Certified Ethical Hacker (CEH) Study Guide

Chapter 14. The Pen Test: Putting It All Together

I’m not sure I’ve mentioned this before, but did you guys know I worked in a body shop for most of my teenage years? It was an incredible experience—taking in cars that had been involved in an accident or subjected to the horrors of rust and the elements, and returning them back as brand-new, shiny, beautiful works of art. My boss, Rob, was an awesome guy to work for and taught me more about cars than I ever knew existed. I learned tons about automotive bodywork, chemistry, air quality, and paint.

The process for these cars, regardless of what had happened to them, was roughly the same. After Rob prepared an estimate and the owner agreed for us to do the work, we’d wash everything down as best we could (grease, oil, and other contaminants don’t mix well with paint) and then move the car into the shop. Next, we’d take everything off the car we could possibly take off—bumpers, chrome, decals, mirrors… everything—around the area being worked on (if it was a full-body paint job, it all came off). Precautions were taken to protect areas that weren’t being worked on or that couldn’t (shouldn’t) be touched. We then moved to my favorite part—the rough work on the body. This entailed sandblasting, welding, pounding, and shaping metal with big hammers and hydraulic machinery.

All this would be followed by mid work: things like Bondo application (in very small quantities and only where appropriate), sanding, and prepping. This work was delicate ...