Cyber Quest: Stealth Network Audit

Introduction

In a world where technology is rapidly advancing, the need for cybersecurity measures is paramount, especially in industries reliant on automation and robotics. Imagine stepping into the future to Aegis Robotics, a leading robot manufacturing plant set in 2045, known for its state-of-the-art security protocols and cutting-edge robotic technologies. You, the protagonist of this scenario, are the newly appointed head of cybersecurity, tasked with the critical mission of ensuring the digital defenses of the plant are impenetrable.

Your objective is to conduct a comprehensive security audit to identify potential vulnerabilities within the plant's network. Given the sensitive nature of the robotics plant, employing stealth and covert scanning techniques is crucial to prevent alarming the existing security systems or any malicious entity monitoring the network. The stage is set for you to embark on an exhilarating journey into the realm of cybersecurity with a focus on mastering Nmap's Stealth and Covert Scanning capabilities.

Skills Graph

Setting Up Your Environment

In this step, you'll prepare your environment for stealth scanning using Nmap.

First, open the terminal and navigate to your workspace to ensure that your environment is ready for the task ahead.

cd /home/labex/project

Now, let's simulate a simple web server for practicing our scans since it's crucial to have a target for scanning purposes. We'll use nc (netcat), a utility for reading and writing across network connections using the TCP/IP protocol.

Create and navigate to the stealth directory,

mkdir -p /home/labex/project/stealth && cd /home/labex/project/stealth

Create an index.html file with the following content:

echo "Robotics server running..." > index.html

Then start a simple server listening on port 8080. This will act as your target for stealth scanning.

sudo sh -c 'echo "nameserver 8.8.8.8" > /etc/resolv.conf'
nc -lvp 8080 < index.html &

& at the end of the command runs the process in the background, allowing you to continue using the terminal.

Stealth Scanning With Nmap

In this step, you'll use Nmap to perform a stealth scan on a target.

First, navigate to your workspace:

cd /home/labex/project

Stealth scans are particularly useful for evading detection. Execute the following Nmap command:

sudo nmap -sS -p 8080 localhost > /home/labex/project/stealth_scan.txt

-sS is the flag for a SYN Stealth Scan, which sends SYN packets to the target ports to determine their status. The scan is performed on port 8080 of localhost, which you've set up as the target for this lab. The results will be saved to stealth_scan.txt.

Check the contents of the stealth_scan.txt file to view the scan results:

cat /home/labex/project/stealth_scan.txt

Advanced Covert Scanning With Nmap

Moving on to more advanced techniques, this step will focus on performing a covert scan to further reduce the chances of detection. Let's utilize Nmap's Idle Scan feature, which allows a scan to be bounced off an idle (zombie) host, making it difficult to trace the scan back to you.

Again, make sure we're still in the workspace:

cd /home/labex/project

Execute an idle scan using the Nmap command.
The idle scan command is look like this:

sudo nmap -sI [zombie_host]:[zombie_port] [target_host] -p [target_port]

zombie_port is optional, if you don't specify it, Nmap will use the default port 80.

This time, we'll use 127.0.0.1 as the idle host to scan port 8080 on localhost:

sudo nmap -sI 127.0.0.1 localhost -p 8080 > /home/labex/project/idle_scan.txt

-sI is the flag for an Idle Scan. Tells Nmap to use 127.0.0.1 as the idle (zombie) host to conduct the scan on localhost's port 8080. It's a clever technique to perform a scan while masking the origin of the scan attempt. The results will be saved to idle_scan.txt.

Check the contents of the idle_scan.txt file to view the scan results:

cat /home/labex/project/idle_scan.txt

The output will be similar to the following:

...
Skipping Idle Scan against localhost (127.0.0.1) -- you can't idle scan your own machine (localhost).
Nmap scan report for localhost (127.0.0.1)
Host is up.

PORT     STATE   SERVICE
8080/tcp unknown http-proxy

Nmap done: 1 IP address (1 host up) scanned in 2.03 seconds

In our case, we're simulating the idle host and the target on the same machine, so the scan will be skipped. However, in a real-world scenario, this technique can be very effective for covert scanning.

Summary

In this lab, you ventured into the futuristic world of Aegis Robotics, embracing the role of the head of cybersecurity tasked with fortifying the plant's digital defenses. Starting with the basics, you set up a local environment for practicing stealth scanning techniques, then progressed to executing more advanced covert scans with Nmap.

Through hands-on experimentation, you've gained invaluable insights into how stealth and covert scans can be effectively utilized to identify vulnerabilities, all while minimizing the risk of detection. These skills are not just crucial for securing a robotics manufacturing plant like Aegis but are universally applicable in the field of cybersecurity, equipping you with the knowledge to navigate the challenges of ensuring digital security in a technology-driven future.