19. Information Gathering and Scanning
19.4 Maltego Introduction
Maltego is a graphical link-analysis tool. You drop an entity (a domain, person, email, IP) on a graph and run transforms – small queries that return related entities. The result is a picture of how things connect: domain → DNS names → IPs → netblocks → organisation. Investigators and threat-intelligence teams love it because relationships are much easier to see as a graph than as a list.
| Maltego term | Meaning |
|---|---|
| Entity | One object: Domain, DNS Name, IP Address, Email, Person, etc. |
| Transform | A query that takes one entity and returns related ones |
| Graph | The canvas where entities and links appear |
| Transform Hub | Where transform packs (free and commercial) are enabled |
On Kali, Maltego asks you to sign in and choose an edition (the free Community Edition has limits on results). Most transforms query internet services, so on a real target they are OSINT and must be in scope. The UI and edition details may vary – follow the current screens.
Why this matters for security
Blue teams use exactly the same graph idea to map their own attack surface: which subdomains point where, which old servers are still in DNS, which staff emails are public. Doing this for your own organisation before an attacker does is a normal defensive task.
Ravindra Bagale's Tip
As soon as they open Maltego, students hit "Run All" on every transform at once – the graph fills with hundreds of entities and nothing makes sense. One entity, one transform, then think: "What is this telling me?" And remember, transforms go out to the internet – start with a hand-made graph in the lab.
Ravindra Bagale's Tip – मराठी
Maltego उघडल्या-उघडल्या students सगळे transforms एकदम "Run All" करतात – graph शेकडो entities नी भरतो आणि काहीच समजत नाही. एक entity, एक transform, मग विचार करा "हे काय सांगतंय?". आणि लक्षात ठेवा, transforms internet वर जातात – lab मध्ये hand-made graph ने सुरुवात करा.
Ravindra Bagale's Tip – हिंदी
Maltego खोलते ही students सारे transforms एक साथ "Run All" कर देते हैं – graph सैकड़ों entities से भर जाता है और कुछ समझ नहीं आता. एक entity, एक transform, फिर सोचो "यह क्या बता रहा है?". और याद रखो, transforms internet पर जाते हैं – lab में hand-made graph से शुरुआत करो.
Lab
Open Maltego and create a new blank graph (no transforms against real domains). Manually add a Domain entity lab.local, DNS Name entities for each host from your 19.2 AXFR file, and an IP Address entity 192.168.56.20; link them. Add a note on the dev and vpn nodes: "should this be in public DNS?". Export the graph as an image for your notes.
Extended teaching notes
Why this lesson matters
Use this lesson to strengthen systems you own: understand the risk, practise safely in a lab, then write and apply the fix.
Apply the fix across stacks
Same class of bug, same idea in every language.
Java / Spring Boot
Parameterise queries, encode output, CSRF tokens, limited Actuator, dependency scanning.
ASP.NET Core
EF Core / parameterised SQL, Razor encoding, HTTPS, Data Protection.
Node.js / Express
helmet, parameterised SQL, npm audit, avoid eval and shell concat.
Python / Django / Flask / FastAPI
ORM, autoescape, pip-audit, Bandit; never shell=True with user input.
PHP / Laravel
PDO/Eloquent, Blade escaping, composer audit.
Go / Ruby
database/sql placeholders / ActiveRecord; html/template / ERB escaping; govulncheck / Brakeman.
nginx / Apache / Tomcat
Hide versions, TLS, security headers, least-open ports.
MySQL / PostgreSQL / MongoDB / Redis
Private networks, auth on, least-privilege users, no 0.0.0.0/0.
AWS / Azure / GCP
Roles not long-lived keys, private data stores, cloud audit logs on.
Mini case study
Suppose we are on a purple-team exercise for an Indian mid-size company (sample data). Red notes a technique from this lesson against a lab clone. Blue must show the control that stops it, the log that would have fired, and the ticket that hardens production. That is the standard this course trains you for.
Defender's worksheet (do this today)
- Write the lesson title, date and the exact lab target you are allowed to use.
- List three owned systems (VMs, apps, or cloud accounts) where this lesson applies.
- Run one safe check from the lesson on a lab system only. Paste the command and output.
- Write a two-sentence fix you would give a teammate.
- Name one related public advisory (CERT-In, CISA, NVD, or a vendor bulletin) with its date.
Indian workplace (sample data)
Suppose we are a junior analyst at Infosys, TCS, Wipro or a fintech SOC in Bengaluru/Pune. Turn this lesson into one checklist item with an owner, a due date and a place to store evidence (ticket + screenshot).
Global practice
Compare your notes with OWASP, CIS Benchmarks, NIST CSF/IR guidance or a cloud Well-Architected security question. Write five lines on what overlaps.
Everyday analogy
Explain the risk and the fix to a family member without jargon. If they can repeat the warning, you understand it well enough to teach juniors.
Key terms
- Control: a safeguard (patch, config, process, detection).
- Finding: a weakness backed by evidence.
- Remediation: the fix plus how you verified it.
- Scope: systems you have written permission to touch.
- Least privilege: only the access the task needs.
- Defence in depth: several layers so one failure does not end the story.
Common mistakes
- Skipping written permission "just for a quick scan".
- Practising on hostel, office or public targets without authorisation.
- Collecting tool output without writing the fix.
- Copying attack steps onto production to "verify". Defenders verify with versions, configs and patches.
- Publishing screenshots that contain secrets, cookies or internal hostnames.
Recap
- Evidence, fix, owner, date.
- Own lab only.
- Fix > spectacle.