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Showing posts with label Kali Pentesting Linux. Show all posts

What Is Kali Linux? Everything You Need to Know

 

Kali Linux has become a cornerstone of cybersecurity, widely used by ethical hackers, penetration testers, and security professionals. This open-source Debian-based distribution is designed specifically for security testing and digital forensics. 

Recognized for its extensive toolset, it has been featured in popular culture, including the TV series Mr. Robot. Its accessibility and specialized features make it a preferred choice for those working in cybersecurity. The project originated as a successor to BackTrack Linux, developed by Offensive Security (OffSec) in 2013. 

Created by Mati Aharoni and Devon Kearns, Kali was designed to be a more refined, customizable, and scalable penetration testing platform. Unlike its predecessor, Kali adopted a rolling release model in 2016, ensuring continuous updates and seamless integration of the latest security tools. This model keeps the OS up to date with emerging cybersecurity threats and techniques. 

One of Kali Linux’s standout features is its extensive suite of security testing tools—approximately 600 in total—catering to various tasks, including network penetration testing, password cracking, vulnerability analysis, and digital forensics. The OS is also optimized for a wide range of hardware platforms, from traditional desktops and laptops to ARM-based systems like Raspberry Pi and even Android devices through Kali NetHunter. 

A key advantage of Kali is its built-in customization and ease of use. Unlike installing individual security tools on a standard Linux distribution, Kali provides a ready-to-use environment where everything is pre-configured. Additionally, it offers unique capabilities such as “Boot Nuke,” which enables secure data wiping, and containerized support for running older security tools that may no longer be maintained. 

Maintained and funded by Offensive Security, Kali Linux benefits from ongoing community contributions and industry support. The development team continuously enhances the system, addressing technical challenges like transitioning to updated architectures, improving multi-platform compatibility, and ensuring stability despite its rolling release model. 

The project also prioritizes accessibility for both seasoned professionals and newcomers, offering free educational resources like Kali Linux Revealed to help users get started. Looking ahead, Kali Linux’s roadmap remains dynamic, adapting to the fast-changing cybersecurity landscape. 

While core updates follow a structured quarterly release cycle, the development team quickly integrates new security tools, updates, and features as needed. With its strong foundation and community-driven approach, Kali Linux continues to evolve as an essential tool for cybersecurity professionals worldwide.

Kali Linux website hacked by The GreaT Team

When it comes to Security, No ONE is 100% Secure.  Even the world most popular Security-related Linux provider Kali is no exception to this fact.

Earlier Today, a Libyan Hackers group "The GreaT Team(TGT)" have breached the mailing list subdomain of Kali website(lists.kali.org).

The hacker managed to change the descriptions of two lists which was being shown in the front page of the subdomain. One of the description is "Hacked By The GreaT TeAm -TGT ", other one is "Libyan Hackers".

After became aware of the breach, Kali Team immediately take down the entire sub-domain to offline.  The team said it is an inactive sub-domain.

"Looks like our inactive, 3rd party, 0 volume mailing list was hacked. DNS entry removed - back to sleep, problem solved." Kali Team's response to the breach.

It is worth to note that Kali Team has already have a bug bounty program- Researchers who report security bugs in their website will get reward.  But, Security researcher Rafay Baloch who discovered few security bugs in kali website highlighted the fact the "Bug Bounty" didn't help much.

The mirror of the defacement is here: http://www.zone-h.org/mirror/id/22278878

Kali pentesting Linux 1.0.6 is here with Self Destruction feature


Offensive security Team, the creator of the famous Penetration testing Distro "Backtrack", has released updated version of Kali Linux.  The team has added an interesting feature to the update.

A self destruction feature has been introduced to the latest version 1.0.6.  The Kali Linux already provides disk encryption to protect the data from being accessed by thief, if it is stolen.

However, the team came with up a new idea to provide more security to the data stored in the distro, a "nuke" option.  By just entering a nuke password, you can make the data on the drive inaccessible.

Before implementing the feature, the team asked the users to vote in a poll whether to add this feature or not.  95% people(3700+) including me voted to add this feature, only 4%(140+) voted against it.

So, finally they have implemented the "nuke" option in the latest version of Kali.  How many of you think this is useful feature for you?!

Besides the nuke feature, there are 'Kali ARM Build script', 'Kali AMAZON AMI and Google Compute image generation scripts' and have added a number of tools and upgraded the existing tools.