Becoming a Penetration Tester

 

Penetration testing has lately been an indispensable part of the widespread security application. The security of any system or an intact IT infrastructure is crucial, as being lean and flexible in this area can be scathing for an organization. Penetration testing' entire idea is to identify the vulnerabilities of the application system and fix them before hackers can abuse it. Penetration testing can be defined as determining the security ambiguity of any network or design in order to stop them from getting exposed. It provides intelligence and insights into how to mature your organization’s security by understanding how you are likely to be attacked and also suggests ways to secure your enterprise’s network. 

 

These days organizations prefer to have a human resource that can assume the ways and methods an attacker might use to compromise a system. In the domain of organization security, the Pen-tests are occasionally conducted by an ethical hacker considering the replication of strategies and ways that a malicious attacker would prefer. A Pen-Tester is very important as his job is to expose the weaknesses in the organization’s core attack vectors like Operating System, Network devices, and Application Software. The rising threats to our Network system are directly proportional to the need for Pen Testers. 

 

What does a Pen Tester do?

Penetration Testing is a critical starting point to improve cyber defense. Quality Pen Tests include hacking into an authorized system, breaching a database, and then finding the systems that are likely to be compromised. A Pen Tester must follow the below steps while conducting a test:

 

1. Find a vulnerability.
2. Design an attack.
3. Determine what kind of data can be stolen.
4. Act on the findings.

 

A Pen Tester must prioritize vulnerabilities and eliminate them to improve the security posture of an organization. 

 

What approach to be followed?

If you want to become a Pen Tester, you must follow the below approach:

• Starting off: You can start by learning about:

1.    Cybersecurity: Explore the techniques, tricks, vectors, threat profiles, and the frame of cyberattacks.

2.    Hardware and networks.

3.    Operating systems and Databases.

4.    Applications, including web apps and APIs.

5.    Data analysis: Analyzing security issues and presenting solutions.

 

• Getting Practical Experience: One must follow a practical approach as no amount of books or videos can teach you Pen Testing until you practice. Start by using Security Onion and Kali Linux and get to know the Penetration Testing Execution Standard (PTES) framework. You can also learn about OWASP. 

 

• Getting Certified: Once you feel confident, you can get the certification to provide authenticity to your learnings. You need to get the following certificates:

 

1.    CEH v11

2.    EC-Council Certified Security Analyst – ECSA

3.    CompTIA PenTest+

4.    CompTIA Advanced Security Practitioner (CASP+)

 

Must-Have Skills

 

To excel in the field of Pen Testing, you must have a basic understanding of Windows/Linux CLI. Along with this, you must also have a knowledge of the packet analyzer tool Wireshark. Having experience with Python will be an add-on. 

 

Penetration With InfosecTrain

 

At InfosecTrain, our training experts follow the official EC-Council curriculum. You will get real-world hands-on experience in environments such as cloud, desktop, and servers. We also cover the vulnerability assessment management along with penetration testing and strive to improve your security skills.