Create a report exploring the stages involved in a specific attack (of your choice) against a computing system.

Select and research an attack of your choice. The attack should be technical in nature and exploit a vulnerability to compromise the security of a process, service, system, or network. You are required to show evidence that you have successfully carried out this exploit within a lab environment. If you wish, you may choose to use one of the vulnerabilities that you exploit within the lab exercises: for example, the RPC DCOM or WebDav exploit. However, selecting an attack it should be better.

You are required to use attack software of your choice (such as Metasploit, Armitage, sqlmap, a stand-alone custom exploit, or other software of your choosing), and take screenshots demonstrating each of the stages in the attack. These screenshots are used to illustrate the content of your report.

A bibliographic tool, such as Zotero, may be helpful.

Your report should have the following outline and content:

Introduction

Begin your report with a brief paragraph noting the attack software used, and the vulnerability and exploit covered in your report.

Description of the vulnerability, exploit, and attack software

Describe the vulnerability that the attack exploits, including how or why the vulnerability exists, what versions of software are vulnerable. Include a technical overview of the category of vulnerability (for example, SQL Injection, buffer overflow, or other as appropriate). Then introduce the exploit and attack software you have chosen to use, and give a detailed description in technical low-level terms of how the attack software is able to exploit the vulnerability. Be sure to describe

and differentiate between the vulnerability, exploit, and the attack software.

Anatomy of an attack

Describe each of the steps of the attack using the attack software of your choice to exploit the vulnerability you have chosen. This will typically include information gathering (such as footprinting, scanning, and enumeration), exploitation, and postexploitation.

Throughout this section use screenshots demonstrating how each of the stages of attack are carried out, and to illustrate the practical implications of the attack.

Information gathering: How can an attacker gather all of the information needed to identify a target, determine that it is vulnerable to attack, and gain all the information needed to attack the target?

Exploitation: How can an attacker exploit the vulnerability to impact a process, system, or network? Describe the technical goings on behind the steps taken by the attacker.

Post-exploitation: What malicious actions are possible after a successful attack? For example, can the attacker modify a user's file, add user accounts, modify system files/programs, modify the kernel, and so on? What are the limitations of what the attacker can do? What actions could the attacker take to maintain access and cover their tracks?

Recommendations for preventing the attack

In this section, describe recommendations that you believe should be implemented for a system/organisation that is vulnerable to this attack. Briefly describe the various layers of security controls (such as firewalls, access controls, anti-malware, IPS, or as appropriate) that can be used to mitigate the risk posed by the attack, and explain which stages of the attack can be thwarted by those security controls. Provide any other recommendations for mitigating the risk, (for example, choosing different software, or training users). Only make recommendations that apply to defend or prevent against the attack you have described.

Provide a screenshot demonstrating a failed attack attempt against a protected (or not vulnerable) system. For additional marks, show evidence that you have secured the originally vulnerable target against the attack.

Related software

Provide a summary of the attack software you have used, and further describe the scope of the attack software: what else can the software be used to do? Briefly describe other attack software that can be used as an alternative to achieve the attacks demonstrated in the report.

Critical reflection

Describe what you think the underlying deficiency is that has resulted in this vulnerability. What impact could this have on businesses and organisations that are vulnerable? What are the legal and ethical issues?

Conclusion

Conclude your report with a summary of your attack, software, and the implications for ICT security.