homepage
Open menu
Go one level top
  • Train and Certify
    Train and Certify

    Immediately apply the skills and techniques learned in SANS courses, ranges, and summits

    • Overview
    • Courses
      • Overview
      • Full Course List
      • By Focus Areas
        • Cloud Security
        • Cyber Defense
        • Cybersecurity and IT Essentials
        • DFIR
        • Industrial Control Systems
        • Offensive Operations
        • Management, Legal, and Audit
      • By Skill Levels
        • New to Cyber
        • Essentials
        • Advanced
        • Expert
      • Training Formats
        • OnDemand
        • In-Person
        • Live Online
      • Course Demos
    • Training Roadmaps
      • Skills Roadmap
      • Focus Area Job Roles
        • Cyber Defence Job Roles
        • Offensive Operations Job Roles
        • DFIR Job Roles
        • Cloud Job Roles
        • ICS Job Roles
        • Leadership Job Roles
      • NICE Framework
        • Security Provisionals
        • Operate and Maintain
        • Oversee and Govern
        • Protect and Defend
        • Analyze
        • Collect and Operate
        • Investigate
        • Industrial Control Systems
    • GIAC Certifications
    • Training Events & Summits
      • Events Overview
      • Event Locations
        • Asia
        • Australia & New Zealand
        • Latin America
        • Mainland Europe
        • Middle East & Africa
        • Scandinavia
        • United Kingdom & Ireland
        • United States & Canada
      • Summits
    • OnDemand
    • Get Started in Cyber
      • Overview
      • Degree and Certificate Programs
      • Scholarships
    • Cyber Ranges
  • Manage Your Team
    Manage Your Team

    Build a world-class cyber team with our workforce development programs

    • Overview
    • Why Work with SANS
    • Group Purchasing
    • Build Your Team
      • Team Development
      • Assessments
      • Private Training
      • Hire Cyber Professionals
      • By Industry
        • Health Care
        • Industrial Control Systems Security
        • Military
    • Leadership Training
  • Security Awareness
    Security Awareness

    Increase your staff’s cyber awareness, help them change their behaviors, and reduce your organizational risk

    • Overview
    • Products & Services
      • Security Awareness Training
        • EndUser Training
        • Phishing Platform
      • Specialized
        • Developer Training
        • ICS Engineer Training
        • NERC CIP Training
        • IT Administrator
      • Risk Assessments
        • Knowledge Assessment
        • Culture Assessment
        • Behavioral Risk Assessment
    • OUCH! Newsletter
    • Career Development
      • Overview
      • Training & Courses
      • Professional Credential
    • Blog
    • Partners
    • Reports & Case Studies
  • Resources
    Resources

    Enhance your skills with access to thousands of free resources, 150+ instructor-developed tools, and the latest cybersecurity news and analysis

    • Overview
    • Webcasts
    • Free Cybersecurity Events
      • Free Events Overview
      • Summits
      • Solutions Forums
      • Community Nights
    • Content
      • Newsletters
        • NewsBites
        • @RISK
        • OUCH! Newsletter
      • Blog
      • Podcasts
      • Summit Presentations
      • Posters & Cheat Sheets
    • Research
      • White Papers
      • Security Policies
    • Tools
    • Focus Areas
      • Cyber Defense
      • Cloud Security
      • Digital Forensics & Incident Response
      • Industrial Control Systems
      • Cyber Security Leadership
      • Offensive Operations
  • Get Involved
    Get Involved

    Help keep the cyber community one step ahead of threats. Join the SANS community or begin your journey of becoming a SANS Certified Instructor today.

    • Overview
    • Join the Community
    • Work Study
    • Teach for SANS
    • CISO Network
    • Partnerships
    • Sponsorship Opportunities
  • About
    About

    Learn more about how SANS empowers and educates current and future cybersecurity practitioners with knowledge and skills

    • SANS
      • Overview
      • Our Founder
      • Awards
    • Instructors
      • Our Instructors
      • Full Instructor List
    • Mission
      • Our Mission
      • Diversity
      • Scholarships
    • Contact
      • Contact Customer Service
      • Contact Sales
      • Press & Media Enquiries
    • Frequent Asked Questions
    • Customer Reviews
    • Press
    • Careers
  • Contact Sales
  • SANS Sites
    • GIAC Security Certifications
    • Internet Storm Center
    • SANS Technology Institute
    • Security Awareness Training
  • Search
  • Log In
  • Join
    • Account Dashboard
    • Log Out
  1. Home >
  2. Blog >
  3. Mobile Device Tips, Tricks and Resources
370x370_Joshua-Wright.jpg
Joshua Wright

Mobile Device Tips, Tricks and Resources

December 2, 2013

[In this third installation of tips originally included in the Ultimate SANS Pen Test Poster, we'll turn to Josh Wright's tips for mobile device penetration testing. Josh shares some really useful insights here, as well as recommendations for tools (software and hardware) and resources for keeping current. Nice stuff!

Click these links for the first two articles in this series:

  • John Strand's tips on network penetration testing
  • Steve Sims' tips on exploit development

-Ed.]

Methodology Tips

  • Recon - Identify the types of mobile devices used in the target environment, and the applications used. Consider using social networking data ("Posted with Tweetie for iOS"), e-mail headers ("X-Mailer: iPhone Mail (10B143)") or Satori fingerprints for insider or public network/hotspot attacks.
  • Scanning - For local mobile device attacks, identify the wireless networks sought by the mobile device by inspecting network probes. Commonly weak network names such as "attwifi" and "linksys" are easy targets to impersonate and lure a victim into a hostile network.
  • Exploitation - Use man-in-the-middle attacks to intercept and inspect network protocols. Use traffic insertion attacks to deliver client-side exploits to vulnerable devices, or manipulate captured traffic to exploit supporting back-end mobile application servers. If you have physical possession of a device, bypass device passcode use by physically connecting the device to an attack workstation to root or jailbreak the device, exposing the filesystem data.
  • Post-Exploitation - Inspect commonly sensitive data areas on mobile devices for information such as the Notes, SMS, and browser history databases. Look for stored passwords in third-party applications, and for opportunities to extract saved passwords from keychain storage. If it is within scope, consider adding a backdoor to the mobile device and returning to the end-user, giving you remote access to trusted networks.

Must-Have Tools: Software

  • Android Emulator and SDK Tools - The Android Emulator is almost as good as having real Android hardware since it can be used to run and assess Android applications. Pen testers can install the Android Emulator and the associated SDK tools for use in evaluating Android applications, and for attacking "stolen" Android devices. By Google http://developer.android.com/sdk
  • Plist Editor for Windows - The Plist Editor for Windows makes it easy to view and search binary or ASCII preference list files from compromised Apple iOS devices. Pen testers can use the Plist Editor for Windows to extract data from iOS built-in or third-party applications and harvest credentials or other sensitive data from numerous weak applications. By VOWSoft, Ltd.
    http://www.icopybot.com/plist-editor.htm
  • SQLiteSpy - SQLiteSpy reads, searches, and converts SQLite database files used on iOS and Android devices. Pen Testers can inspect the compromised contact, GPS history, browser history, SMS messages and more with SQLiteSpy. By Ralf Junker http://www.yunqa.de/delphi/doku.php/products/sqlitespy/index
  • Elcomsoft Phone Password Breaker* - EPPB is used to brute- force passwords on Apple iTunes backups, BlackBerry backups, and to bypass BlackBerry lock screen passcodes. Pen testers can use EPPB to decrypt and extract Apple and BlackBerry backup data from compromised hosts, and to bypass the passcode selection on BlackBerry devices. By Elcomsoft http://www.elcomsoft.com/eppb.html
  • iPhone Data Protection Tools - The iDPT suite creates an alternate iOS boot environment, allowing pen testers to brute-force PIN- based passcodes on older iPhone, iPod Touch and iPad devices. By Jonathan Zdziarski and a community of contributing developers http://code.google.com/p/iphone-dataprotection
  • Redsn0w - Redsn0w is an all-purpose iOS jailbreaking tool for iOS 5 devices. If device theft is in the scope of the mobile device pen test, the pen tester can jailbreak and access confidential data on stolen devices using Redsn0w. By iPhone Dev Team http://www.redsn0w.us
  • Satori - Satori is a multi-faceted passive operating system fingerprinting tool, combining results from over 25 different protocols for precise results. Pen testers can use Satori to monitor LAN or WLAN traffic and identify the mobile devices that are present to target. By Eric Kollmann http://chatteronthewire.org
  • Burp Suite* - Burp Suite is commonly used for web application assessments, but it also makes a powerful HTTP/S network manipulation tool when combined with a man-in-the-middle attack. Pen testers can use Burp Suite to exploit HTTP-based mobile applications with server-side and client- side injection attacks. By PortSwigger, Ltd. http://portswigger.net/burp
  • Ettercap - Ettercap is a powerful man-in-the-middle tool, adding powerful network traffic manipulation and plugin functionality to exploit downstream devices. Pen testers can use Ettercap to capture plaintext passwords, intercept SSL traffic, and manipulate DNS name resolution on mobile devices. By Alberto Ornaghi, Marco Valleri, Emilio Escobar, and Eric Milam http://ettercap.github.com/ettercap
  • Mercury Framework - The Mercury Framework is an Android security testing platform using a client/server architecture with plugin support for dynamic exploit delivery. Pen testers can use Mercury to evaluate the threat of malware on an Android platform, developing or leveraging available exploits to take advantage of Android platform vulnerabilities. By Daniel Bradberry https://github.com/mwrlabs/mercury
  • iPhone Configuration Utility - The iPCU tool from Apple provides a set of iOS device management features for small organizations, creating XML profiles that can be installed on iOS devices to specify wireless networks, platform settings, certificate trust, and more. Pen testers can use iPCU to create malicious profiles, adding the attacker as a new trusted root CA as part of a phishing assessment. By Apple Corporation http://www.apple.com/support/iphone/enterprise

Must-Have Tools: Hardware

  • Google Nexus* - The Google Nexus is the perfect hardware for experimenting with Android attacks with WiFi, Bluetooth, and NFC wireless capabilities. As a "Google Experience" device, the Nexus also receives software updates to stay current with new Android OS features. By Google http://www.google.com/nexus
  • iPad Mini* - A lower-cost alternative to an iPad or an unsubsidized iPhone, the iPad Mini runs all iOS applications. After jailbreaking the iPad Mini, pen testers can install and target vulnerable applications, or test the impact of attacks before delivering them to the production target environment. By Apple Corporation http://www.apple.com/ipad-mini

* These tools are available on a commercial (cost) basis.

Great Resources for Staying Current

  • MacRumors - http://www.macrumors.com
  • BGR Mobile Report - http://bgr.com/mobile
  • XDA Developers Blog - http://www.xda-developers.com
  • Josh's Mobile RSS Feed - http://www.willhackforsushi.com/subscriptions.xml
  • Twitter Search Terms - ios security | android security
  • Twitter Accounts - @pod2g |@lookout| @pof | @pentesttips | @joswr1ght

Associated SANS Courses

SEC575: Mobile Device Security and Ethical Hacking www.sans.org/sec575

-Josh Wright
Counter Hack

Share:
TwitterLinkedInFacebook
Copy url Url was copied to clipboard
Subscribe to SANS Newsletters
Receive curated news, vulnerabilities, & security awareness tips
United States
Canada
United Kingdom
Spain
Belgium
Denmark
Norway
Netherlands
Australia
India
Japan
Singapore
Afghanistan
Aland Islands
Albania
Algeria
American Samoa
Andorra
Angola
Anguilla
Antarctica
Antigua and Barbuda
Argentina
Armenia
Aruba
Austria
Azerbaijan
Bahamas
Bahrain
Bangladesh
Barbados
Belarus
Belize
Benin
Bermuda
Bhutan
Bolivia
Bonaire, Sint Eustatius, and Saba
Bosnia And Herzegovina
Botswana
Bouvet Island
Brazil
British Indian Ocean Territory
Brunei Darussalam
Bulgaria
Burkina Faso
Burundi
Cambodia
Cameroon
Cape Verde
Cayman Islands
Central African Republic
Chad
Chile
China
Christmas Island
Cocos (Keeling) Islands
Colombia
Comoros
Cook Islands
Costa Rica
Croatia (Local Name: Hrvatska)
Curacao
Cyprus
Czech Republic
Democratic Republic of the Congo
Djibouti
Dominica
Dominican Republic
East Timor
East Timor
Ecuador
Egypt
El Salvador
Equatorial Guinea
Eritrea
Estonia
Ethiopia
Falkland Islands (Malvinas)
Faroe Islands
Fiji
Finland
France
French Guiana
French Polynesia
French Southern Territories
Gabon
Gambia
Georgia
Germany
Ghana
Gibraltar
Greece
Greenland
Grenada
Guadeloupe
Guam
Guatemala
Guernsey
Guinea
Guinea-Bissau
Guyana
Haiti
Heard And McDonald Islands
Honduras
Hong Kong
Hungary
Iceland
Indonesia
Iraq
Ireland
Isle of Man
Israel
Italy
Jamaica
Jersey
Jordan
Kazakhstan
Kenya
Kiribati
Korea, Republic Of
Kosovo
Kuwait
Kyrgyzstan
Lao People's Democratic Republic
Latvia
Lebanon
Lesotho
Liberia
Liechtenstein
Lithuania
Luxembourg
Macau
Macedonia
Madagascar
Malawi
Malaysia
Maldives
Mali
Malta
Marshall Islands
Martinique
Mauritania
Mauritius
Mayotte
Mexico
Micronesia, Federated States Of
Moldova, Republic Of
Monaco
Mongolia
Montenegro
Montserrat
Morocco
Mozambique
Myanmar
Namibia
Nauru
Nepal
Netherlands Antilles
New Caledonia
New Zealand
Nicaragua
Niger
Nigeria
Niue
Norfolk Island
Northern Mariana Islands
Oman
Pakistan
Palau
Palestine
Panama
Papua New Guinea
Paraguay
Peru
Philippines
Pitcairn
Poland
Portugal
Puerto Rico
Qatar
Reunion
Romania
Russian Federation
Rwanda
Saint Bartholemy
Saint Kitts And Nevis
Saint Lucia
Saint Martin
Saint Vincent And The Grenadines
Samoa
San Marino
Sao Tome And Principe
Saudi Arabia
Senegal
Serbia
Seychelles
Sierra Leone
Sint Maarten
Slovakia
Slovenia
Solomon Islands
South Africa
South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands
South Sudan
Sri Lanka
St. Helena
St. Pierre And Miquelon
Suriname
Svalbard And Jan Mayen Islands
Swaziland
Sweden
Switzerland
Taiwan
Tajikistan
Tanzania
Thailand
Togo
Tokelau
Tonga
Trinidad And Tobago
Tunisia
Turkey
Turkmenistan
Turks And Caicos Islands
Tuvalu
Uganda
Ukraine
United Arab Emirates
United States Minor Outlying Islands
Uruguay
Uzbekistan
Vanuatu
Vatican City
Venezuela
Vietnam
Virgin Islands (British)
Virgin Islands (U.S.)
Wallis And Futuna Islands
Western Sahara
Yemen
Yugoslavia
Zambia
Zimbabwe

By providing this information, you agree to the processing of your personal data by SANS as described in our Privacy Policy.

This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.

Tags:
  • Penetration Testing and Red Teaming

Related Content

Blog
Penetration Testing and Red Teaming, Cybersecurity and IT Essentials
January 4, 2023
Cloud Scanning for Vulnerability Discovery
In this article we'll look at the step-by-step process of scanning a cloud provider's network for target enumeration.
370x370_Joshua-Wright.jpg
Joshua Wright
read more
Blog
Untitled_design-43.png
Digital Forensics and Incident Response, Cybersecurity and IT Essentials, Industrial Control Systems Security, Purple Team, Open-Source Intelligence (OSINT), Penetration Testing and Red Teaming, Cyber Defense, Cloud Security, Security Management, Legal, and Audit
December 8, 2021
Good News: SANS Virtual Summits Will Remain FREE for the Community in 2022
They’re virtual. They’re global. They’re free.
370x370-person-placeholder.png
Emily Blades
read more
Blog
Penetration Testing and Red Teaming
January 17, 2018
SANS Poster - White Board of Awesome Command Line Kung Fu (PDF Download)
Imagine you are sitting at your desk and come across a great command line tip that will assist you in your career as an information security professional, so you jot the tip down on a note, post-it, or scrap sheet of paper and tape it to your white board... now imagine you do this all the time...
SANS Pen Test
read more
  • Register to Learn
  • Courses
  • Certifications
  • Degree Programs
  • Cyber Ranges
  • Job Tools
  • Security Policy Project
  • Posters & Cheat Sheets
  • White Papers
  • Focus Areas
  • Cyber Defense
  • Cloud Security
  • Cybersecurity Leadership
  • Digital Forensics
  • Industrial Control Systems
  • Offensive Operations
Subscribe to SANS Newsletters
Receive curated news, vulnerabilities, & security awareness tips
United States
Canada
United Kingdom
Spain
Belgium
Denmark
Norway
Netherlands
Australia
India
Japan
Singapore
Afghanistan
Aland Islands
Albania
Algeria
American Samoa
Andorra
Angola
Anguilla
Antarctica
Antigua and Barbuda
Argentina
Armenia
Aruba
Austria
Azerbaijan
Bahamas
Bahrain
Bangladesh
Barbados
Belarus
Belize
Benin
Bermuda
Bhutan
Bolivia
Bonaire, Sint Eustatius, and Saba
Bosnia And Herzegovina
Botswana
Bouvet Island
Brazil
British Indian Ocean Territory
Brunei Darussalam
Bulgaria
Burkina Faso
Burundi
Cambodia
Cameroon
Cape Verde
Cayman Islands
Central African Republic
Chad
Chile
China
Christmas Island
Cocos (Keeling) Islands
Colombia
Comoros
Cook Islands
Costa Rica
Croatia (Local Name: Hrvatska)
Curacao
Cyprus
Czech Republic
Democratic Republic of the Congo
Djibouti
Dominica
Dominican Republic
East Timor
East Timor
Ecuador
Egypt
El Salvador
Equatorial Guinea
Eritrea
Estonia
Ethiopia
Falkland Islands (Malvinas)
Faroe Islands
Fiji
Finland
France
French Guiana
French Polynesia
French Southern Territories
Gabon
Gambia
Georgia
Germany
Ghana
Gibraltar
Greece
Greenland
Grenada
Guadeloupe
Guam
Guatemala
Guernsey
Guinea
Guinea-Bissau
Guyana
Haiti
Heard And McDonald Islands
Honduras
Hong Kong
Hungary
Iceland
Indonesia
Iraq
Ireland
Isle of Man
Israel
Italy
Jamaica
Jersey
Jordan
Kazakhstan
Kenya
Kiribati
Korea, Republic Of
Kosovo
Kuwait
Kyrgyzstan
Lao People's Democratic Republic
Latvia
Lebanon
Lesotho
Liberia
Liechtenstein
Lithuania
Luxembourg
Macau
Macedonia
Madagascar
Malawi
Malaysia
Maldives
Mali
Malta
Marshall Islands
Martinique
Mauritania
Mauritius
Mayotte
Mexico
Micronesia, Federated States Of
Moldova, Republic Of
Monaco
Mongolia
Montenegro
Montserrat
Morocco
Mozambique
Myanmar
Namibia
Nauru
Nepal
Netherlands Antilles
New Caledonia
New Zealand
Nicaragua
Niger
Nigeria
Niue
Norfolk Island
Northern Mariana Islands
Oman
Pakistan
Palau
Palestine
Panama
Papua New Guinea
Paraguay
Peru
Philippines
Pitcairn
Poland
Portugal
Puerto Rico
Qatar
Reunion
Romania
Russian Federation
Rwanda
Saint Bartholemy
Saint Kitts And Nevis
Saint Lucia
Saint Martin
Saint Vincent And The Grenadines
Samoa
San Marino
Sao Tome And Principe
Saudi Arabia
Senegal
Serbia
Seychelles
Sierra Leone
Sint Maarten
Slovakia
Slovenia
Solomon Islands
South Africa
South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands
South Sudan
Sri Lanka
St. Helena
St. Pierre And Miquelon
Suriname
Svalbard And Jan Mayen Islands
Swaziland
Sweden
Switzerland
Taiwan
Tajikistan
Tanzania
Thailand
Togo
Tokelau
Tonga
Trinidad And Tobago
Tunisia
Turkey
Turkmenistan
Turks And Caicos Islands
Tuvalu
Uganda
Ukraine
United Arab Emirates
United States Minor Outlying Islands
Uruguay
Uzbekistan
Vanuatu
Vatican City
Venezuela
Vietnam
Virgin Islands (British)
Virgin Islands (U.S.)
Wallis And Futuna Islands
Western Sahara
Yemen
Yugoslavia
Zambia
Zimbabwe

By providing this information, you agree to the processing of your personal data by SANS as described in our Privacy Policy.

This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.
  • © 2023 SANS™ Institute
  • Privacy Policy
  • Contact
  • Careers
  • Twitter
  • Facebook
  • Youtube
  • LinkedIn