Hacking with Kali: Practical Penetration Testing Techniques

Good penetration testing is more than a collection of tools: it follows a defined process, respects agreed boundaries, and ends with findings an organization can act on. Hacking with Kali introduces that process using Kali Linux, guiding readers from setup and basic configuration into the successive stages of an authorized security test.

James Broad and Andrew Bindner connect the tools to the work they support, then bring the discussion back to a practical responsibility: documenting results clearly and working within approved rules of engagement.

Follow the testing lifecycle

The book is organized around the main phases of penetration testing: reconnaissance, scanning, exploitation, maintaining access, and reporting. That sequence gives technical readers a way to understand how an assessment develops, rather than treating individual utilities as unrelated tricks.

Get oriented in Kali Linux

Early chapters introduce Kali Linux and cover finding, installing, and customizing the distribution, along with basic Linux configuration. The material then places commonly used tools in the context of the phase where they are applied.

Make findings useful

Testing is only part of the work. The closing reporting material addresses how to present findings to management and leadership, preserve evidence, and prepare supporting documents. It also includes a basic rules-of-engagement template, underscoring the importance of authorization and agreed limits before testing begins.

Who may find it useful

This book is aimed at technical professionals, including system and network administrators, security engineers, and information-security students. It may also interest readers exploring professional penetration testing or seeking to better understand how authorized assessments can inform system security.

A note on this edition

This first edition dates from 2013–2014 and uses Kali Linux examples from that era. It offers a look at the testing workflow and its underlying concepts, but readers should check current documentation before relying on version-specific commands or tool behavior.