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Time and Attack Mapper (alternatively known as TA-Mapper) is an effort estimator tool for blackbox security assessment (or Penetration Testing) of applications. This tool provides more accurate estimation when compared to rough estimation. Penetration testers who always has hard time explaining/justifying the efforts charged (or quoted) to their customers can find this tool handy by able to calculate efforts with greater accuracy required for application penetration testing.
In addition, this tool helps application pen-testers in itemizing their penetration testing efforts into micro-level and provides more clarity of their pen-testing activities. In future the author has plans to extend this tool ability to generate test cases.
The tool was written back in 2004 to support a freelance assessment. The author was intrigued to write this tool when he was asked by one of his Fortune 100 customer to justify efforts quoted against the activities for a penetration testing assignment. It not just helped him win the project but also help him educate the customer in knowing the activities involved at the micro-level. After making few changes in the tool the author thought it has been kept private too long and it’s the right time to share it with the world.
How it works
The strength of this tool lies in the background factors that were taken into consideration which helps in making an accurate estimation.
The tool makes it calculation based on various test types set against individual attacks. Almost all attacks performed against an application involve different factors in the way it is tested. Hence those different factors make it more complex to make a generic calculation of efforts. Around seven different test types were identified where different complex factors were mapped and grouped to come up with a mathematical formula for calculating efforts against individual attacks.
You can download TA-Mapper here:
Or read more here.