Upgrade to Pro
— share decks privately, control downloads, hide ads and more …
Speaker Deck
Features
Speaker Deck
PRO
Sign in
Sign up for free
Search
Search
Penetration Testing is Stupid - BsidesSF 2013
Search
Sponsored
·
SiteGround - Reliable hosting with speed, security, and support you can count on.
→
Brett Hardin
February 25, 2013
Technology
2
2.3k
Penetration Testing is Stupid - BsidesSF 2013
Brett Hardin
February 25, 2013
Tweet
Share
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
82
Builders vs. Breakers - AppSec 2012
bretthardin
2
1.5k
Security the Wrong Way
bretthardin
2
250
BSidesSanFrancisco2011 - Misdirection: The Rise and Fall and Rise of Regulatory Compliance
bretthardin
1
240
Security? Who Cares! - Privacy is Dead
bretthardin
1
200
OWASP - Top 10
bretthardin
0
1.1k
Other Decks in Technology
See All in Technology
Kubernetesにおける推論基盤
ry
1
390
GCASアップデート(202601-202603)
techniczna
0
140
OCI Security サービス 概要
oracle4engineer
PRO
2
13k
Lambda Web AdapterでLambdaをWEBフレームワーク利用する
sahou909
0
130
猫でもわかるKiro CLI(AI 駆動開発への道編)
kentapapa
0
220
Zeal of the Convert: Taming Shai-Hulud with AI
ramimac
0
110
2026年もソフトウェアサプライチェーンのリスクに立ち向かうために / Product Security Square #3
flatt_security
1
330
[JAWSDAYS2026][D8]その起票、愛が足りてますか?AWSサポートを味方につける、技術的「ラブレター」の書き方
hirosys_
3
180
社内レビューは機能しているのか
matsuba
0
130
Cortex Code CLI と一緒に進めるAgentic Data Engineering
__allllllllez__
0
310
JAWS DAYS 2026 ExaWizards_20260307
exawizards
0
430
AI時代の「本当の」ハイブリッドクラウド — エージェントが実現した、あの頃の夢
ebibibi
0
120
Featured
See All Featured
職位にかかわらず全員がリーダーシップを発揮するチーム作り / Building a team where everyone can demonstrate leadership regardless of position
madoxten
62
52k
Helping Users Find Their Own Way: Creating Modern Search Experiences
danielanewman
31
3.1k
技術選定の審美眼(2025年版) / Understanding the Spiral of Technologies 2025 edition
twada
PRO
118
110k
Marketing to machines
jonoalderson
1
5k
Paper Plane
katiecoart
PRO
0
48k
Become a Pro
speakerdeck
PRO
31
5.8k
Making Projects Easy
brettharned
120
6.6k
Documentation Writing (for coders)
carmenintech
77
5.3k
The Curse of the Amulet
leimatthew05
1
10k
実際に使うSQLの書き方 徹底解説 / pgcon21j-tutorial
soudai
PRO
199
73k
The Myth of the Modular Monolith - Day 2 Keynote - Rails World 2024
eileencodes
26
3.4k
Imperfection Machines: The Place of Print at Facebook
scottboms
269
14k
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