Shell Scripting for Reconnaissance and Incident Response

It has been said that scripting is a process with three distinct phases that include: identification of a problem and solution, implementation, and maintenance. By applying an analytical mindset, anyone can create reusable scripts that are easily maintainable for the purpose of automating redundant and tedious tasks of a daily workflow. This paper serves as an introduction to the common structure and the various uses of shell scripts and methods for observing script execution, how shells operate, and how commands are found and executed. Additionally, this paper also covers how to apply functions, and control structure and variables to increase readability and maintainability of scripts. Best practices for system and network reconnaissance, as well as incident response, are provided; the examples of employment demonstrate the utilization of shell scripting as an alternative to applying similar functionality in more intricate programming languages.