Many people get confused between brute force attacks and credentials stuffing. To help clear this up, here is a simple description of the two. These are both in regards to the login form only. Brute Force Brute force attacks on the login form consist of the attacker having a defined list (called a dictionary) of potential passwords. The attacker will then try each of these defined passwords with each username the attacker is trying to brute force. Put simply, this is a 1 (username) too many … [Read more...] about What is the difference between Brute Force and Credential Stuffing?
pentest
Installing BeEF on ubuntu 18.04
While working on a VM for a class, I had the opportunity to install BeEF for the students. This was the first VM I have built using Ubuntu 18.04, so I expected there to be a few hiccups along the way. The good news is that the process was pretty straight forward and simple. Here are the steps to getting this up and running on Ubuntu 18.04. https://youtu.be/hD_JRo7YPcg I started off by creating a new virtual machine using Ubuntu 18.04. I won't go through the steps of creating a new virtual … [Read more...] about Installing BeEF on ubuntu 18.04
Choosing Application Security Tools
There are lots of security tools available, so how do you know which one to pick? If your security team is not including the application teams in the decision, you run a big risk of failure. The security team does get the ability to form relationships with vendors. We see them at conferences. We know people that work there. Because our focus is on security, we know the tools that exist in our space and we have an idea of which ones may be better than others. Of course, this is often due to … [Read more...] about Choosing Application Security Tools
OWASP 2017 Changes
When I talk to people about application security, the most recognized topics is the OWASP Top 10. If you haven't heard of the top 10, or need a refresher, you can get the full list at: https://www.owasp.org/images/7/72/OWASP_Top_10-2017_%28en%29.pdf.pdf The OWASP Top 10 is on a three year update cycle. We had the list in 2010, 2013 and now the latest is 2017. You may be wondering why it is 2017 rather than 2016. I think that is a question a lot of people had. In any case, the list made it out … [Read more...] about OWASP 2017 Changes
Two-Factor Authentication Considerations
There was a recent article talking about how a very small percentage of google users actually use 2-factor authentication. You can read the full article at http://www.theregister.co.uk/2018/01/17/no_one_uses_two_factor_authentication/ Why 2-Factor Two-factor authentication, or multi-factor authentication, is a valuable step in the process to protect accounts from unauthorized users. Traditionally, we have relied just on a username/password combination. That process had its own weaknesses that … [Read more...] about Two-Factor Authentication Considerations
Tinder Mobile Take-Aways
While browsing through the news I noticed an article talking about the Tinder mobile app and a privacy concern. You can read the article at https://www.consumerreports.org/privacy/tinder-app-security-flaws-put-users-privacy-at-risk/. To summarize what is considered the issue is that the mobile application does not transmit the photos that you see using HTTPS. This means that anyone on the same connection can see the traffic and, ultimately, see the photos you are presented. From my … [Read more...] about Tinder Mobile Take-Aways