computer science

Offensive Security

Offensive Security is a computer science topic covered in the lgStudy science library. This page brings together a partial reference excerpt, illustrations, worked examples, real-world applications and a short study plan, so you can understand Offensive Security rather than just read about it. In short: Offensive Security (also known as OffSec) is an American international company working in information security, penetration testing and digital forensics. Beginning around 2007, the company created open source projects, advanced security courses, the ExploitDB vulnerability database, and the Kali Linux distribution.

Key takeaways

Offensive Security belongs to computer science; place it in that map before memorising details.
Learn the definition first, then one example that makes the definition concrete.
Connect Offensive Security to a quantity you can measure, compute or draw — that is where exam questions come from.
Reproduce the core statement of Offensive Security from memory before moving on to harder problems.

Reference excerpt

Offensive Security (also known as OffSec) is an American international company working in information security, penetration testing and digital forensics. Beginning around 2007, the company created open source projects, advanced security courses, the ExploitDB vulnerability database, and the Kali Linux distribution. OffSec was started by Mati Aharoni, 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. OffSec also provides cybersecurity training courses and certifications, such as the Offensive Security Certified Professional (OSCP).

History Mati Aharoni, Offensive Security's co-founder, started the business around 2006 with his wife Iris. Offensive Security LLC was formed in 2008. 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. 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.

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. Kali Linux contains over 600 security programs. The release of the second version (2.0) received a wide coverage in the digital media Offensive Security provides a book, Kali Linux Revealed, and makes the first edition available for free download. Users and employees have been inspired to have careers in social engineering. In 2019, in a detailed review, Cyberpunk called Offensive Security's Kali Linux, "formally [sic] known as BackTrack," the "best penetration testing distribution."

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. 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.

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. 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. 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.

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

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.

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with Offensive Security

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what Offensive Security claims or describes in one sentence, then invent the smallest concrete situation in which that sentence is true. In computer science, the smallest case is usually a single object, a single equation or a single measurement. Check that every symbol or term in your sentence has a meaning in that case.

Example 2 — changing one variable

Take the situation from Example 1 and change exactly one quantity: double it, halve it, or set it to zero. Predict what should happen to Offensive Security before you calculate. Comparing your prediction with the result is the fastest way to find out whether you understand the idea or only the words.

Example 3 — an exam-style question

Typical questions about Offensive Security ask you to (a) state it precisely, (b) apply it to given data, and (c) explain a limitation. Practise writing all three answers in under five minutes; the third part is what separates a full-mark answer from an average one.

Applications of Offensive Security

In research: Offensive Security appears in computer science research whenever the underlying quantities have to be modelled precisely. Papers usually cite it as a starting assumption and then explore where it breaks down.
In technology and industry: Engineering practice reuses Offensive Security in design rules, simulations and safety margins. Knowing the idea lets you read a specification sheet and understand why the numbers look the way they do.
In the classroom: Offensive Security is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics Computer network security, Computer security procedures, Crime prevention, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for Offensive Security outside the textbook — in sport, cooking, traffic, electronics or the sky above you. An example you found yourself is remembered far longer than one you were given.

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How to study Offensive Security in 20 minutes

Read the reference excerpt below once, without taking notes.
Close the page and write down what Offensive Security means in your own words.
Compare your version with the excerpt and mark what you missed.
Work through the three examples above with pen and paper.
Explain Offensive Security out loud to somebody else — or to Teacher Smith in the lgStudy chat.

Frequently asked questions

What is Offensive Security in simple terms?

Why does Offensive Security matter?

Because it connects several computer science ideas at once: it gives you a definition you can apply, a quantity you can calculate, and a way to check whether a result is plausible.

How should I study Offensive Security?

Read the excerpt, restate it from memory, then work through the examples and applications listed on this page. The five-step study plan above takes about twenty minutes.

What does this page cover?

It gives you a compact reference excerpt plus original lgStudy explanations, examples, applications and study material on Offensive Security.