Career Guide 101: How To Become A Penetration Tester

    How do you thrive when pursuing a career in cyber security penetration testing? Find out more in this article.

    Penetration testers often come with various labels, such as the good guys or the ethical hackers. But more importantly, they are known as assurance validators since web-based application providers, and network system owners hire them to investigate vulnerabilities that hackers with malicious intent might take advantage of to steal sensitive data and information. 

    The good guys conduct vulnerability assessments and technical reviews by implementing their skills and knowledge – and receive monetary incentives for executing the equivalent of digital break-ins. Using various applications and approaches, they simulate actual cyberattacks to identify cracks in web-based applications and security protocols for systems and networks. Some even developed their strategies and tools. 

    The point of a penetration test or pen test is to investigate and diagnose all possible ways and channels to penetrate and attack any given computer system. That is also one way of identifying the gaps in security systems before the real hackers can penetrate. Therefore, pen testers typically function on susceptible and confidential projects; thus, trustworthiness and the ability to work under pressure are paramount to selecting them. 

    Other good qualities in penetration testing are imbuing the creativity to think on the fly and having the ability to properly organize the tracking, recording, and reporting of project updates. 

    Six Steps to Becoming a Penetration Tester

    Penetration Tester
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    1. Self-Analysis. While it is a critical business component, penetration testing is not for everyone. It entails a reputable problem-solving skill, a commitment to detail, a dogged determination, and a continuous desire to stay rooted and updated in the industry’s latest trends. To excel, successful ethical hackers should own a top-level of each of these skills. Therefore, don’t immediately assume that pen testing is the proper career pathway. In other words, be honest during the self-assessment phase. 
    2. Education. In the past, some employers would usually hire actual hackers and help them transition from the dark side to work for legit purposes. Lately, however, penetration testers should have college degrees or other relevant eligibilities to qualify for stable employment. Bachelor’s degrees in the different disciplines of cybersecurity all lead to ideal vents into the industry. 
    3. Career Path. There are various manners in which an aspiring pen tester can enter into the cybersecurity field. They can start in system administrator, web-based application programming, network engineer, and network administration in most cases. A food foundation for pen testing is prioritizing the security component of each of the said areas. 
    4. Professional Certifications. Employers typically ought to review a more significant number of professional certifications on the bio notes of quality assurance testing company. This especially applies to more senior vacancies. Thankfully, those willing to win penetration testing occupations can avail of widely-recognized certifications from several organizations. 
    5. Honing the Craft. Becoming a high-caliber employee in a particular niche is an ideal aspiration in any endeavor but for penetration testers, there are different strategies to stand out from the crowd. These include being recognized and active in various cybersecurity fields such as developing proprietary attack programs, collecting open-source intelligence, and bug bounty programs.
    6. Keep Current. Like most cybersecurity career tracks, it is essential to remain updated on the latest trends and challenges in the industry. With all of the latest network security and programming trends, it is vital to keep skills and knowledge up to date. This holds especially true given the ever-changing security protocols, hacking techniques, and other concerns that actual hackers can take advantage of. 

    What is a Penetration Tester?

    Also dubbed as ethical hackers, penetration testers are the so-called private detectives of the cybersecurity industry. Like any PI project, the primary responsibility is to diagnose threats and gaps before any cunning invasive operators execute their plans. 

    In general, digital information systems carry the following fundamental truth of human nature – disreputable adversaries will always seek to exploit opportunities to enter into vulnerabilities. Penetration testers aim to assess, review, diagnose, and assist in addressing any arising vulnerabilities in both wireless and wired web-based applications and network systems. 

    The push and pull between the persistent attacks of real-life hackers and the pre-emptive efforts of ethical hackers is a daily arms race. Each side is working consistently to improve their knowledge, techniques, and skills to surpass the abilities of the other side. 

    Pen testers implement an approach known as offensive defense. The aim is to generate the best possible data and information security by deliberately attacking computer systems as a real-life hacker does, dragging the hacker to the losing edge and helping address the vulnerability issues. The end goal is to provide long-lasting protection to the information and systems being attacked. 

    Penetration tester skills and experience

    Penetration Tester
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    As in all cybersecurity disciplines, employer guidelines and requirements for new hires in the penetration testing industry depend on each position’s specific role and responsibilities and the level of such a position. Associate or junior pen testers, mid-level pen personnel, and senior or lead pen officers represent sequentially increasing levels of experience and tasks within the umbrella of the penetration testing field.

    Some employers will still require only a demonstration of the needed skills and sufficient knowledge and experience in cybersecurity projects. Today, however, more and more employers should hire penetration testers who have computer science degrees such as bachelor’s degrees in information security. Some even require a master’s degree, especially for senior or advanced positions. 

    The work experiences that boost chances for careers in penetration testing are vulnerability assessment, software development and coding, security administrator, security testing, and network engineer or administrator. 

    Among the skill requirements that employees will likely encounter are the following:

    1. Knowledge of specific computer languages such as Bash, Powershell, Python, and Goland.
    2. Experience with communications protocols, mobile penetration testing of IOS/Android systems, network OS, IPS/IDS systems, data encryption, communications protocols, virtual environments, and firewalls. 
    3. Knowledge of popular pen test and application security platforms including Nessus, Kali, Wireshark, Network Mapper (NMAP), Burpsuite, Web Inspect, and Metasploit. 

    Employers likewise seek standard professional certifications such as Global Information Assurance Certification (GIAC), Offensive Security Certified Professional (OSCP), Institute for Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE), and EC-Council. 

    In addition, employers also require soft skills and experience such as familiarity with OWASP vulnerabilities, excellent communication skills, contributions to bug bounty programs and open source projects, and features of being resourceful, creative, and motivated. 

    What do penetration testers do?

    In general terms, penetration testers commonly conduct ethical hacking of web-based applications, systems, and networks, and execute security assessments and threat modeling. The following are the common tasks involved in assurance validation as part of the penetration testing process:

    • Find information disclosures by gathering and analyzing open-source intelligence
    • Offer relevant matter expertise with an emphasis on offensive security testing procedures geared to assessing defensive measures in an organization
    • Execute reviews on different kinds of technologies and strategies using both manual techniques and automated tools
    • Enhance testing processes by developing scripts, tools, and methodologies
    • Provide assistance in the delineation of prospective collaborations, leading collaborations from the early phase through execution and remediation
    • Implement physical penetration tests and social engineering exercises
    • Test both wireless and wired networks for security gaps and issues
    • Validate assessment outputs to diagnose results and create a holistic analytic perspective of the system within the setting in which it functions
    • Determine the core cause of both technical and non-technical results
    • Publish an Assessment Report that details results and layout potential countermeasures
    • Follow results that are represented in various assessments and clearly disseminate these results
    • Communicate employment approaches, analytics, and findings upon completion of assessments
    • Offer technical support in evasion measures, and network exploitation to help handle comprehensive incidents and forensic assessments of damaged systems

    Penetration tester job description

    Ethical hacking duty has a wide variation depending on the employer and the level of position applied for. Assessing the specific tasks and duties for senior-level entries offer an understanding of the resulting dream job for all ethical hackers. To give you an idea, here is a real-life job description:

    • Identify security vulnerabilities and risks by leading system-focused and enterprise network and application penetration reviews
    • Conduct testing on various components of the system such as wireless and mobile deployments, security controls, web applications, and network infrastructure
    • Implement hands-on technical testing aside from the application of an automated tool validation. Plan, implement, record, and lead technical debriefs on testing strategies and results.
    • To mimic strategies, execute covert Red Team Cyber operations, and closely collaborate in a Purple Team to text exploits entailed in building detections. 
    • Disseminate results and remediation techniques clearly to stakeholders and collaborators, including the executive team and the technical staff.
    • Preference for GXPN, GPEN, or OSCP

    Organizations dealing with state secrets and other sensitive dates should emphasize information security needs, such as national security organizations and military suppliers. 

    So those are some of the critical information you need to know about pursuing a career in cybersecurity in penetration testing. It’s imperative to consider these when browsing across various options.



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