RE: Website search engine is a hacking tool..

From: Amal Mohammad Al Hajeri (amal_at_nis.etisalat.ae)
Date: 07/24/04

  • Next message: Bradley D. Moore: "RE: Testing F5 3DNS" 
    To: charles.gillman@ethertech.com.au
Date: Sat, 24 Jul 2004 08:46:48 +0400

    Hello List,
    Thank you all for the valuable inputs. Am aware of the subject of using
    Google as a hacking tool, However, how is it different than using a
    local website search engine? will it give the same results? is it
    possible that a local engine may give extra juicy stuff? and how can we
    mitigate the risk of using such techniques? did anyone succeed in using
    the local search engine as a proxy to attack other targets?

    Have a good day :)

    On Sat, 2004-07-24 at 07:16, Charles Gillman wrote:
    > The folks at Foundstone have already created a tool to do exactly as Amal
    > suggests using the Google API's. It's called SiteDigger
    > http://www.foundstone.com/index.htm?subnav=resources/navigation.htm&subconte
    > nt=/resources/information_gathering_tools.htm
    >
    > I have found it to be a bit buggy, returning results to an unrelated site
    > occasionally but that could also be the Google API's.
    >
    > CG
    >
    >
    > > -----Original Message-----
    > > From: Drew Copley [mailto:dcopley@eEye.com]
    > > Sent: Friday, 23 July 2004 8:01 AM
    > > To: Gerry Eisenhaur; Amal Mohammad Al Hajeri
    > > Cc: pen-test@securityfocus.com
    > > Subject: RE: Website search engine is a hacking tool..
    > >
    > >
    > >
    > >
    > > > -----Original Message-----
    > > > From: Gerry Eisenhaur [mailto:GEisenhaur@cisco.com]
    > > > Sent: Wednesday, July 21, 2004 12:54 PM
    > > > To: Amal Mohammad Al Hajeri
    > > > Cc: pen-test@securityfocus.com
    > > > Subject: Re: Website search engine is a hacking tool..
    > > >
    > > > There have been many articles written about using google as a hacking
    > > > tool. All you really though need is an imagination.
    > > >
    > > > Here are some google modifiers that you might not know of:
    > > > http://www.google.com/help/operators.html
    > > >
    > > > and here are some ideas to get you started:
    > > > http://johnny.ihackstuff.com/index.php?module=prodreviews
    > > >
    > > > You would be amazed at whats out there, I've found everything
    > > > from VNC
    > > > passwords for entire domains, WEP keys, to pictures of peoples family.
    > >
    > > Not sure how "pictures of people's family" is relevant.
    > >
    > > I have had to track back some people sometimes through the years, and
    > > at least once found "pictures of their family".
    > >
    > > The most successful examples have been for tracking back entirely
    > > "anonymous" people through their fingerprint of writing to their
    > > real identities. Identidity in the plural, because often the only
    > > identity online is multiple psuedo-anonymous ones that give real
    > > details in various forums.
    > >
    > > In one example we thought a troll was a pedophile because he was
    > > found trying to pick up fifteen year old girls. Turns out, surprise
    > > surprise, he was fifteen. His terrified mom told us when we called
    > > her up.
    > >
    > > In another case, a neo-nazi troll was caught because of his unusual
    > > fascination with a certain vulgar phrase he had the unfortunate luck
    > > to coin.
    > >
    > > This trace back gave his home address and the highly vulnerable
    > > information that he actually kept gold bars under his baseboards.
    > >
    > > Being confronted with this information he promptly repented and never
    > > returned.
    > >
    > > Their "fingerprint" is derived by breaking up their sentences and
    > > finding specific phrases and misspellings. Then, these are put into
    > > search engines and return counts and possible identities are put
    > > against these. If lucky, one can whittle down the suspect list
    > > to some positive proof. I am not aware of this method being used
    > > or documented anywhere, though it works on basic forensic science
    > > principles used in physical criminology and utilizes well known
    > > linguistic forensics...
    > >
    > > So that is a more unusual example of "google hacking" [sic]...
    > >
    > > While the methods I specified are useful for tracking back
    > > scum bags they also could be used to find hackable targets in
    > > a weak link target scenario.
    > >
    > > There are few corporate or governmental targets better then
    > > an "executive" at home on his take home laptop. Search engines
    > > are instrumental in finding that kind of identity. FYI.
    > >
    > >
    > > >
    > > > --gerry
    > > >
    > > >
    > > > Amal Mohammad Al Hajeri wrote:
    > > > > Hi List,
    > > > >
    > > > > Did you ever thought of the website search engine as a hacking tool?
    > > > > During one of the pen-tests, The website search engine, was
    > > > a valuable
    > > > > tool to discover interesting directories within the website itself,
    > > > > these directories were not detected by famous website scanners like
    > > > > nikto or SPI dynamics,i managed to get documentation pages
    > > > about the API
    > > > > application implemented, management login pages, backup
    > > > files and much
    > > > > more.
    > > > > I leave it to your imagination to search for words like:
    > > > > password,login,oracle,database,administrator, backup...etc
    > > > >
    > > > > Best Regards,
    > > > >
    > > > >
    > > > > -----------------------------------
    > > > > Amal M. Al-Hajeri
    > > > > E/Network & Information Security
    > > > > Etisalat
    > > > >
    > > > >
    > > > >
    > > > >
    > > > >
    > > >
    > > > --
    > > > Gerald Eisenhaur
    > > > Cisco Systems, Inc.
    > > > 1414 Massachusetts Ave.
    > > > Boxborough, MASSACHUSETTS 01719
    > > > tel: 978.936.0465
    > > > geisenhaur@cisco.com
    > > >
    > >
    > >
    > > 

    -- 
-----------------------------------
Amal M. Al-Hajeri
E/Network & Information Security
HO-B 12th Floor
Etisalat
P.O.Box:3838
Tel(office):00971206182584
Tel(cel):00971506677061
  • Next message: Bradley D. Moore: "RE: Testing F5 3DNS"

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