The Art of Attack

Chapter 9Psychology in Attacks

The job isn't always just to “get in.” Usually there's work to be done after the initial breach. Access is just the first hurdle. Following an initial compromise, you will try to gain traction and maintain your place within the environment. For example, after entering into a system, a pentester will try to increase his privileges to administrator level to install an application, modify, exfiltrate, or hide data. A physical pentester will attempt a similar endeavor, typically by getting deeper into the building, penetrating it until the asset, location, or data has been reached. It starts with what is called gaining a foothold, and this chapter looks at the tactics you, as an ethical attacker, can use to gain a foothold and some tactics that will help you establish a firmer one.

Setting The Scene: Why Psychology Matters

We've looked at the process of gaining a contract or other legally binding correspondence, specifically the scope and how that directly affects what you can do as an attacker, while noting it does not hamper the mindset; rather, it should make your AMs perform at a more creative level. We've also looked at what makes OSINT important and what your AMs should provide you with in regards to OSINT finds and searches, routes, and rabbit holes—specifically weaponization and leveraging through the tie-back method.

Now, though, I want to turn to the things you as an ethical attacker (EA) must do to gain a foothold within an organization ...