Question

What is a covert channel and how is it useful to conceal pentest activity?

Answer 1

Solution:

Covert channel:

A covert channel can be defined as a hidden communication mechanism.

It is a means of communication that is not part of the original design of the system.

It could even be said that a covert channel is a security flaw.

It is a part of a program or system that can cause the system to violate its security requirements.

It can be an electronic means of sending and hiding messages.

how is it useful to conceal pentest activity?

A covert channel is a hidden communication connection that allows hackers to remain stealthy. Mostly used for concealing activities and extracting data from a company, covert channels are created by installing a backdoor on a compromised machine inside the network.

Once installed, a reverse shell can be created to establish a connection with the outside machine belonging to the hacker. One way of doing this is with the use of the popular hacking platform Metasploit.

To test whether establishing a covert channel is doable, the penetration tester will identify firewall rules with the help of Firewalk, attempt to reach systems behind the firewall and examine the response of the arriving packets.