This eBook includes the following formats, accessible from your Account page after purchase:
EPUB
The open industry format known for its reflowable content and usability on supported mobile devices.
PDF
The popular standard, used most often with the free Acrobat® Reader® software.
This eBook requires no passwords or activation to read. We customize your eBook by discreetly watermarking it with your name, making it uniquely yours.
Also available in other formats.
Register your product to gain access to bonus material or receive a coupon.
Redefining Hacking: A Comprehensive Guide to Red Teaming and Bug Bounty Hunting in an AI-Driven World equips cybersecurity professionals, students, and tech enthusiasts with modern hacking methodologies and the tools to combat evolving threats. Written by industry experts Omar Santos, Savannah Lazzara, and Wesley Thurner, this book blends real-world insights with forward-looking perspectives on AI, automation, and quantum computing. Packed with hands-on exercises, actionable strategies, and case studies, it empowers readers to think like attackers while proactively strengthening their defenses. Gain practical knowledge to master red teaming, bug bounty hunting, and prepare for an AI-influenced cybersecurity landscape.
This practical forward-thinking book provides:
Chapter 1:The Evolution of Penetration Testing, Red Teaming, and Bug Bounties.. . . . . . . 1
Into the Abyss.. . . . . . . 1
Industry Overview. . . . . . . 5
The Early Days and Evolution of Penetration Testing.. . . 7
The Rise of Red Teaming. . . . . . 9
The Emergence of Bug Bounty Programs.. . . . 10
The Convergence of Penetration Testing, Red Teaming, and Bug Bounties.. 11
The Future of Penetration Testing, Red Teaming, and Bug Bounties. . 12
The Increasing Use of AI and ML in Penetration Testing,
Red Teaming, and Bug Bounties.. . . . . 13
Test Your Skills. . . . . . . 15
Chapter 2 Introduction to Red Teaming.. . . . . 17
What Is Red Teaming?. . . . . . 17
The Importance of Red Teaming. . . . . 18
Red Team Frameworks and Methodologies.. . . . 20
Red Team Engagements.. . . . . . 22
Red Team Challenges.. . . . . . 26
References. . . . . . . 28
Test Your Skills. . . . . . . 30
Chapter 3 Red Team Infrastructure.. . . . . . 33
An Overview of Red Team Infrastructure.. . . . 34
Command and Control.. . . . . . 34
Test Your Skills. . . . . . . 60
Chapter 4 Modern Red Team Methodology and Tools.. . . . 63
Planning.. . . . . . . 64
Reconnaissance. . . . . . . 65
Initial Access.. . . . . . . 81
Persistence.. . . . . . . 96
Lateral Movement. . . . . . . 97
Post-Exploitation. . . . . . . 105
Reporting.. . . . . . . 105
Test Your Skills. . . . . . . 107
Chapter 5 Social Engineering and Physical Assessments. . . 109
Phone Pretexting: Lets Dial into Your Target. . . . 110
Spear Phishing: Time to Reel In Your Target.. . . . 115
Infrastructure.. . . . . . . 116
Formulating Your Email or Instant Message. . . . 128
Execution.. . . . . . . 130
Can You Hear Us from the Inside?. . . . . 131
Test Your Skills. . . . . . . 144
Chapter 6 Advanced Post-Exploitation Techniques.. . . . 147
An Overview of Post-Exploitation. . . . . 148
How to Maintain Access, Use Persistence Mechanisms, and
Create Backdoors.. . . . . . 152
Command and Control (C2) and Covert Channels.. . . 180
How to Perform Lateral Movement. . . . . 186
Legitimate Utilities and Living Off the Land.. . . . 189
Post-Exploitation Privilege Escalation. . . . . 197
Test Your Skills. . . . . . . 202
Chapter 7 Active Directory and Linux Environments.. . . . 207
Active Directory Fundamentals. . . . . 208
Microsoft Entra ID and Azure.. . . . . 223
Active Directory Attack Techniques. . . . . 229
Advanced Linux Environment Attack Techniques. . . 267
Test Your Skills. . . . . . . 277
Chapter 8 The Future of Red Teaming Beyond the AI Revolution.. . 281
Understanding the Current State of AI in Red Teaming.. . . 282
Creating AI-Powered Offensive Security Tools.. . . . 283
Examining Fine-Tuned Uncensored AI Models.. . . . 297
Understanding Retrieval-Augmented Generation (RAG) for Red Teaming.. 299
Red Teaming AI and Autonomous Systems. . . . 313
Keeping Pace with Rapidly Evolving Technologies. . . 322
Test Your Skills. . . . . . . 324
Chapter 9 Introduction to Bug Bounty and Effective Reconnaissance. . 327
Understanding Bug Bounty Programs.. . . . 328
Exploring Effective Reconnaisance.. . . . . 336
Performing Active Reconnaissance. . . . . 377
Understanding the Art of Performing Vulnerability Scans.. . . 396
Performing Web Application and API Recon. . . . 401
Communicating Your Findings and Creating Effective
Bug Bounty Reports.. . . . . . 407
Test Your Skills. . . . . . . 410
Exercises.. . . . . . . 412
Chapter 10 Hacking Modern Web Applications and APIs. . . . 415
Overview of Web Application-Based Attacks, the OWASP
Top 10 for Web Applications, and OWASP Top 10 for LLM Applications. 416
Building Your Own Web Application Lab.. . . . 429
Understanding Business Logic Flaws.. . . . . 430
Understanding Injection-Based Vulnerabilities. . . . 432
Exploiting Authentication-Based Vulnerabilities. . . . 451
Exploiting Authorization-Based Vulnerabilities. . . . 461
Understanding Cross-Site Scripting (XSS) Vulnerabilities.. . . 463
Understanding Cross-Site Request Forgery and Server-Side
Request Forgery Attacks.. . . . . . 472
Understanding Clickjacking.. . . . . 480
Exploiting Security Misconfigurations. . . . . 480
Exploiting File Inclusion Vulnerabilities. . . . 482
Exploiting Insecure Code Practices. . . . . 484
Using Additional Web Application Hacking Tools. . . 488
Test Your Skills. . . . . . . 493
Chapter 11 Automating a Bug Hunt and Leveraging the Power of AI.. . 497
Traditional Bug Hunting Methods. . . . . 498
AI-Powered Automation in Bug Hunting.. . . . 500
AI Model Training, Fine-Tuning, and RAG for Bug Bounties. . . 516
Challenges of Using AI for Bug Bounty Hunting. . . . 521
Test Your Skills. . . . . . . 523
Appendix Answers to Multiple-Choice Questions.. . . . . 527
9780138363611, TOC, 2/18/2025