Company
Date Published
Author
Bugcrowd
Word count
1910
Language
English
Hacker News points
None

Summary

When it comes to protecting digital assets, offensive security is an essential component that proactively tests security controls to identify vulnerabilities and weaknesses. This proactive approach complements defensive measures like firewalls and antivirus software by simulating attacks to gather data on potential threats. Offensive security involves testing an organization's defenses by conducting simulated attacks to discover vulnerabilities before malicious actors can exploit them. It provides a practical way to test new concepts and ideas in a safe setting, gathering data on weaknesses that can improve defenses and demonstrate security posture. By separating theory from practice, offensive security draws from established methodologies as well as the latest techniques, ensuring compliance in industries that require testing, providing rapid feedback on security posture and ROI, creating a strong security brand by publicly following best practice, and using frameworks like MITRE ATT&CK, Lockheed Martin Cyber Kill Chain, and Mandiant Attack Lifecycle. Various tools such as Sliver, Metasploit, Burp Suite, Nmap, Sn1per, Cobalt Strike, and ZAP are used to simulate attacks, identify vulnerabilities, and develop strategies to mitigate potential threats. Investing in offensive security is a way of getting skin in the game and having an accurate assessment of security posture, allowing organizations to test their assets, tools, processes, and people in a safe setting.