Enroll Course: https://www.coursera.org/learn/hacking-patching
In the ever-evolving landscape of cybersecurity, understanding both the offensive and defensive sides is paramount. The Coursera course, “Hacking and Patching,” offers a comprehensive and hands-on approach to learning these critical skills. This MOOC is designed to equip learners with the knowledge to identify and exploit common web application vulnerabilities, specifically focusing on command injection and SQL injection.
The course begins by delving into the intricacies of hacking web applications with command injection vulnerabilities, using a practical AWS Linux instance as a testbed. You’ll learn how to navigate and extract valuable information from typical Linux systems running LAMP services, and even how to establish backdoors for future exploitation. The syllabus highlights how to discover and patch these vulnerabilities, with a strong emphasis on input validation using regular expressions and the implementation of secure design patterns to prevent such attacks.
A significant portion of the course is dedicated to SQL injection. You’ll learn how to compromise web applications with database backends, manipulate SQL queries to expose sensitive data like passwords, and perform code reviews to identify vulnerable code patterns. The course also introduces an eight-step hacker methodology for system exploitation and covers privilege escalation techniques, including leveraging command injection to hide Trojans.
Beyond injection attacks, “Hacking and Patching” also explores memory-based attacks, such as buffer overflows, and the protective mechanisms modern operating systems employ. The final module provides an in-depth look at penetration testing. You’ll gain practical experience with vulnerability scanning tools like Nessus, utilize the Kali Linux distribution for penetration testing, and master the Metasploit Framework to gain control of vulnerable machines, deploy keyloggers, and execute remote shells. The course even touches upon password cracking using GPU instances with hashcat.
Overall, “Hacking and Patching” is an exceptional course for anyone looking to build a solid foundation in cybersecurity. The practical, hands-on approach, coupled with the clear explanations of both attack vectors and defensive strategies, makes it an invaluable learning experience. I highly recommend this course to aspiring security professionals, developers, and anyone interested in understanding how to protect digital assets.
Enroll Course: https://www.coursera.org/learn/hacking-patching