One of the things we try and get across in our training – is that pen-testing requires out of the box thinking. It’s also about solving puzzles and making things work the way you want them to. It’s about identifying the small vulnerabilities (which are often easy to spot), and trying to leverage them into something useful. A key process we strive to do at SensePost, when performing these penetration tests, is about having fun.

However, since we’re not presenting our HBN Combat course at BlackHat this year, we thought we’d treat people to a nice, mind-boggling challenge prior to BlackHat. Furthermore, instead of opting for the normal crypto or reversing-type challenges which seem to have become the norm, we thought we’d make it an infrastructure challenge for once. In other words, people get to compromise real, live boxen. We’ve also made it real-world, this is something you might be faced with when performing a infrastructure test.

The Scenario:

You’ve been tasked with performing an infrastructure assessment against ACME Bank. You’ve fired up your favorite foot printing tool, run through the usual intelligence gathering methodology and noticed they seem to have a minute Internet footprint. So small, in fact, that the only entry point you have is what appears to be a router at 197.221.19.20.

The Mission:

Obtain access to a host on the internal network and put your name on the wall of fame. The first name on the wall wins.

If one takes a quick glimpse at the target, it will be obvious that the person who makes the first break is probably going to be able to control what other people do (with great power comes great responsibility). Also, there is probably a relatively high chance of people inadvertently blocking themselves off from the target.  As such, the challenge is going to be reset to “factory default” at 04h00 MT every day.

If you find this type of test enjoyable, we think you’d enjoy our BlackOps course, which aims to fine-tune your penetration testing skills. A summary of our other courses is available here.

The Prize:

We’ve created a very cool SensePost Blackhat USA 2013 t-shirt and this is limited edition to SensePost staff only, but for the person who gets the first name on the wall, we think you deserve your own.

Have fun, happy haxoring, and hope to see you all at BlackHat.