Penetration Tester Career Path
Penetration Testers are professional ethical hackers. They are responsible for assessing an organization's defenses from the perspective of a threat actor. This program is designed to provide you with the foundational knowledge and key skills required to succeed as an entry-level Penetration Tester. Over the course of 22 courses and hands-on virtual labs, you will learn Offensive Security Fundamentals, Reconnaissance and Enumeration, Application Attacks, Network Attacks, and Evasion.
Purpose Statement
Overview
What Are Some Penetration Tester Roles and Responsibilities?
Penetration testers seek to identify security vulnerabilities in an organization’s networks and then resolve them, sometimes creating new or improved security protocols. Your job would involve many responsibilities and tasks.
As a penetration tester, you will likely be required to:
While the above are typical responsibilities for a penetration tester, you may have additional duties depending on the organization you work for. Sometimes there is overlap in IT positions, so it is essential to be flexible and to work as part of a cohesive team.
What Are Some Penetration Tester Job Requirements?
While it may be possible to find a job as a penetration tester based solely on having the right set of skills, most employers prefer to hire penetration testers who have previous relevant work experience. Some employers want employees who have at least a bachelor’s degree. The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics indicates that employers prefer to fill entry-level positions in the field of information security analysis with applicants who have a bachelor’s degree in computer science, information security, or another comparable field of study. Some employers may want penetration testers to have programming skills in specific programming languages and operating systems. Additionally, employers may require that penetration testers have certification in ethical hacking and other IT security areas.
Most employers will want penetration testers to have excellent computer skills so they can attempt hacking systems. Penetration testers require solid analytical skills to evaluate and analyze the processes involved in resolving existing and potential security threats. It’s also important for penetration testers to have proficient communication skills as they will be writing reports and working closely with other IT professionals and departments. Most importantly, penetration testers must have exceptional problem-solving skills to determine the best course of action when resolving issues and protecting networks from potential threats or breaches.
What is a Typical Penetration Tester Job Description?
As a penetration tester, you will be responsible for protecting computer information systems from adversaries. Your role will include running tests on applications, networks, and software. You will attempt to hack in, allowing you to access data that should not be accessible to unauthorized individuals. You will be responsible for identifying any potential weaknesses in existing systems and collaborating with other departments and professionals to determine the most effective and efficient way to resolve them. This may require adding new or additional security measures and rewriting program code.
Additional duties for a penetration tester includes reviewing any security system incidents, documenting threats, and completing reports concerning your findings. You may also be asked to design improved security protocols and policies.
Ultimately, you will utilize your knowledge to find vulnerabilities in networks, internal systems, and applications. This may include automated testing but may also require manually attempting to breach security. It may also include creating new tests to identify system weaknesses and pinpointing entry points for adversaries. When vulnerabilities are identified, you will be responsible for advising managers or executives on how to make systems more secure.
A Day in the Life of a Penetration Tester
What a typical day as a penetration tester looks like will depend on your employer. Some may travel between different sites or be required to work evenings and weekends to not disrupt the company’s workflow, or they may be able to perform some duties remotely or by telecommuting. The heart of the penetration tester position is identifying security system vulnerabilities by attempting to exploit them and then coming up with solutions to resolve the weaknesses to keep their organization’s information safe.
A typical day for a penetration tester may include the following tasks:
Provide feedback and recommendations to management or clients
Professionals trained in penetration testing can pursue a variety of cybersecurity roles, such as:
- Penetration Tester (Ethical Hacker)
- Security Consultant
- Vulnerability Analyst
- Red Team Member
- Cybersecurity Analyst
Pentesters are employed across various industries, including finance, healthcare, government, tech, and more.
Penetration testing is an essential tool for identifying vulnerabilities in systems, networks, and applications before malicious actors can exploit them. By understanding a hacker’s mindset and tools, Penetration Testers can simulate real-world attacks to expose weaknesses and fortify security measures before it’s too late.
Pentesting not only helps prevent data breaches and other cyber incidents — it also ensures compliance with industry regulations and enhances overall risk management.
Penetration Testers seek to identify and resolve security vulnerabilities in an organization’s networks. This often involves creating new or improved security protocols.
Common Pentester tasks and responsibilities include:
- Performing penetration tests on computer systems, networks, and applications
- Creating new testing methods to identify vulnerabilities
- Performing physical security assessments of systems, servers, and other network devices to identify areas that require physical protection
- Searching for weaknesses in common software, web applications, and proprietary systems
- Identifying potential entry points attackers may use to exploit vulnerabilities or weaknesses
- Documenting and discussing findings with IT and management teams
- Reviewing and providing feedback for information security fixes
- Staying up-to-date on the latest malware and security threats
This career path is designed for learners with a solid grasp of foundational IT, cybersecurity, and defensive security concepts who are interested in pursuing an entry-level offensive security role. This includes current mid-career IT and defensive security practitioners who are interested in transitioning to an offensive security role.
Experienced offensive security practitioners will also benefit from reviewing core concepts and testing their skills in this path's Challenge and Assessment modules.
Course Outline
OSINT Certification Course & Training
Our OSINT certification course and training for open source intelligence (OSINT), the process of collecting and analyzing publicly available information that can be exploited by adversaries. Learn techniques for gathering intelligence from public data sources and how to leverage this knowledge to defend your organization from those who wish to do harm.
Perform Network Sniffing
In this lab, you will examine network communications by using Wireshark. First, you will install and learn to use the basic features of Wireshark. Next, you will use capture filters, and then use Wireshark to follow a TCP stream and an HTTP stream. Finally, you will explore the headers of captured network traffic by using Wireshark.
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