245CT: Ethical Hacking 1
These are the course materials for 245CT Ethical Hacking 1
In this module we take a more practical look at the pen-testing process. We will be covering topics such as
- Reconnaissance
- Web Vulnerabilities
- Systems / OS vulnerabilities
Sadly there isn't time (even if we just taught this module for all 3 years) to teach you how to hack "all of the things™", so the module will have a hefty dose of theory. Rather than just teach you how to break things, we will also teach you why this happens.
We hope that this means you can apply the same kind of thinking when you encounter these sort of problems in the wild.
My Teaching philosophy
While there is a lot of theory to cover, we will be trying to take as practical an approach as possible.
My belief is the best approach to learning is to get your hands dirty and write some code that demonstrates the problem.
Module Essentials
Aula
The main reference point for the course is Aula. While the GitHub pages docs give us a nice way to structure content, it's a workaround.
Whatever you think of Aula itself, the collaborative part is actually a good idea. Each week there will be discussion points in the materials. Using the feed to discuss your views on these points will help you think around the subject.
Being Nice
People are entitled to their own point of view, use the feed for constructive feedback and discussion.
Module Team
- Dr. Dan Goldsmith. aa9863@coventry.ac.uk
I currently work with the Institute of Coding, developing materials on Cyber Security I have also taught on the Ethical Hacking degree and masters courses.
I am a general computer scientist, and have interests in Coding, IoT and embedded systems (or really anything computer.based except UX). When it comes to Hacking, I am firmly on the Red Team, and love breaking into systems or taking code apart to see how it works, taking part in (or writing stuff for) CTF events, binary mangling and just learning about the cool ways we can misuse software.
If you have any questions, you can:
- Email Me: aa9863@coventry.ac.uk
- Ping me On Teams
How You will get Taught
Due to the Plague1 the module will be mostly online. While this is good in a couple of ways: You get to study when you want, no trekking into the Uni at 9AM, or having to buy extortionate Starbucks coffee. It does mean that you are more responsible for your own learning.
Module materials will be delivered through the following:
Offline Pre-Reading
Each week you will have some offline pre-reading work. This will usually consist of some reading materials (hosted here), videos. and depending on the topic, a demo task to help you work through the concepts.
Reading the Pre-Reading
It's going to make your life so much easier if you read the materials before the "lecture" takes place (or at least in the same week as the materials). It means, at the least, you can ask questions relevant to bits you dont understand in the Lecture session.
Also, there's a lot to cover, stuff builds on other topics, and trying to cram in the last few weeks probably isn't going to work3
Online "Lecture"
We will also have an online Lecture / Lab session.
In these sessions we will have:
- A recap of the week's materials, as a short2 lecture.
- Q&A Session on the topics
- Walkthrough / Practical tasks related to the work we do.
Important
I will be recording the lectures, so you can go back over them later
However, the notes about doing things in the relevant week still stand. There's 11 weeks of materials, I suspect we will be having 2 hour lectures, cramming 22+ hours of videos into one week of learning isn't going to be pleasant.