Phases of an attack

When it comes to an attack, the same pattern is usually repeated over and over again. These phases are also reflected when it comes to a professional penetration test, which is performed by red teamers.

The following diagram illustrates the phases of an attack:

Figure 8.1 – Phases of an attack

In the first phase, known as reconnaissance, the red teamer tries to get as much information as possible about the target. Once this phase has been completed, vulnerabilities are identified (vulnerability identification) that can be used for exploitation and getting access to the target.

Once a target has been successfully exploited, usually, credentials are collected, which can be used for lateral movement and to collect even more identities. Part of post-exploitation is to gain persistence, which means that the red teamer can reconnect without the need to exploit vulnerabilities once more.

Lateral movement can also occur by finding...