Application, Cloud, and Specialized Attacks

Overview

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This course expands the learner’s hacking toolkit to cover approximately 3 hours and 30 minutes of expert instruction across five focused modules. Web Application and Database Attacks opens the course, covering SQL injection, cross-site scripting, CSRF, API attacks, and hands-on Labtainers labs. Privilege Escalation and Local Host Attacks then addresses what happens after gaining a foothold — covering Linux and Windows privilege escalation and miscellaneous local host vulnerabilities. Attacking the Cloud addresses misconfigurations and exploitation in AWS, Azure, and other cloud environments. Specialized and Fragile Systems introduces testing approaches for mobile devices, virtual and containerized environments, and industrial control systems. The course closes with Social Engineering and Physical Attacks, covering phishing campaigns, spear phishing, in-person social engineering, and physical security assessments.

Syllabus

Web and Database Attacks

This chapter covers common web, application, API, and host‑based vulnerabilities and shows how pentesters exploit them to gain access, escalate privileges, and move laterally through systems.

Attacking the Cloud

This chapter examines common cloud‑specific attacks by showing how pentesters identify and exploit misconfigurations, credentials, and cloud services to escalate privileges, disrupt availability, and compromise cloud environments.

Specialized and Fragile Systems

This chapter covers mobile, IoT, data storage, virtualization, and industrial system vulnerabilities, showing how pentesters identify and exploit weaknesses across modern and embedded computing environments.

Social Engineering and Physical Attacks

This chapter examines social engineering and physical security attacks by showing how pentesters plan effective pretexts and exploit human behavior and physical access controls to gain unauthorized access to systems and data.