The Art of Attack

The Art of Attack

by Maxie Reynolds
Released August 2021
Publisher(s): Wiley
ISBN: 9781119805465

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Book description

Take on the perspective of an attacker with this insightful new resource for ethical hackers, pentesters, and social engineers 

In The Art of Attack: Attacker Mindset for Security Professionals, experienced physical pentester and social engineer Maxie Reynolds untangles the threads of a useful, sometimes dangerous, mentality. The book shows ethical hackers, social engineers, and pentesters what an attacker mindset is and how to and how to use it to their advantage.  Adopting this mindset will result in the improvement of security, offensively and defensively, by allowing you to see your environment objectively through the eyes of an attacker.  

The book shows you the laws of the mindset and the techniques attackers use, from persistence to “start with the end” strategies and non-linear thinking, that make them so dangerous. You’ll discover: 

  • A variety of attacker strategies, including approaches, processes, reconnaissance, privilege escalation, redundant access, and escape techniques 
  • The unique tells and signs of an attack and how to avoid becoming a victim of one 
  • What the science of psychology tells us about amygdala hijacking and other tendencies that you need to protect against 

Perfect for red teams, social engineers, pentesters, and ethical hackers seeking to fortify and harden their systems and the systems of their clients, The Art of Attack is an invaluable resource for anyone in the technology security space seeking a one-stop resource that puts them in the mind of an attacker. 

Table of contents

  1. Cover
  2. Title Page
  3. Copyright
  4. About the Author
  5. Acknowledgments
  6. Introduction
    1. Who Is This Book For?
    2. What This Book Covers
  7. Part I: The Attacker Mindset
    1. Chapter 1: What Is the Attacker Mindset?
      1. Using the Mindset
      2. The Attacker and the Mindset
      3. AMs Is a Needed Set of Skills
      4. Summary
    2. Chapter 2: Offensive vs. Defensive Attacker Mindset
      1. The Offensive Attacker Mindset
      2. Defensive Attacker Mindset
      3. Summary
    3. Chapter 3: The Attacker Mindset Framework
      1. Development
      2. Ethics
      3. Social Engineering and Security
      4. Summary
  8. Part II: The Laws and Skills
    1. Chapter 4: The Laws
      1. Law 1: Start with the End in Mind
      2. Law 2: Gather, Weaponize, and Leverage Information
      3. Law 3: Never Break Pretext
      4. Law 4: Every Move Made Benefits the Objective
      5. Summary
    2. Chapter 5: Curiosity, Persistence, and Agility
      1. Curiosity
      2. The Exercise: Part 1
      3. The Exercise: Part 2
      4. Persistence
      5. Skills and Common Sense
      6. Summary
    3. Chapter 6: Information Processing: Observation and Thinking Techniques
      1. Your Brain vs. Your Observation
      2. Observation vs. Heuristics
      3. Observation vs. Intuition
      4. Observing People
      5. Observation Exercise
      6. AMs and Observation
      7. Tying It All Together
      8. Critical and Nonlinear Thinking
      9. Vector vs. Arc
      10. Education and Critical Thinking
      11. Workplace Critical Thinking
      12. Critical Thinking and Other Psychological Constructs
      13. Nonlinear Thinking
      14. Tying Them Together
      15. Summary
    4. Chapter 7: Information Processing in Practice
      1. Reconnaissance
      2. Recon: Passive
      3. Recon: Active
      4. OSINT
      5. Signal vs. Noise
      6. Summary
  9. Part III: Tools and Anatomy
    1. Chapter 8: Attack Strategy
      1. Attacks in Action
      2. Strategic Environment
      3. The Necessity of Engagement and Winning
      4. The Attack Surface
      5. AMs Applied to the Attack Vectors
      6. Summary
    2. Chapter 9: Psychology in Attacks
      1. Setting The Scene: Why Psychology Matters
      2. Ego Suspension, Humility & Asking for Help
      3. Introducing the Target‐Attacker Window Model
      4. Target Psychology
      5. Thin‐Slice Assessments
      6. Default to Truth
      7. Summary
  10. Part IV: After AMs
    1. Chapter 10: Staying Protected—The Individual
      1. Attacker Mindset for Ordinary People
      2. Behavioral Security
      3. Amygdala Hijacking
      4. Analyze Your Attack Surface
      5. Summary
    2. Chapter 11: Staying Protected—The Business
      1. Testing and Red Teams
      2. The Complex Policy
      3. Antifragile
      4. The Full Spectrum of Crises
      5. Final Thoughts
      6. Summary
  11. Index
  12. End User License Agreement

Product information

  • Title: The Art of Attack
  • Author(s): Maxie Reynolds
  • Release date: August 2021
  • Publisher(s): Wiley
  • ISBN: 9781119805465