Zac Davis hosts War Stories, a podcast featuring stories from real life penetration testers. Zac covers their background, favorite tools, and stories that define their career.
Episode Summary
In the first episode of War Stories, SEVN-X CEO Matt Barnett sits down with host Zac Davis to talk about his path into penetration testing, the security tools he relies on, and the physical penetration test that gave this episode its name.
The story starts with a call from Tally, one of SEVN-X's strongest network penetration testers, who needed physical security help on a university engagement. During the day, Matt caught the IT office door before it closed and found passwords on sticky notes, a set of van keys, and an IT department polo shirt. Wearing the shirt, he waited in a break room until the building emptied, then let Tally in through a side door so they could work their way toward the data center.
What the team did not know was that the data center was staffed around the clock. The night-shift operator ran into Tally twice, campus police were called, and Matt ended up hiding under a desk while an officer searched the floor and found a backpack full of lock picks and testing gear. Matt and Zac also talk about the Coalfire incident in Iowa and how it changed the way physical penetration tests are scoped and authorized.
In This Episode
- Matt Barnett's career background and path into offensive security
- The essential security tools he relies on
- A physical penetration test at a university that ended with campus police on site
- Getting past doors, blending in, and social engineering during physical security testing
- Why written authorization and clear rules of engagement matter for physical testing
Test Your Defenses Before Someone Else Does
SEVN-X runs physical penetration tests, social engineering assessments, and network penetration tests for organizations that want to know how a real attacker would get in. Talk with our team about scoping a test for your organization.
