Ethical Hacking Techniques

FREE Hands-On Cybersecurity Labs You Can Start Today One of the biggest challenges I hear from people trying to break into cybersecurity is this: “How do I get hands-on experience when I haven’t had a job to get hands-on experience?” I feel you. Trust me! We see job posts asking for 2 years of practical skills just to be considered “entry-level.” But here’s the truth: 📌 You don’t need a job to start building skills. You just need the right tools. So I pulled together some of the best FREE labs that’ll let you get real-world experience from your laptop. These are the same tools people use to learn pentesting, threat hunting, and more — all with zero cost. 🧠 12 Free Hands-On Cyber Labs 1️⃣ Hack The Box – Starting Point Beginner-friendly path with step-by-step guidance 🔗 https://lnkd.in/gE-yWGcR 2️⃣ Hack The Box Academy – Linux Fundamentals Master Linux commands and navigation — essential for hacking 🔗 https://lnkd.in/gimTehrY 3️⃣ Hack The Box Academy – Networking 101 Understand IPs, ports, packets, and protocols 🔗 https://lnkd.in/gSXUW2Rm 4️⃣ TryHackMe – Vulnversity A guided penetration test from recon to privilege escalation 🔗 https://lnkd.in/gB8_xpgX 5️⃣ TryHackMe – OWASP Top 10 (2021) Learn and exploit common web app vulnerabilities 🔗 https://lnkd.in/gTeQRf3p 6️⃣ TryHackMe – Mr. Robot CTF A challenge inspired by the Mr. Robot TV show 🔗 https://lnkd.in/gCSzpt7W 7️⃣ TryHackMe – Blue Exploit the EternalBlue Windows vulnerability (MS17-010) 🔗 https://lnkd.in/gqWGVENp 8️⃣ TryHackMe – Juice Shop Hack a purposely vulnerable web app used in the industry 🔗 https://lnkd.in/gHEC7V4s 9️⃣ CyberDefenders – Blue Team Labs Practice DFIR, threat hunting, SIEM, and more 🔗 https://lnkd.in/gaB4TGNV 🔟 RangeForce Community Edition Interactive, browser-based defensive training modules 🔗 https://lnkd.in/giBCVYFz 1️⃣1️⃣ Immersive Labs Community Labs and simulations across red and blue team skills 🔗 https://lnkd.in/gfKuiF_Q 1️⃣2️⃣ PicoCTF by Carnegie Mellon A free CTF platform for all skill levels 🔗 https://picoctf.org 🔑 Major Key: ✅ You don’t need permission to start. ✅ Practice consistently — even 30 minutes a day adds up. ✅ Track your progress like it’s your job. ✅ Document what you learn — that becomes your proof. Most people won’t put in the reps. If you do, you’ll separate yourself. 📣 Know someone who needs this? Tag them. Let’s grow together 💪 #CyberSecurity #TryHackMe #HackTheBox #FreeResources #BlueTeam #EntryLevelCyber #LearnToHack #RedTeam #MajorKey #LinkedInFam

This UK bank spent £5M/year on cyber security. They were convinced that it was bulletproof. So, we sent in a man wearing a £4 high-vis jacket… and he tore it all down. Here's the full story: A few years ago, I worked with a mid-tier investment bank that wanted to prove their security was 'impenetrable.' They had a big security budget. A large internal team. And they were confident they’d pass with flying colours. So we started with the technical side: → Penetration testing (getting access to systems) → External perimeter testing → Trying every trick in the book They held strong for many months. Their technical controls were really solid. But good security doesn’t stop at the firewall. Next came the physical stage. We sent a trained agent through the front door, aiming to get access to their offices. Reception did what they were supposed to do: → Check the visitor list → Refuse when they weren’t on it Fair play — their process worked. So we went back a week later and increased the pressure. Our agent walked in during a busy time of day – queues forming, phones ringing, staff everywhere – and wore a high-vis jacket with a fake ID clipped to the front. Using social engineering, he raised the tension and made reception feel that they needed to let him through NOW. It worked. The receptionist waved him through. He • walked in • found a loose network cable • connected it to his own device • quietly hoovered up internal data until morning No alarms. No alerts. No one noticed. TAKEAWAY: The bank's firewall was sound, but their people were the biggest vulnerability. When we’re overwhelmed, we tend to default to the simplest decision: "Just let them through so I can get back to this.” You can have great policies. You can have top-tier tech. You can even test them both. But if you don’t simulate pressure, stress, and uncertainty, you're testing an ideal world and not the real one. Even the most advanced security systems can be undone by human error. Equip your team to recognise social engineering. It's your first line of defence.

The next-generation CISO will be half hacker, half psychologist. Over the last three decades, I have watched security technology evolve in layers. From signature-based antivirus to EDR, from EDR to XDR, and now to AI-assisted detection systems that promise predictive intelligence. And yet, when I sit down and study most serious breaches, the root cause rarely begins with a sophisticated zero-day exploit. It usually begins with a human decision. (and attackers understand this very well.) They do not begin by writing code. They begin by studying behavior. They ask themselves quiet questions: Who inside this organisation is under pressure to deliver? Who has accumulated access over time that nobody reviewed? Who believes policy is flexible “just this once”? Who is tired? Who is overconfident? In one real scenario, an engineer bypassed three independent security controls because a deployment deadline was approaching and the system “had to go live.” There was no malicious intent. No insider conspiracy. Just urgency combined with authority and access. That is enough. When we look at such cases later, we often focus on the missing patch or the control gap. But the more important question is different: Why did someone feel comfortable overriding those controls in the first place? This is why I believe the CISO of the future must develop two parallel instincts. First, the technical instinct. They must still understand lateral movement, identity abuse, cloud misconfiguration, API exposure, privilege escalation, and the ways attackers chain small weaknesses into systemic compromise. But alongside that, they must develop a behavioural instinct. They must understand:  • how incentives are structured inside teams • how deadlines distort judgment • how developers perceive security teams • how executives interpret “risk” versus “delay” • how culture silently encourages shortcuts Attackers exploit psychology with precision. They send emails that create urgency. They impersonate authority. They trigger fear. They trigger curiosity. They trigger ego. And sometimes, they do not even need to. Internal pressure does the work for them. So the next-generation CISO cannot rely only on dashboards. Cybersecurity is no longer just a contest of tools. It is a contest of human behaviour under pressure. The CISO who understands both, the code and the mind, will not only detect threats more effectively. They will reduce the conditions that create them. Seqrite #Cybersecurity #CISO #SecurityLeadership #CyberLeadership #InformationSecurity #CyberRisk #SecurityCulture #CyberDefense #SecurityStrategy #Leadership #HumanFactor #CyberResilience #Infosec #EnterpriseSecurity

𝗧𝗛𝗘 𝗨𝗟𝗧𝗜𝗠𝗔𝗧𝗘 𝗦𝗘𝗔𝗥𝗖𝗛 𝗘𝗡𝗚𝗜𝗡𝗘 𝗟𝗜𝗦𝗧 𝗙𝗢𝗥 𝗣𝗘𝗡𝗧𝗘𝗦𝗧𝗘𝗥𝗦 & 𝗢𝗦𝗜𝗡𝗧 𝗣𝗥𝗢𝗦    From code to servers to leaked data here’s every tool you need for smarter recon. 🔍 𝗦𝗘𝗔𝗥𝗖𝗛 𝗘𝗡𝗚𝗜𝗡𝗘𝗦 𝗙𝗢𝗥 𝗣𝗘𝗡𝗧𝗘𝗦𝗧𝗘𝗥𝗦 Tired of relying only on Google? Here’s your go-to toolkit for recon, OSINT, and attack surface discovery 🖥️ 𝗦𝗲𝗿𝘃𝗲𝗿 𝗥𝗲𝗰𝗼𝗻 ✔️shodan.io  → Find exposed devices on the internet ✔️onyphe.io →Cyber threat intelligence from global sensors ✔️censys.io  →Deep visibility into internet-facing assets ✔️ivre.rocks  →Network mapper & passive recon powerhouse 🔎 𝗗𝗼𝗿𝗸𝗶𝗻𝗴 ✔️google.com  →The OG dorking tool (with the right queries) 📶 𝗪𝗶𝗙𝗶 𝗡𝗲𝘁𝘄𝗼𝗿𝗸𝘀 ✔️wigle.net  →Map and track global WiFi networks 🧠 𝗧𝗵𝗿𝗲𝗮𝘁 𝗜𝗻𝘁𝗲𝗹𝗹𝗶𝗴𝗲𝗻𝗰𝗲 ✔️App.binaryedge → Scan and analyze internet-facing assets ✔️viz.greynoise.io  → Filter out background noise from real threats ✔️fofa.info  → Search across global cyberspace data ✔️zoomeye.org  →Hacker's search engine for devices & services ✔️leakix.net → Discover leaks, breaches, and exposed services ✔️urlscan.io → Analyze and track web content & threats ✔️socradar.io  External attack surface & threat monitoring ✔️pulsedive.com   →Dive into threat intelligence feeds 📧 𝗢𝗦𝗜𝗡𝗧 & 𝗘𝗺𝗮𝗶𝗹𝘀 ✔️hunter.io  → Find emails linked to any domain ✔️intelx.io   →Search leaked data, domains, emails & more 🌐  𝗔𝘁𝘁𝗮𝗰𝗸 𝗦𝘂𝗿𝗳𝗮𝗰𝗲 𝗗𝗶𝘀𝗰𝗼𝘃𝗲𝗿𝘆 ✔️app.netlas.io  → Visualize and explore attack surfaces ✔️fullhunt.io  → Monitor assets and misconfigurations ✔️binaryedge.io  → Threat detection meets asset intelligence 💻 𝗖𝗼𝗱𝗲 & 𝗪𝗲𝗯 𝗦𝗲𝗮𝗿𝗰𝗵 ✔️grep.app  →Instantly search across open-source code ✔️searchcode.com  → Index of code from thousands of projects ✔️publicwww.com   →Search source code by keyword or snippet 📜 𝗖𝗲𝗿𝘁𝗶𝗳𝗶𝗰𝗮𝘁𝗲𝘀 ✔️crt.sh  →Look up SSL/TLS certs for domains 🛡️ 𝗩𝘂𝗹𝗻𝗲𝗿𝗮𝗯𝗶𝗹𝗶𝘁𝗶𝗲𝘀 ✔️vulners.com  →Centralized vulnerability search engine 𝗕𝗼𝗼𝗸𝗺𝗮𝗿𝗸 𝘁𝗵𝗶𝘀 𝗹𝗶𝘀𝘁. 𝗨𝘀𝗲 𝗶𝘁 𝗶𝗻 𝘆𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗻𝗲𝘅𝘁 𝗲𝗻𝗴𝗮𝗴𝗲𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁. 𝗗𝗼𝗺𝗶𝗻𝗮𝘁𝗲 𝘆𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗿𝗲𝗰𝗼𝗻. 𝗪𝗵𝗲𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗿 𝘆𝗼𝘂'𝗿𝗲 𝗮 𝗽𝗲𝗻𝘁𝗲𝘀𝘁𝗲𝗿, 𝗯𝘂𝗴 𝗯𝗼𝘂𝗻𝘁𝘆 𝗵𝘂𝗻𝘁𝗲𝗿, 𝗼𝗿 𝗢𝗦𝗜𝗡𝗧 𝗮𝗻𝗮𝗹𝘆𝘀𝘁 𝘁𝗵𝗲𝘀𝗲 𝘁𝗼𝗼𝗹𝘀 𝗮𝗿𝗲 𝗴𝗮𝗺𝗲-𝗰𝗵𝗮𝗻𝗴𝗲𝗿𝘀. 🔁 Share this post to help your network level up their recon game. ➡️ Follow Marcel Velica for more practical cybersecurity tools, tips, and threat intel.

OSINT for Red Team Exercises - #1 Dorks Search using sitedorks Tool OSINT in Red Team is crucial! Gathering information about your target is important to plan a targeted attack with higher chances of success. An example would be military operations: the amount of information you have about a target will determine the success of the mission with maximum accuracy and precision, causing minimal impact. During the daily activities of a Red Team, performing thorough reconnaissance allows you to understand the attack surface of your target and determine exploitation points, but it doesn't stop there. The Red Team gathers the information and prepares campaigns. Example: Imagine you find a JWT token. You should ask yourself a few questions: Has the JWT token expired? What level of privilege do I have access to? What can I do after gaining access to the system? Is it possible to exfiltrate data? Obtain an RCE? After getting an RCE, can I move laterally? Perform pivoting? Well, all of this is based on an assumption, but first, you need to have the JWT token, and this is where OSINT is fundamental. Imagine finding this key hardcoded in a piece of code? And as requested by a follower, I created this OSINT series for Red Team. Let’s talk about a tool that I really like: sitedorks, which automates dork searches. In summary, you automate something that would take time to do manually. Moreover, you can adapt it however you want. It includes over 500 sites where you can perform dorks and search for information, with the possibility of customizing the list, making it a very complete tool! Download: https://lnkd.in/duAPTGsg Example of usage: Figure 1 - Cloning the repository using the git clone command. Figure 2 - Installing Python dependencies defined in the requirements.txt file using pip install -r. Figure 3 - Running the sitedorks.py script with the -query "uber.com" argument. It generates a warning about opening multiple tabs in the default browser you are using. Figure 4 - Example of an advanced Google search using dorks for the "uber.com" domain. Figure 5 - CSV file containing sites related to a specific country. Other commands: Search in Yandex for information related to "uber": # sitedorks -cat comm -site disable -engine yandex -query uber Search in DuckDuckGo for information on public government cloud systems: # sitedorks -cat cloud -engine duckduckgo -query "gov public systems" Search in Google for documents related to the site redteamleaders.com: # sitedorks -cat docs -engine google -query "redteamleaders.com" Search in Google for documents related to the site redteamleaders.com, using quotes to search for an exact term (add a single quote at the beginning): # sitedorks -cat docs -engine google -query '"redteamleaders.com"' Check out more commands in the repository! #cybersecurity #redteamexercises #osintexercises #redteam

Wow - my #AWS colleagues worked with the US Department of Justice (DoJ) to track down and prosecute the malicious actors behind a large-scale DDoS-as-a-Service group. Behind the scenes, we use a tool called MadPot to create honeypots that help us to gather data and to create a broad understanding of the threat landscape, giving us the information that we need to get to the root of this and other types of attacks. Read about the prosecution: https://lnkd.in/gUV5wr74 Read about MadPot: https://lnkd.in/g9_96iz7 PS - Amazon Titan Image Generator prompt: "a computer server with lots of disconnected wires, in a very messy jail cell."

Yesterday, I announced our research paper announcing AAGATE to govern AI agents. Today we talk about catching actors trying to compromise them. TL;DR: We built AI honeypots for the wrong adversary. A new paper just dropped from AI Sweden and Volvo Group researchers. "SoK: Honeypots & LLMs, More Than the Sum of Their Parts?" is the first comprehensive analysis of this emerging field. SoK = Systematization of Knowledge The research reveals an uncomfortable truth about where we've been investing our energy. For two years, cybersecurity teams have been integrating LLMs into honeypots. The promise was simple. Make decoy systems so realistic that attackers can't tell them from real infrastructure. Sounds good, right? LLM-powered honeypots improved average attack session length from 2.96 commands to 5.83 commands. That's a 97% improvement. INCREDIBLE! It's also nearly worthless. The problem isn't the technology. It's the target. When you deploy a honeypot, 99.2% of your traffic is automated scanning scripts. Not sophisticated attackers. Not APT groups. Just bots running the same reconnaissance patterns they've used for years. Your LLM honeypot can perfectly simulate a Linux shell. It still can't perform real outbound network connections. It can't convincingly run vim or htop. A skilled human will spot these gaps in seconds. LLM-powered attack agents are already being detected in the wild. These aren't script kiddies. They're autonomous systems that reason, adapt, and use tools to exploit vulnerabilities without human guidance. The researchers argue we need to stop optimizing honeypots to fool humans. Start building them to trap AI. I agree. The next generation of cyber deception is about creating adversarial ecosystems where AI defenders and AI attackers co-evolve, where your honeypot learns from every autonomous agent that touches it and reconfigures itself in real-time. The war isn't human versus machine anymore. 👉 Follow for more AI and cybersecurity insights with the occasional rant #Cybersecurity #ArtificialIntelligence #ThreatIntelligence

How to Actually Get Experience in Cybersecurity (Part 2) In my previous post, I talked about the importance of organizational context in getting cybersecurity experience. But how do you actually get that kind of experience when you’re still trying to break into the field? Here are four practical ways to gain real-world, contextual cybersecurity experience even if you don’t have a job yet: 🔹 Case Study-Based Projects Instead of just learning how to “set up a SIEM” or “analyze logs,” create scenario-based projects that mimic real-world incidents. Example: → A company suffered a data breach due to weak access controls. Your task? Investigate, document the security gaps, and suggest mitigation strategies. → This is how security teams operate in real organizations. 🔹 Home Labs – Simulate Business Use Cases Many people set up security tools in a lab environment, but the real value comes from simulating actual business use cases. Example: → Instead of just installing a firewall, simulate a phishing attack and analyze how logs can help detect and prevent future incidents. 🔹 Capture The Flag (CTFs) – Focus on Real-World Impact CTFs are great, but don’t just stop at solving challenges—understand the security implications behind them. Example: → If a CTF involves SQL Injection, ask: How did this vulnerability get introduced? What security controls should have been in place? How does this apply in a real-world application security review? 🔹 Internships & Volunteering – Gain Hands-on Experience You don’t always need a formal job to get real-world security exposure. Example: → Offer security support to local small businesses, startups, nonprofits, or open-source projects. Many small companies don’t have dedicated security teams and will appreciate the help. Cybersecurity isn’t just about knowing how to do things—it’s about understanding why they matter in a business context. Share this so others can learn. #CybersecurityCareerGrowth #Cybersecurity