Asset Inventories

PCI365

How do you know what you need to apply your PCI DSS controls to? Simple, you check your asset inventory. You do have one, right? You know, PCI DSS requirement 2.4? Oh. You haven’t got one, have you.

Never fear, creating one is relatively simple providing you know your scope. Creating the asset inventory is really just a case of listing all the components that are in-scope for you. What should you include though?

Well, all system components so that’s things like network devices, firewalls, servers, desktops, laptops, wireless access points (important enough they get their own requirement, 11.1.1) and POI machines. You should also include at least key software that is used within your environment (think operating systems, payment applications, server software etc.)

You also need to include enough information to satisfy PCI DSS so for each item that is:

• Enough information to uniquely identify the component (host…

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PenTest Edition: Cracking WEP, WPS, WPA, and WPA2 Wi-Fi Networks with the “Fern Wi-Fi Cracker” Tool

Streamline the PCI Assessment Process with a Playbook

Why Create a PCI Assessment Playbook

Having gone through the Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard (PCI DSS) yearly assessment process several times, I can confirm it is a fairly intensive assessment that will require a large effort from a lot people!

Each assessment the Assessors will request evidence, review documentation, ask for sample system configurations, be onsite to interview and observe personnel, and present observations or findings that must be remediated. These various assessment activities and last-minute remediation efforts can be very disruptive to all involved, and usually result in “fire drill” activities that require personnel to be pulled away from their daily tasks to react to the assessment requests.

Since the PCI assessment is very similar from year to year, and with some well thought out planning it is possible to streamline the assessment process. Just like in football, having a well thought out strategy in the form of a playbook can assist everyone that needs to know their part, or what needs to be done when. With this cylinder process in place and in the form of a PCI Assessment Playbook that everyone can follow, it can greatly reduce the stress historically associated with the assessment and attaining Continue reading

The Great Multi-Factor Authentication Debate — PCI Guru

The Council brings back the Assessor Session to this year’s Community Meeting and it takes only one question to get passions flowing. The question was to get a clarification of a comment made by Ralph Poore, Director, Emerging Standards at the Council, about multi-factor authentication (MFA). First a little background to get everyone up to […]

via The Great Multi-Factor Authentication Debate — PCI Guru

The Importance of System Hardening

Most operating systems are not very secure out of the box and favor convenience and ease of use over security. IT Security professionals may not agree with a vendor’s user friendly approach to their OS, but that does not mean they have to accept it. There are steps that can be taken to harden a system and eliminate as many security risks as possible

System Hardening Examples

The most basic hardening procedure is to change the vendor default user name and password. You would be surprised how many vendor default access codes can found with a simple Google search!

System hardening can include configuration settings to remove unnecessary services, applying firewall rules, enforcing password complexity, setting failed login thresholds, and system idle time outs.

System hardening can also include installing an anti-virus program, forwarding logs to a centralized log management solution, and applying vendor released system patches.

Basically system hardening is a way to lock down the Operating System before the system goes into production. The hardening guides can not only detail the steps to follow to secure a system, but can complement any system deployment guides. Along with the list of procedures to follow to improve system security the hardening Continue reading

Installation Guide for Kali Linux

IT Security Skills Anyone Can and Should Learn

I’ve been teaching IT security awareness for several years and I try to get those in attendance of the classes to learn some basic IT security skills. These basic skills build on each other and there is some cross over, but ultimately this blended set of security skills can help anyone stay safe online. As with any sport you always start by learning the fundamentals, and while no one skill can get you into the game or keep you safe online, they can definitely make you ready for either.

Physical Security

With free Wi-Fi available in coffee shops and many fast food restaurants I constantly see people leaving their devices unattended and this lapse can allow someone to walk off with the device unnoticed. Think about your device and the amount of data it may contain.  The device may have your whole world stored on it! If someone takes your laptop, tablet, or phone it is so much more than having the device stolen, but the data it contains. Besides this Wi-Fi example other scenarios to pay attention to your device is when going through airport security or leaving the device in plain site while stored in the car. Continue reading

Complete Detailed Guide on Installing Kali linux in Vmware

Dale Rapp:

Great set of instructions for installing Kali Linux in VMware Player.

Originally posted on Cyber Warrior+:

This tutorial will walk you through the difficult process of installing Kali Linux in VMware Player, a free virtual machine manager that can be downloaded from http://www.vmware.com. This tutorial assumes that you have some basic knowledge of your computer (amount of RAM number of processors, etc.) This tutorial is also intended for beginners who haven’t worked with VMware or Kali Linux before.

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Step One:

First we need to download Kali from http://kali.org/downloads/. If you have a 64-bit capable computer (like me), then you probably will want the 64-bit version of Kali for performance reasons. Expand the drop down menu’s to find the version you need. Select the 64-bit version ONLY if you have a 64-bit computer.

Step Two:

If you don’t have a torrent program, then click the link highlighted above and select “Save” when the download notification appears. Make sure you know where you saved it.

If you have…

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What’s in a Name?

Most home users select their wireless network name without much thought to the actual name except to make it easy for them to see and connect to. So many people never think that the networks name also known as the Service Set Identifier or SSID could be a security risk. Okay, a security risk may be a reach, but let’s just say some SSIDs are more secure than others, and I will list some dos and don’ts when selecting an SSID.

Before the list lets discuss what makes the SSID important. Hackers need to gather several pieces of information including the SSID to crack a networks WPA/WPA2 password. Hackers have pre-configured tables with this information including common or default SSID names and if you’re using one of these common names you have made their job easier and your network more of a target.

• Do change the SSID from the factory set default wireless network name.
• Don’t select a name in top 1000 most common SSIDs. Now this list is very long and at first glance you will notice a lot of factory given default names (dlink, Linksys, 2wire, Netgear, etc…), so as mentioned above change the default name.
• Don’t use your Continue reading

The To DS and From DS Fields

Currently I’m studying for the Certified Wireless Analysis Professional (CWAP) exam and I’m rereading the study guide and I found the chapters that examined the different fields and elements present in the MAC header most interesting. I had a rough idea, but during my studies learned a great deal more about the unique fields and elements dedicated to wireless that keep the network functioning and help packets get delivered. Two fields of particular interest are the To Distribution System (To DS) and From Distribution System (From DS) and how these fields determine if the frame is leaving or entering the wireless environment.

Distribution System

Just a quick definition of the distribution system and basically the DS is the infrastructure that connects multiple access points together to form an Extended Service Set (ESS). The DS is typically an 802.3 Ethernet wired network, but it doesn’t have to be, and the DS can even be a wireless back haul.

MAC Header & Frame Control Field

Lets now look at the MAC header which can contain four address fields. The number of address fields is a major difference between Ethernet frames, which only use two address fields, and wireless frames that could Continue reading

Wireshark 802.11 Display Filters

Wireshark 802.11 frame type and subtype display filters to quickly sort packet captures.

CWNA CWSP CWAP Study Resources

General Resources

Quick overview of 802 legacy, 802.11a, 802.11b, 802.11g, 802.11n, and the 802.11ac draft standard.

Free Wi-Fi Learning Resources from CWNP

The CWNP Question of the Day (QOTD)

CWNP Exam Terms

CWNP Study Guide CD-ROM Downloads

Packetlife WLAN cheat sheet

Wi-Fi Alliance home page

CWNA

Certified Wireless Network Administrator (CWNA) Overview of the Certificfation

CWNA Certified Wireless Network Official Study Guide: Exam PW0-105 (CWNP Official Study Guides)

Here is the link to download the updated PW0-105 CWNA exam objectives

24GHz_channels

5ghzuniibandschannels.jpg

Wi-Fi Back to Basics – 2.4 GHz Channel Planning

Wikipedia page on  WLAN Channels

802.11 Medium Access

Introduction to Wi-Fi Wireless Antennas

Wi-Fi CERTIFIED™ for WMM®-Power Save

Aerohive’s Medium Contention & Mac Sublayer WiFi 101 video (28:00)

Easy db Math in 5 Minutes

Radio Frequency Measurements (1:13)

Understanding IEEE 802.11n

Memorize 802.11 MCS values and Data rates for CWNA or CWDP (YouTube Video)

CWSP

CWSP Certified Wireless Security Professional Official Study Guide: Exam PW0-204 (CWSP Official Study Guides)

Here is the link to download the updated PW0-204 CWSP exam objectives

EAP Types (Excel file for my own reference)

Marcus Burton, Director of Product Development at CWNP, Continue reading

Cyber Spring Cleaning! Don’t Forget Your Wireless Router!

As the weather warms up articles to remind us about cleaning up our devices, online accounts, making backups, and changing passwords are sure to show up, but don’t forget to add your wireless router to this list. Over time the wireless environment may have changed and the number of devices connecting to the network has increased and you have noticed a decrease in the performance. I have listed some items to check to either improve the performance or security of your wireless network.

Upgrade the Router

Electronics age fast and if you’re still running an 802.11g router it is time to upgrade. Look for an 802.11n protocol wireless router or get the latest and greatest 802.11ac router and be ready for the next wave of wireless devices. Either way you’ll notice a performance boost and the router won’t create a bottleneck in the network.

Check for the Latest Firmware

While not as often as Windows or Apple software updates a routers software called firmware does get the occasional update. Firmware could add functionality, patch bugs, or add security features. When you log into the routers management interface look for the firmware section to verify the current version and download Continue reading

How to Fix the SIOCSIFFLAGS Error in Kali Linux

I recently rebuilt my laptop and reloaded the applications I use for pentesting including Virtualbox and Kali Linux. If you need help setting up Kali Linux in Virtualbox here is a great link that walks through the setup process.

Once I had Kali up and running in my virtual environment I plugged in my ALFA wireless adapter and made sure the USB device was running in the virtual environment.

I ran iwconfig to verify the wireless interface.

So far so good and I ran ifconfig to verify the interface was up, but the only interface returned was the loopback.

After discovering the wireless interface was not up and I ran ifconfig wlan0 up to bring it up and got the SIOCSIFFLAGS error.

I wrote about this error a while back when I was running Backtrack 5 and I first started using the Fern WiFi Cracker. I decided to expand on that post plus I was asked about creating a script to run all the commands at one time instead of typing them individually. The script should be run every time Kali is booted, but after your adapter is plugged in and recognized.

First open a text editor and type in the Continue reading

Changing Your MAC Address Using Macchanger

Macchanger is a free utility used to change the MAC address of the network adapter. Macchanger can randomly assign a MAC address or assign a specific MAC address of your choosing.

Usage

There are several instances changing the MAC address is necessary, but I use the utility while pentesting a wireless network with MAC filtering enabled and have to assign an approved MAC address to the wireless adapter.

Install

The Macchanger utility is included with Kali Linux, but to install the application, update it, or verify your using the most up to date version run the following command. In the screen shot that follows the install command confirms that the newest version is already installed.

#apt-get install macchanger

Help

Help with Macchanger can be accessed by running the following two commands.

#macchanger --help

#man macchanger

Assign a Random MAC Address

I’m using an Alfa USB wireless adapter and I will run the following commands to verify the adapters interface and the permanent MAC address.

#ifconfig

#ifconfig wlan1

Macchanger can also be used to verify the manufacture burned in MAC address by running the following command.

#macchanger--show wlan1

Change the MAC address using one of the following commands.

#macchanger -r  Continue reading

How to install Kali Linux in Virtualbox : Step-By-Step guide.