Penetration Testing: Ethical Considerations and Methodology Assessment

This Assignment assesses the following module Learning Outcomes (from Definitive Module Document):

1. The ethical issues relating to penetration testing and how to incorporate them operationally.

2. A deep and systematic application of the tools, methods and procedures (theoretical and methodological) used within the cyber security arena in the context of a penetration test

3. Work in teams (as leader or member) adapting to changing requirements for effectively communicating the results of a penetration test

Assignment Brief:

Scenario:

Assume that you are working as a consultant for an SME which is building its capability in penetration testing. You are part of a small team of three (3) consultants who are preparing to deliver a grey-box penetration testing project. Your client has asked your employer to conduct the penetration test against a server, as they fear they might have already been breached. To their best of their knowledge, the company assumes that the server offers only the following online services: http, b) ssh, and c) vnc. In this context, this assignment has two tasks:

• Task 1 is an individual task that will assess your understanding of the statutory and ethical issues surrounding penetration testing

• Task 2 is a group task that will assess your understanding of the pentest process itself. Please ensure that in completing these tasks you deploy the techniques you have been taught in your course and, especially, in this module. If you produce work that is not concise and to the point, then marks may be reduced.

The deadline for this assignment is the 25.03.2021.

Task 1 (Individual work)

Task 1 is an individual exercise. It is expected that this task will be in the region of 1500 words. You are expected to:

• Comment on the statutory and ethical considerations of a penetration tester working in the UK.

• Undertake research and critically compare the published penetration testing methodologies (such as OWASP, PTES, OSSTMM…) in order to deduce their applicability for Assignment 2.

Please note, your task is to critically compare existing methodologies against the scope of Assignment 2. As a result, we are not expecting you to provide an overview of them, not to provide a critique on types of PenTests and certainly not to tell us what is your favorite “pentesting color” (white, black, grey). In order to undertake the comparison, you will have to justify your comparison criteria. Your comparison criteria should be extracted from the scope of Assignment 2.

Assignment Brief

Scope of Assignment 2: Undertake a grey-box infrastructure PenTest. The target of the second assignment will be one Linux server, which the company assumes that it offers the following online services:

Your Task 1 findings must be used in Task 2.

If you fail to provide references using the Harvard referencing style as per the University regulations, your work will be marked as superficial and it is unlikely to obtain a pass grade.

Task 2 (Group work)

Task 2 is mainly a group exercise. Your tutor will allocate you to a group. As a group, you will have to decide on how you will manage this task, what roles you will each have and how you will manage change during the lifecycle of this assignment. The Group Management section of the report is an individual activity and should be treated as confidential information. Each student is expected to report on group management activities. Discrepancies between group members will affect the grades.

Note that on the field, a customer does not care about problems and issues. The customer will expect a report for his money. In reporting for the Group Management Section, it is important to focus on the solutions your group will implement in order to deliver on time, and not on the problems.

You are expected to work together and design/develop:

• a Standard Operating Procedure (SOP),

• a decision-making tree,

These will describe how you plan to undertake the penetration test of the server, which is Task 3 and you can find in the second Assignment Brief Document, entitled Assignment 2: Pentesting Server. Each group member must include their final SOP and the decision tree to his/her report. In addition, each member should submit intermediary versions of the SOP and decision tree, as they are produced by the Team on each calendar week. Aim to submit at least one version of the outcomes of your work before your final submission.

In particular, the SOP should address: intelligence gathering (target profiling), vulnerability identification and analysis, and target exploitation (including post exploitation).

An SOP is defined as a set of step-by-step instructions compiled by an organisation to help workers carry out routine operations. The SOP must explain what PenTest activities you will undertake in Task 3 and you can find in the second Assignment Brief Document, entitled Assignment 2: Pentesting Server. The decision tree must report how you will execute your SOP. There must be no discrepancies between the SOP and the decision tree. The SOP is expected to have the following example structure:

Task 1 (Individual Work)

• Phase 1

o Process 1.1

? Activity 1.1.1

? Name:

? Input:

? Function:

? Output:

? Resources/Tool:

? Details:

Please do not submit hand-written decision trees. A decision tree is a specific type of flow chart used to visualize the decision-making process by mapping out different courses of action, as well as their potential outcomes. The nodes of the tree must be the activities of your SOP.

Assessment Criteria Mark Available

Task 1: Comparison Criteria 5

Task 1: PenTest Methodology Comparison 10

Task 2: Group management 5

Task 2: SOP (Standard Operating Procedure) for Task 2 10

Task 2: Decision Making Tree for Task 2 10

For clarification questions please make use of the discussion forums on Canvas so that the whole of the student cohort may benefit from the discussion.

Submission Requirements:

You are required to submit a text report in a PDF document using the submission link provided on Canvas. Please note it is your responsibility to ensure you will submit on time. Canvas is a stable platform with a  School of Physics, Engineering and Computer Science

large technical team supporting it. Apropos, it is a software platform. It is advisable to submit before the day of the deadline.

You are expected to demonstrate an insight into the implications of the problem introduced in each task by using clear and concise arguments. The report should be well written, showing good skills in creativity and design. Sentences should be of an appropriate length and the writing style should be brief but informative. Work that is not making sense will be marked down. Write to impress! Aim for excellence. Be pedantic about formatting and presentation.

The following report structure is expected:

1. Task 1

a. Legal & Ethical Considerations

b. Comparison Criteria

c. PenTest Methodology Comparison

2. Task 2

a. Group Management

b. SOP

c. Decision Tree

There are no marks allocated for the report structure, but it is advisable you follow the expected structure in order to simplify the assessment process and have a clear link between the marking criteria and your work.

Marks awarded for:

Please see last page for what the assessors will be looking for in your report. A rubric will be provided on Canvas.

In-course formative feedback and individual personalised summative feedback. Formative feedback will be given for the tasks through Canvas and during the scheduled sessions as per the module delivery plan. Individual personalised summative feedback will be given through Canvas for the canvas submission. Every week, Review & Reflection questions related to the weekly unit activities will be posted on Canvas. These questions will help you to reflect on the activities you will be undertakingas part of the assessed work for the module, self-assess your work as you progress through the module and help you understand the subject better.