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How to Approach the Labs

The SEC565 Exercise Workbook is full of critical information that will help you conduct impactful Red Team Operations by reinforcing the knowledge from the courseware with hands-on practical exercises.

To get the most out of the exercises, we will step you through the different portions of the workbook. The workbook is specifically designed to enable students from a variety of backgrounds and with different skill levels get the most out of each exercise.

Exercise Objectives

This section is designed to help students understand the larger picture of what the objectives of the exercise are meant to show or teach. In some cases, we might be demonstrating an analytical technique or the specific use of a tool. We strongly recommend that students quickly look over these objectives when beginning the exercise.

Exercise Preparation

This allows students who are reviewing the exercises to jump in without having previously done the exercise. We typically outline the specific system, the condition of that system, or the capabilities that must be enabled before moving into the actual exercise. Skipping over this step could mean that you or your system are not prepared for the exercise.

"On Your Own" and "Walkthrough"

For most exercises, we try to get you to focus on the core concepts and techniques instead of just running blindly through a tool. Eventually, you will master the tool, but the most important part of this course, especially if you are new, is to focus on the output of the tool and how to properly understand it.

There are two parts to most of the exercises:

  1. Exercise tasks or questions presented without steps or answers.
  2. A complete walkthrough of the exercise with detailed commands, screenshots and expected output.

For most students doing the exercise for the first time, we recommend using the second part of the exercise that has step-by-step instructions and explanations.

There are three ways to do the exercises. SEC565 is an in-depth course of using offensive security tactics, techniques, and procedures. We recommend that beginning or intermediate students approach exercises as follows:

  • Crawl: During the first time through the exercise, students should use the step-by-step questions with instructions in order to familiarize themselves with the overall topic and techniques. Remember that you are here to learn, not to fight your system or become confused. You will get more from the exercise by following along and mimicking what you see directly while reading the full (and sometimes lengthy) explanations.
  • Walk: When students are reviewing the exercise, or are familiar with the material, we recommend that they use the “hybrid” approach. Work through the tasks yourself until you need help, then use the step-by-step walkthrough.
  • Run: Once you can complete the exercise using the step-by-step questions without instructions, you have mastered the skill. Attempt the exercises without the walkthrough and also deviate from the path to explore the immersive environment yourself.

Conclusion

For every exercise, the conclusion section highlights the important concepts and reinforces any Red Team Tips picked up along the way.

The Exercises Are in Your Hands!

Using the right techniques to approach the exercises and labs from the start is essential for your success in this course. Everyone in the course is learning, so there is no reason to feel judged if you are using the step-by-step instructions the first time through each exercise. Take advantage of the structure of the exercises to facilitate the maximum learning possible for your particular skill level and background. Good luck!