The Basics of Hacking and Penetration Testing Ethical hacking and penetration testing made easy

The Basics of Hacking and Penetration Testing serves as an introduction to the steps required to complete a penetration test or perform an ethical hack. You learn how to properly utilize and interpret the results of modern day hacking tools; which are required to complete a penetration test. Tool coverage will include, Backtrack Linux, Google, Whois, Nmap, Nessus, Metasploit, Netcat, Netbus, and more. A simple and clean explanation of how to utilize these tools will allow you  to gain a solid understanding of each of the four phases and prepare them to take on more in-depth texts and topics. This book includes the use of a single example (pen test target) all the way through the book which allows you to clearly see how the tools and phases relate.

• Each chapter contains hands-on examples and exercises that are designed to teach you how to interpret the results and utilize those results in later phases.
• Writen by an author who works in the field as a Penetration Tester and who teaches Offensive Security, Penetration Testing, and Ethical Hacking, and Exploitation classes at Dakota State University.
• Utilizes the Backtrack Linus distribution and focuses on the seminal tools required to complete a penetration test.

Dr. Patrick Engebretson obtained his Doctor of Science degree with a specialization in Information Security from Dakota State University. He currently serves as an Assistant Professor of Information Assurance and also works as a Senior Penetration Tester for security firm in the Midwest. His research interests include penetration testing, hacking, intrusion detection, exploitation, honey pots, and malware. In the past several years he has published many peer reviewed journal and conference papers in these areas. Dr. Engebretson has been invited by the Department of Homeland Security to share his research at the Software Assurance Forum in Washington, DC and has also spoken at Black Hat in Las Vegas. He regularly attends advanced exploitation and penetration testing trainings from industry recognized professionals and holds several certifications. He teaches graduate and undergraduate courses in penetration testing, wireless security, and intrusion detection, and advanced exploitation.