Cybersecurity Blue Team Toolkit

CHAPTER 14Kali Linux

WHAT YOU WILL LEARN IN THIS CHAPTER:

• Virtualization
• Kali Linux
• Optimizing Kali Linux
• Using Kali Linux Tools

Most of what I teach is done virtually with customers over teleconferencing. The most difficult thing to do with virtual training is to engage the student. They don't see me, and I don't see them. I do not have the ability to read body language. I cannot see the crinkle between their eyes when they're confused. I also can't see when they have gotten up to get more coffee or are sidetracked by emails and phone calls, so student engagement is key. One of our conversations in the Nexpose Vulnerability Management class centers around the cybersecurity philosophy of viewing you and your ecosystem as an attacker would. I ask the question, “What do new pen testers or hackers download as their operating system of choice?” I'm surprised by how many blue‐teamers have never heard of Kali Linux. I've been playing Kali since before it was Kali and was called Backtrack.

Kali Linux debuted in 2013 as a total rewrite of the free Linux distribution called BackTrack. BackTrack was based on the Knoppix Linux OS, whereas now Kali Linux is based on the Debian Linux OS and is funded and maintained by Offensive Security. Kali Linux still remains free and contains more than 600 penetration tools with a wide range of wireless device support. BackTrack was started as an answer to Mati Aharoni's need for a tool to take on an engagement where he could not bring any hardware ...