An automated network intrusion process and countermeasures

This paper presents a case study in an attempt to raise awareness on computer security. Our research showed that theoretically one could indeed build a tool capable of automating a hacking attack, functional under certain circumstances. In this work, we first discuss the fundamental concepts of a penetration testing process and afterwards we highlight a number of open source tools, frameworks and programming languages used to build an automated process (Nmap, Metasploit, Python). Then, we demonstrate how those three technologies/tools can be combined to automate the intrusion process and create a script, allowing an attacker to access a single or multiple remote systems by only typing a single command. Finally, we present some countermeasures. Overall, this paper will serve to justify not only the increase in cyber-attacks but also the decrease in the required knowledge to conduct and be successful in the attack.