include the option to use Impacket’s NTLMrelayx module to relay connections during an Active Directory attack, various coercion methods to trigger authentications into the relay...

When it comes to a security staple like penetration testing, we all have preconceived notions that make this practice seem quite challenging. The need to rotate vendors, interruptions to normal business, or even testers causing security risks are some that you often hear thrown around. But are they true? The short answer is no. In this blog, we’ll put these myths to rest and bring the truth about...

While it’s important to adhere to compliance regulations, blunders do happen. What does it mean when these blunders lead to you failing a cybersecurity audit, and how can you recover? Consequences of Failing a Cybersecurity Audit Failing a cybersecurity audit can mean several things. First, there’s the up-front legal fines that come with falling on the wrong side of compliance. Here are a few...

You may have heard that Core Security’s Core Impact is an enterprise-grade penetration testing solution that uses same tactics and techniques as real-world attacks. You may have heard that it’s automated and easy-to-use, so teams of any prior skill level can leverage the same advanced attacks. And you may have even heard that it can automate routine tasks as part of the overall engagement, so more...

In The Importance of Layering Offensive Security Solutions, Fortra experts underscore the advantage of developing a single source offensive security tooling portfolio. Read on to find out the necessary ingredients for a proactive strategy and why Fortra’s ability to combine and maximize solutions optimizes security and produces the most effective outcomes. The Five Elements of an Offensive...

When school is out for summer, it seems like everyone is on vacation – everyone except your (un)friendly neighborhood cybercriminals. Something about the summer months puts us off our guard and threat actors on high alert. The only way to stay safe is to know what’s causing the trouble in the first place. We’ve packed our sunscreen – now read on to find out how to make sure your security also...

Cyber attacks may not have been around when Ben Franklin said, “By failing to prepare, you are preparing to fail,” but it has become an appropriate cybersecurity principle, nonetheless. So what does preparation involve and how are organizations ensuring that is integrated into their security strategy? One example is the TIBER EU Framework, a set of standardized red teaming procedures designed for...

Organized ransomware isn’t slowing down – in fact, a group just discovered a month ago is already responsible for dozens of attacks – and they are experts at discovering weaknesses we miss. With so many sophisticated new security tools and so much stack investment, how do we continue to play catch-up to roving ransomware groups? Because the reality is, we’re all prone to making mistakes. The 2023...

The times, they are a changin', as Bob Dylan would say. It's a time of a lot of global change, leading to dramatic shifts in different industries. Organizations have to be agile and change along with it, all while keeping cybersecurity top of mind. New changes mean new attack vectors One thing that comes with new changes are new attack vectors. That's why organizations need to stay vigilant during...

What’s the point of establishing a baseline if you don’t intend to track your progress? When organizations only run an initial pen test, they are only getting half the picture. A pen test is used to give a business a baseline idea of how well their systems would stack up against hackers who wanted to exploit vulnerabilities. Once the results are delivered, it’s up to the team to implement those...

Some time ago, Core Impact added a module that supports the use BloodHound, a data analysis tool that uncovers hidden relationships within an Active Directory (AD) environment. This module enabled the collection of Active Directory information through the Agent using SharpHound. Additional modules have now been added to allow Core Impact users to further utilize Bloodhound. In this blog, we’ll...

There’s something positive about a healthy degree of fear. It lets us understand our own limitations, heightens our senses, and keeps us alive. The tendency to err on the side of caution was called out in our recent 2023 Penetration Testing Report as a smart practice when it comes to cybersecurity. In fact, though security professionals reported less confidence in their security posture, this loss...

As cybersecurity needs continue to rise, it’s no secret that organizations are having to do more with less. In any given company one can find modern-day use of the old adage, “Patch it up, wear it out, make it do or do without.” That make it do part is exactly what upskilling and reskilling is all about. As companies respond to growing threat appetites with fewer qualified personnel in the job...