Chapter 1. There Be Hackers Here!

When the ancient mapmakers reached the edge of the known world they wrote on their maps, “There Be Dragons Here!”

This chapter discusses in broad strokes the anatomy of a hacker attack from the beginning steps of finding the right target with recon and enumeration to executing the attack to cleanup. You learn some of the factors and footprints of hackers, enabling you to understand the emerging threats and potential exploits.

By the end of this chapter, you should know and be able to explain the following:

• What are hacker motivations and how are they evolving?

• What is the difference between a target of opportunity and a target of choice?

• What are the major components of an attack and the purpose of each?

• What are the breadth and scope of the possible attacks and exploits available to attackers?

• Where are the online security organizations and how can they assist you?

Answering these key questions will enable you to understand the overall characteristics and importance of network security. By the time you finish this book, you will have a solid appreciation for network security and understand its issues, how it works, and why it is important enough to include in every home and corporate network.

In today’s interconnected world, this ancient representation of the world beyond a person’s knowledge holds true. When you connect your home or corporate network to the Internet, everything beyond your network is literally the edge of the world to you and the beginning of the World Wide Web (the home of dragons), wherein hackers are looking to take advantage of the unwary.

There Be Hackers Here!

It is hard for people who are not involved in IT to understand why someone would want to hack or otherwise intentionally harm someone else. The motivations behind these behaviors might be easier to understand after you complete this book.

In a book about understanding network security, the obvious first step is to introduce and review what a hacker is and some of the methods a hacker employs to threaten your network.

From finding the right target to executing the attack, this chapter provides an overview of a hacker attack’s anatomy. You learn some of the factors and footprints of hackers that will enable you to understand the threat that is present beyond the edge of your network.