During the course of this chapter, we discussed the need to discover security weaknesses on a system and even a web server. We took a look at performing vulnerability scanning, customizing policies, and reporting using Nessus. Additionally, we learned about Nikto, an open source web vulnerability scanner, and using WPScan to detect security misconfigurations and flaws in WordPress. Lastly, we closed the chapter by covering the fundamentals of using the Burp Suite applications and performing a brute force attempt to gain entry into a website.

Upon completing this chapter, you now have the ability to successfully perform a vulnerability assessment on a target network and system using Nessus, and to perform website penetration testing using Burp Suite, Nikto, and WPScan.

I do hope this chapter has been informative and will help on your journey in the field of cybersecurity. In the next chapter, we will explore the basic concepts of wireless penetration testing.