Offensive Security

Offensive SecurityFormerly| Offensive Security Services, LLC

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Type| Private
Industry| Computer software, Information Security, Digital forensics
Founders| Mati Aharoni, Devon Kearns
Headquarters|

New York City

United States

Area served

| International

Key people

* Ning Wang, CEO
* Jim O’Gorman, Chief Strategy Officer

Products| Kali Linux, Kali NetHunter, Offensive Security Certified Professional
Website| www.offsec.com

Offensive Security (also known as OffSec)[1] is an American international company working in information security, penetration testing and digital forensics. Beginning around 2007,[2] the company created open source projects, advanced security courses, the ExploitDB vulnerability database, and the Kali Linux distribution. OffSec was started by Mati Aharoni,[3] and employs security professionals with experience in security penetration testing and system security evaluation. The company has provided security counseling and training to many technology companies.[4]

OffSec also provides cybersecurity training courses and certifications, such as the Offensive Security Certified Professional (OSCP).[5][6]

## Contents

* 1 Background and history
* 2 Projects
* 2.1 Kali Linux
* 2.2 BackTrack
* 2.3 ExploitDB
* 2.4 Metasploit
* 2.5 Google Hacking Database
* 3 See also
* 4 References
* 5 External links

## Background and history

Mati Aharoni, Offensive Security's co-founder, started the business around 2006 with his wife Iris.[7] Offensive Security LLC was formed in 2008.[8][9] In September 2019 the company received its first venture capital investment, from Spectrum Equity, and CEO Ning Wang replaced Joe Steinbach, the previous CEO for four years, who ran the business from the Philippines. Jim O’Gorman, the company's chief strategy officer, also gives training and writes books. Customers include Cisco, Wells Fargo, Booz Allen Hamilton, and defense-related U.S. government agencies. The company gives training sessions at the annual Black Hat hacker conference.[7][10][11]

In 2019, J.M. Porup of CSO online wrote "few infosec certifications have developed the prestige in recent years of the Offensive Security Certified Professional (OSCP)," and said it has "a reputation for being one of the most difficult," because it requires student to hack into a test network during a difficult "24-hour exam." He also summarized accusations of cheating, and Offensive Security's responses, concluding hiring based only on credentials was a mistake, and an applicants skills should be validated.[12]

## Projects

In addition to their training and security services, the company also founded open source projects, online exploit databases and security information teaching aids.

### Kali Linux

The company is known for developing Kali Linux, which is a Debian Linux based distribution modeled after BackTrack. It succeeds BackTrack Linux, and is designed for security information needs, such as penetration testing and digital forensics. Kali NetHunter is Offensive Security's project for the ARM architecture and Android devices.[13] Kali Linux contains over 600 security programs. The release of the second version (2.0) received a wide coverage in the digital media[14][15][16][17] Offensive Security provides a book, Kali Linux Revealed,[18] and makes the first edition available for free download.[19] Users and employees have been inspired to have careers in social engineering.[20] In 2019, in a detailed review, Cyberpunk called Offensive Security's Kali Linux, "formally [sic] known as BackTrack," the "best penetration testing distribution."[21]

### BackTrack

BackTrack Linux was an open source GNU General Public License Linux distribution developed by programmers from around the world with assistance, coordination, and funding from Offensive Security.[22][23][24] The distribution was originally developed under the names Whoppix, IWHAX, and Auditor. It was designed to delete any trace of its usage. The distribution was widely known and used by security experts.[25][26][27][28]

### ExploitDB

Exploit Database is an archive of vulnerable software and exploits that have been made public by the information security community. The database is designated to help penetration testers test small projects easily by sharing information with each other.[29] The database also contains proof-of-concepts, helping information security professionals learn new exploits variations. In Ethical Hacking and Penetration Testing Guide, Rafay Baloch said Exploit-db had over 20,000 exploits, and was available in BackTrack Linux by default.[30] In CEH v10 Certified Ethical Hacker Study Guide, Ric Messier called exploit-db a "great resource," and stated it was available within Kali Linux by default, or could be added to other Linux distributions.[31]

### Metasploit

Metasploit Unleashed is a charity project created by Offensive Security for the sake of Hackers for Charity, which was started by Johnny Long.[32][33] The projects teaches Metasploit and is designed especially for people who consider starting a career in penetration testing.[34]

### Google Hacking Database

Google Hacking Database was created by Johnny Long and is now hosted by Offensive Security. The project was created as a part of Hackers for Charity. The database helps security professionals determine whether a given application or website is compromised. The database uses Google search to establish whether usernames and passwords had been compromised.[35]

## See also

* Offensive Security Certified Professional
* Kali Linux
* Kali NetHunter
* BackTrack Linux
* List of computer security certifications

## References

1. ↑ "Brand Refresh FAQ - Offensive Security Support Portal". April 24, 2023. https://help.offsec.com/hc/en-us/articles/13549369454612-Brand-Refresh-FAQ#:~:text=the brand refresh?-,Has Offensive Security changed its name?,the current and future OffSec..
2. ↑ "Homepage". https://www.offensive-security.com/.
3. ↑ "About Us". https://www.offensive-security.com/about-us/.
4. ↑ Kirk, Jeremy (July 29, 2014). "Zero-day flaws found in Symantec's Endpoint Protection". PC World. https://www.pcworld.com/article/440572/zeroday-flaws-found-in-symantecs-endpoint-protection.html.
5. ↑ "Information Security Training & Certifications". Offensive Security. https://www.offsec.com/courses-and-certifications/.
6. ↑ Poireault, Kevin (December 2, 2024). "You're Hired! The Truth About Certifications in Cybersecurity Careers". InfoSecurity-Magazine. https://www.infosecurity-magazine.com/news-features/certifications-cybersecurity/.
7. ↑ 7.0 7.1 Hackett, Robert (January 15, 2019). "Exclusive: Offensive Security Names New CEO; Former No. 2 at HackerOne, Lynda.". Fortune. https://fortune.com/2019/01/15/ceo-offensive-security-hackerone-lynda/.
8. ↑ "Ning Wang, Offensive Security LLC: Profile and Biography" (in en). https://www.bloomberg.com/profile/person/16940925.
9. ↑ "Offensive Security LLC". https://www.bloomberg.com/profile/company/0733517D:US?in_source=PersonProfile.
10. ↑ "Penetration Testing with Kali Linux, Black Hat USA 2018". 2018. https://www.blackhat.com/us-18/training/penetration-testing-with-kali-linux.html.
11. ↑ "Speaker Jim O'Gorman, Black Hat USA 2018". 2018. https://www.blackhat.com/us-18/speakers/Jim-Ogorman.html.
12. ↑ Porup, J. M. (January 29, 2019). "OSCP cheating allegations a reminder to verify hacking skills when hiring". https://www.csoonline.com/article/3336068/oscp-cheating-allegations-a-reminder-to-verify-hacking-skills-when-hiring.html.
13. ↑ Usatenko, Chris (2019-12-12). "Why secure web-based applications with Kali Linux?" (in en-US). https://hub.packtpub.com/why-secure-web-based-applications-with-kali-linux/.
14. ↑ Hoffman, Chris (August 19, 2015). "Meet Kali Linux 2.0, a distro built to hammer your security". PC World. https://www.pcworld.com/article/423116/meet-kali-linux-20-a-distro-built-to-hammer-your-security.html.
15. ↑ Stahie, Silviu (12 August 2015). "Kali Linux 2.0 Penetration Testing OS Now Based on Debian Jessie and Linux Kernel 4.0". Softpedia. http://news.softpedia.com/news/kali-linux-2-0-penetration-testing-os-now-based-on-debian-jessie-and-linux-kernel-4-0-489090.shtml.
16. ↑ Holm, Joshua Allen. "Gnome turns 18, new tools for Docker, Kali Linux 2.0, and more news". http://opensource.com/life/15/8/weekly-news-august-15.
17. ↑ Kerner, Sean Michael (August 12, 2015). "Linux Top 3: Tails 1.5, Kali Linux 2.0 and LibreOffice 5". http://www.linuxplanet.com/news/linux-top-3-tails-1.5-kali-linux-2.0-and-libreoffice-5.html.
18. ↑ Hertzog, Raphael; O'Gorman, Jim; Aharoni, Mati (June 5, 2017) (in en). Kali Linux Revealed: Mastering the Penetration Testing Distribution. Offsec Press. ISBN 978-0-9976156-0-9. https://books.google.com/books?id=6n9atAEACAAJ. Retrieved March 17, 2020.
19. ↑ Kali Linux Revealed (1st ed.). Offsec Press. https://kali.training/downloads/Kali-Linux-Revealed-1st-edition.pdf. Retrieved 2020-03-17.
20. ↑ Carpenter, Perry (2019-04-30) (in en). Transformational Security Awareness: What Neuroscientists, Storytellers, and Marketers Can Teach Us About Driving Secure Behaviors. John Wiley & Sons. ISBN 978-1-119-56637-3. https://books.google.com/books?id=uhuWDwAAQBAJ&q="offensive+security"+company&pg=PA204. Retrieved 2020-12-10.
21. ↑ "Kali Linux - The Best Penetration Testing Distribution" (in en-US). February 18, 2019. https://www.cyberpunk.rs/kali-linux-the-best-penetration-testing-distribution.
22. ↑ Hess, Ken (September 25, 2011). "BackTrack Linux: The Ultimate Hacker's Arsenal". http://www.admin-magazine.com/Articles/BackTrack-Linux-The-Ultimate-Hacker-s-Arsenal.
23. ↑ "BackTrack Linux - Penetration Testing Distribution". http://www.backtrack-linux.org/.
24. ↑ "About". 2010-03-22. http://www.backtrack-linux.org/about/.
25. ↑ Simionato, Lorenzo (December 10, 2007). "Review: BackTrack 2 security live CD". https://www.linux.com/news/review-backtrack-2-security-live-cd.
26. ↑ Barr, Joe (June 13, 2008). "Test your environment's security with BackTrack". http://www.linux.com/archive/articles/138325.
27. ↑ "BackTrack 5 - A Linux Distribution Engineered for Penetration Testing". August 22, 2011. http://ubuntumanual.org/posts/391/backtrack-5-a-linux-distribution-engineered-for-penetration-testing.
28. ↑ Vervloesem, Koen (August 11, 2011). "BackTrack 5 review – if you're serious about pentesting don't leave home without it!". http://www.linuxuser.co.uk/reviews/backtrack-5-review-if-youre-serious-about-pentesting-dont-leave-home-without-it/2.
29. ↑ Cimpanu, Catalin (December 21, 2018). "Chinese websites have been under attack for a week via a new PHP framework bug. . Archived from the original on . Retrieved .". ZDNet. https://www.zdnet.com/article/chinese-websites-have-been-under-attack-for-a-week-via-a-new-php-framework-bug/.
30. ↑ Baloch, Rafay (2017-09-29) (in en). Ethical Hacking and Penetration Testing Guide. CRC Press. pp. 135, 136, 137, 272, 431. ISBN 978-1-4822-3162-5. https://books.google.com/books?id=fKfNBQAAQBAJ&q=exploitdb&pg=PA136. Retrieved 2020-12-10.
31. ↑ Messier, Ric (2019-06-25) (in en). CEH v10 Certified Ethical Hacker Study Guide. John Wiley & Sons. pp. 235, 236, 243, 536, 547. ISBN 978-1-119-53319-1. https://books.google.com/books?id=ATiZDwAAQBAJ&q=exploitdb&pg=PA243.
32. ↑ "Donate to HFC, Feed a Child!". https://www.offsec.com/metasploit-unleashed/donate/.
33. ↑ "Who We Are". https://hackersforcharity.org/about-us/.
34. ↑ "Metasploit Unleashed - Free Online Ethical Hacking Course". https://www.offsec.com/metasploit-unleashed/.
35. ↑ Broad, James; Bindner, Andrew (2013-12-05) (in en). Hacking with Kali: Practical Penetration Testing Techniques. Newnes. pp. 97. ISBN 978-0-12-407883-3. https://books.google.com/books?id=0YihZLFRW1gC&q=google+hacking+database&pg=PA97. Retrieved 2020-12-10.

## External links

* Offensive Security Official Website

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