Book details of 'Network Security Tools : Writing, Hacking, and Modifying Security Tools'

Title	Network Security Tools : Writing, Hacking, and Modifying Security Tools
Author(s)	Nitesh Dhanjani
ISBN	0596007949
Language	English
Published	April 2005
Publisher	O'Reilly Media, Inc.

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Reviewer Rob Slade wrote:
The preface states that the audience for the book is comprised of anyone who wants to program their own vulnerability scanners, or extend those already available. It assumes familiarity with six of the major tools in that class, as well as Perl. Chapter one deals with writing plug-ins for Nessus. It covers the installation and quick use of the program, and then outlines the Nessus Attack Scripting Language, including a few sample scripts. The Ettercap network analyzer and its plug-ins (in the C language) are in chapter two. (An overview of authentication for the ftp protocol is provided in order to discuss looking for ftp passwords.) The Hydra password sniffer (and SMTP authentication) is described in chapter three, as well as the Nmap port scanner. Chapter four looks at plug-ins (in Perl) for the Nikto Web scanner. The Metasploit Framework generic exploit development platform is examined in chapter five, which also has a brief explanation of stack overflows. Chapter six discusses analysis of (mostly source) code for Web applications in a search for vulnerabilities, reviewing the PMD Java analysis tool, and reprinting pages of Java source code. Part two turns to writing network security tools. Chapter seven is primarily a tutorial on Linux kernel modules. Using Perl to write a Web application scanner is in chapter eight. SQL injection, and testing for error message responses, is examined in chapter nine. Chapter ten covers the use of the libpcap library for producing network sniffing utilities. Packet injection, using the libnet library and AirJack device driver, is in chapter eleven. While a lot of sample code is given in this text, ultimately it is about using a bunch of tools. The examples and exploits are interesting, and do provide an indication of limited types of testing utilities that could be developed. copyright Robert M. Slade, 2005
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Book description:

If you're an advanced security professional, then you know that the battle to protect online privacy continues to rage on. Security chat rooms, especially, are resounding with calls for vendors to take more responsibility to release products that are more secure. In fact, with all the information and code that is passed on a daily basis, it's a fight that may never end. Fortunately, there are a number of open source security tools that give you a leg up in the battle. Often a security tool does exactly what you want, right out of the box. More frequently, you need to customize the tool to fit the needs of your network structure. Network Security Tools shows experienced administrators how to modify, customize, and extend popular open source security tools such as Nikto, Ettercap, and Nessus. This concise, high-end guide discusses the common customizations and extensions for these tools, then shows you how to write even more specialized attack and penetration reviews that are suited to your unique network environment. It also explains how tools like port scanners, packet injectors, network sniffers, and web assessment tools function. Some of the topics covered include: * Writing your own network sniffers and packet injection tools * Writing plugins for Nessus, Ettercap, and Nikto * Developing exploits for Metasploit * Code analysis for web applications * Writing kernel modules for security applications, and understanding rootkits While many books on security are either tediously academic or overly sensational, Network Security Tools takes an even-handed and accessible approach that will let you quickly review the problem and implement new, practical solutions--without reinventing the wheel. In an age when security is critical, Network Security Tools is the resource you want at your side when locking down your network.