‫So up to now, we've learned how to exploit the systems and compromise them successfully.
‫What's up next?
‫It's time to collect the fruits.
‫Maintaining access is a very important phase of penetration testing.
‫Unfortunately, it's one that often is overlooked.
‫Most penetrations kind of get all carried away whenever the administrative access is obtained.
‫So if the system is later patched, then they no longer have access to it.
‫Persistence helps us access a system we have successfully compromised in the past.
‫Now, it is important to note that they may be out of scope during a penetration test, but being familiar
‫with them is of paramount importance.
‫So these are a few of the methods of being persistent on the system that you compromised.
‫Installation of a back door that requires authentication, installation and or modification of services
‫to connect back to the system user and complex passwords should be used as a minimum use of certificates
‫or cryptographic keys is preferred wherever possible.
‫Reverse connections limited to a single IP may also be used.
‫Also, creation of alternate accounts with complex passwords.