A Beginner's Guide to Web Application Penetration Testing - Paperback

by Ali Abdollahi (Author)

A hands-on, beginner-friendly intro to web application pentesting

In A Beginner's Guide to Web Application Penetration Testing, seasoned cybersecurity veteran Ali Abdollahi delivers a startlingly insightful and up-to-date exploration of web app pentesting. In the book, Ali takes a dual approach--emphasizing both theory and practical skills--equipping you to jumpstart a new career in web application security.

You'll learn about common vulnerabilities and how to perform a variety of effective attacks on web applications. Consistent with the approach publicized by the Open Web Application Security Project (OWASP), the book explains how to find, exploit and combat the ten most common security vulnerability categories, including broken access controls, cryptographic failures, code injection, security misconfigurations, and more.

A Beginner's Guide to Web Application Penetration Testing walks you through the five main stages of a comprehensive penetration test: scoping and reconnaissance, scanning, gaining and maintaining access, analysis, and reporting. You'll also discover how to use several popular security tools and techniques--like as well as:

• Demonstrations of the performance of various penetration testing techniques, including subdomain enumeration with Sublist3r and Subfinder, and port scanning with Nmap
• Strategies for analyzing and improving the security of web applications against common attacks, including
• Explanations of the increasing importance of web application security, and how to use techniques like input validation, disabling external entities to maintain security

Perfect for software engineers new to cybersecurity, security analysts, web developers, and other IT professionals, A Beginner's Guide to Web Application Penetration Testing will also earn a prominent place in the libraries of cybersecurity students and anyone else with an interest in web application security.

Back Jacket

A practical, beginner-friendly introduction to web app pentesting

In A Beginner's Guide to Web Application Penetration Testing, cybersecurity trainer and veteran Ali -Abdollahi delivers an incisive and timely discussion of penetration testing that addresses the increasing importance of web application security. The author takes a dual approach, incorporating both theory and practical skills, equipping readers with the knowledge they need to kickstart their journey into the web application penetration testing field.

The book walks you through the five main stages of a comprehensive penetration test: scoping and recon, scanning, gaining and maintaining access, analysis, and reporting. You'll learn how to use popular and effective security tools, as well as how to combat the ten most common security vulnerability categories publicized by the Open Web Application Security Project (OWASP).

From hands-on demonstrations of techniques - like subdomain enumeration with Sublist3r and -Subfinder - to practice with input validation and external entity disabling for security maintenance, the book gives you a first-person view of pentesting you can implement immediately.

Perfect for software engineers with an interest in penetration testing, security analysts, web developers, and other information technology professionals, A Beginner's Guide to Web Application Penetration Testing is also an essential read for students of cybersecurity, software engineering, computer science, and related tech industries.

Author Biography

ALI ABDOLLAHI is a cybersecurity researcher with over 12 years of experience. Currently, he is the application and offensive security manager at Canon EMEA. He studied computer engineering, published articles, and holds several professional certificates. Ali is a Microsoft MVP and regular speaker or trainer at industry conferences and events.