Upgrade to Pro
— share decks privately, control downloads, hide ads and more …
Speaker Deck
Sign up for free
Menu
Search
Features
All features
Private URLs
Password Protection
Custom URLS
Scheduled publishing
Remove Branding
Restrict embedding
Deck Collections
Notes
Features
All features
Private URLs
Password Protection
Custom URLS
Scheduled publishing
Remove Branding
Restrict embedding
Deck Collections
Notes
Explore
Featured decks
Featured speakers
Programming
Technology
Storyboards
Explore
Featured decks
Featured speakers
Programming
Technology
Storyboards
Pricing
Search
Sign in
Sign up for free
Penetration Testing is Stupid - BsidesSF 2013
Search
Brett Hardin
February 25, 2013
Technology
2.3k
2
Share
Embed
Copy iframe code
Copy JS code
Copy link
Start on current slide
Penetration Testing is Stupid - BsidesSF 2013
Brett Hardin
February 25, 2013
More Decks by Brett Hardin
See All by Brett Hardin
Building Your House on Sand
bretthardin
2
1.5k
Bad Version of Builders vs. Breakers
bretthardin
1
98
Builders vs. Breakers - AppSec 2012
bretthardin
2
1.5k
Security the Wrong Way
bretthardin
2
270
BSidesSanFrancisco2011 - Misdirection: The Rise and Fall and Rise of Regulatory Compliance
bretthardin
1
270
Security? Who Cares! - Privacy is Dead
bretthardin
1
220
OWASP - Top 10
bretthardin
0
1.2k
Other Decks in Technology
See All in Technology
AIエージェント時代、Kaggleにどう取り組むか
takanao
1
160
AWS Continuum for Penetration Testing に Deep Dive してみる
asanoharuki
1
1.3k
背中から、背中へ ー 社外コミュニティで学んだ「雑に背中を押す」という恩送り ー / easygoing encouragement and pay forward to community
naitosatoshi
0
320
DevelopersIO 2026 Tokyo 現時点の衛星通信サービスの現状を整理してみる
maroon1st
0
310
LLM Content Moderationを支える評価・改善ループの実践
suikabar
2
350
Gemini Intelligence 入門 ― AppFunctions と Gemini Nano
takuroabe
0
370
Steerable Visual Representations
sansantech
PRO
0
440
スクラム祭り2026福井トラック_閉じたループから価値のスパイラルへ
kc_nakanishi
0
170
生成AI時代、PMは事業責任者に進化するともっと面白い〜PMだからこそ事業構造を動かせる時代に〜
kakehashi
PRO
0
860
How we choose session proposals
kawaguti
PRO
0
170
CTO Night|NotionのAIエージェントとFDE
kzkhykw1991
0
320
Devin プロモコードの受け取りと適用(2026.10.27)
kinopeee
0
470
Featured
See All Featured
Kristin Tynski - Automating Marketing Tasks With AI
techseoconnect
PRO
0
560
GraphQLとの向き合い方2022年版
quramy
50
15k
Save Time (by Creating Custom Rails Generators)
garrettdimon
PRO
33
5.4k
Learning to Love Humans: Emotional Interface Design
aarron
275
41k
Reflections from 52 weeks, 52 projects
jeffersonlam
356
22k
The Invisible Side of Design
smashingmag
301
52k
Future Trends and Review - Lecture 12 - Web Technologies (1019888BNR)
signer
PRO
0
3.8k
A Modern Web Designer's Workflow
chriscoyier
699
190k
[RailsConf 2023 Opening Keynote] The Magic of Rails
eileencodes
31
10k
Statistics for Hackers
jakevdp
799
230k
Introduction to Domain-Driven Design and Collaborative software design
baasie
1
1.1k
Building a Modern Day E-commerce SEO Strategy
aleyda
45
9.3k
Transcript
Penetration Testing is stupid
Brett Hardin @miscsecurity
None
None
pentesters
Why Who Where When What PENETRATION TESTING Why Who Where
When What
Why Who Where When What PENETRATION TESTING What
Audience Participation Educated Guess?
A live test of the effectiveness of security defenses through
mimicking the actions of real-life attackers. ISACA
test security defenses
mimicking real-life attackers
MIMIC THE REAL
Gunter Ollmann of Damballa on Real Attacks
Submit CV 2000
USB Keys 2005 2000
Buy the machine 2009+ 2005 2000
Penetration tests are unique
Penetration testers are friendly
Penetration tests don’t simulate attacks
Why Who Where When What PENETRATION TESTING Who
The Average Penetration tester
performed by
Jack Nicholson
I’M A PROFESSIONAL TRUST ME.
I’LL TRY ‘PASSWORD’
I’LL TRY ‘PA55WORD’
LET ME IN. PLEASE.
YOU WILL LET ME IN.
WE’RE FRIENDS
WHY CAN’T I GET IN?
LOOK, A WAY IN.
THEY WERE SO DUMB
I’M GONNA REDRUM HIM
pentesters
The average penetration tester
The average are common
The average are necessary
The average are cheap
The average are simple to copy
The average follow methodologies
The best penetration testers
The best are rare
The best invent new attacks
The best are expensive
The best are overkill
The best mimic the real
The average mimic tools
MIMIC THE REAL
MIMIC THE REAL
Why Who Where When What PENETRATION TESTING When
ATTACKS happen when you’re asleep
ATTACKS happen when you’re on vacation
ATTACKS happen when you have no budget
ATTACKS happen when during business hours
ATTACKS happen when you are not ready
ATTACKS happen when you are ready PENTESTS
Date&Time&Resources
None
Attackers aren’t limited by resources
MIMIC THE REAL
MIMIC THE REAL
Why Who Where When What PENETRATION TESTING Where
Rules of Engagement
Internet
Web Application only
On-site
Dialup
The Wi-fi’s
‘puters
News Flash
Attackers don’t care
Limits
Attackers aren’t limited by resources previously learned
Attackers aren’t limited by resources Revision
Attackers aren’t limited
Phone
MIMIC THE REAL
Why Who Where When What PENETRATION TESTING Why
Penetration testing isn’t important
Penetration testing isn’t important to most organizations
Penetration testing doesn’t secure you
Penetration testing tests defenses
required We’ve Convinced Everyone* it’s
TANGENT ALERT
Penetration Testers love to diss vendors
Penetration Testers are vendors
BACK TO YOUR REGULARLY SCHEDULED PROGRAM
Penetration testing proves two things
Penetration testing proves vulnerability One
Penetration testing proves vulnerability adjective One
Penetration testing identifies a few* risky issues Two
Penetration testing identifies a few* risky issues * Actual Results
may vary Two
known and unknown
new exploits aren’t needed
known exploits work
low-hanging fruit
expensive & rare New Exploits
MIMIC THE REAL
When pen testing isn’t stupid
No more defensive ideas
No more low-hanging fruit
Management wants to assess security controls
check&balance
Why Who Where When What < Attackers are unique
Why Who Where When What < Different attack methods
Why Who Where When What < Unlimited by time
Why Who Where When What No Rules of Engagement <
Why Who Where When What < Doesn’t protect you
Penetration Tests don’t mimic real attacks summary
Penetration Tests don’t secure you summary
Penetration Tests test your defenses summary
Thanks.
Brett Hardin http://bretthard.in