Building and Automating Penetration Testing Labs in the Cloud: Set up cost-effective hacking environments

Take your penetration testing career to the next level by discovering how to set up and exploit cost-effective hacking lab environments on AWS, Azure, and GCP
Key Features

Explore strategies for managing the complexity, cost, and security of running labs in the cloud
Unlock the power of infrastructure as code and generative AI when building complex lab environments
Learn how to build pentesting labs that mimic modern environments on AWS, Azure, and GCP
Purchase of the print or Kindle book includes a free PDF eBook

Book Description

The significant increase in the number of cloud-related threats and issues has led to a surge in the demand for cloud security professionals. This book will help you set up vulnerable-by-design environments in the cloud to minimize the risks involved while learning all about cloud penetration testing and ethical hacking.

This step-by-step guide begins by helping you design and build penetration testing labs that mimic modern cloud environments running on AWS, Azure, and Google Cloud Platform (GCP). Next, you’ll find out how to use infrastructure as code (IaC) solutions to manage a variety of lab environments in the cloud. As you advance, you’ll discover how generative AI tools, such as ChatGPT, can be leveraged to accelerate the preparation of IaC templates and configurations. You’ll also learn how to validate vulnerabilities by exploiting misconfigurations and vulnerabilities using various penetration testing tools and techniques. Finally, you’ll explore several practical strategies for managing the complexity, cost, and risks involved when dealing with penetration testing lab environments in the cloud.

By the end of this penetration testing book, you’ll be able to design and build cost-effective vulnerable cloud lab environments where you can experiment and practice different types of attacks and penetration testing techniques.
What you will learn

Build vulnerable-by-design labs that mimic modern cloud environments
Find out how to manage the risks associated with cloud lab environments
Use infrastructure as code to automate lab infrastructure deployments
Validate vulnerabilities present in penetration testing labs
Find out how to manage the costs of running labs on AWS, Azure, and GCP
Set up IAM privilege escalation labs for advanced penetration testing
Use generative AI tools to generate infrastructure as code templates
Import the Kali Linux Generic Cloud Image to the cloud with ease

Who this book is for

This book is for security engineers, cloud engineers, and aspiring security professionals who want to learn more about penetration testing and cloud security. Other tech professionals working on advancing their career in cloud security who want to learn how to manage the complexity, costs, and risks associated with building and managing hacking lab environments in the cloud will find this book useful.
Table of Contents

Getting Started with Penetration Testing Labs in the Cloud
Preparing Our First Vulnerable Cloud Lab Environment
Succeeding with Infrastructure as Code Tools and Strategies
Setting Up Isolated Penetration Testing Lab Environments on GCP
Setting Up Isolated Penetration Testing Lab Environments on Azure
Setting Up Isolated Penetration Testing Lab Environments on AWS
Setting Up an IAM Privilege Escalation Lab
Designing and Building a Vulnerable Active Directory Lab
Recommended Strategies and Best Practices