Yesterday I learned a hard lesson. During the OSINT phase of a network vulnerability assessment (NVA) I collected information. Still, I failed to analyze and recognize what I had gathered. This failure (maybe oversight is a better word) prompted me to add the following reminder to the top of my Tools & Syntax page.
-Simply knowing how to run a tool isn’t enough.
It seems like common sense, but I have realized how easy it is to overlook things. How quickly we can begin to develop a tendency to rely heavily on tools to provide us with answers. I took for granted something I thought I understood well. My arrogance was weaponized against me. The lesson for me here is to make no assumptions. Do not assume that what you found or are looking at is “noise” or unimportant. Verify independently and continue to revisit the fundamentals. Fine-tune your knowledge and understanding of the basics.
Key takeaways:
- Planning is key. Indeed, most plans don’t survive first contact with the enemy, but that does not mean it isn’t worth having one.
- Just because you understood it once doesn’t mean you still appreciate it.
- Test, review, poke/prod, and question everything you are looking at. Do not take anything for granted. MAKE NO ASSUMPTIONS.
- Fundamentals need to be reapplied regularly.
Christopher Foote 