Which term describes the phase in which an adversary or penetration tester may continue to work on an exploited system to maintain access for future use?

The term that describes the phase in which an adversary or penetration tester continues to work on an exploited system to maintain access for future use is known as post exploitation. During this phase, the individual, whether an ethical hacker or a malicious actor, actively engages with the compromised system after gaining access. The goal of post exploitation is to establish a foothold in the environment that can be leveraged for future actions, such as data exfiltration or lateral movement within a network.

This stage often involves creating backdoors or other means to ensure that access can be regained, even if the initial vulnerability is patched or discovered. The understanding of this phase is crucial in cybersecurity as it informs the development of defense mechanisms to detect and respond to such activities.

In contrast, other terms like fuzzing refer specifically to testing applications to find security vulnerabilities by providing random data inputs. Software composition analysis deals with identifying and managing open-source components in software applications to mitigate risks associated with vulnerabilities. Persistence focuses more broadly on the strategies used to maintain access over time but does not necessarily encapsulate the actions taken by adversaries after they have exploited a system, which is why post exploitation is the most accurate term in this context.