How to Become a Penetration Tester Professional?

Penetration testers are famous as “ethical hackers” or the good guys who identify and resolve the security loopholes and vulnerabilities affecting the computer networks or digital assets of any organization. As per the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), penetration testers come under the tag of information security analysts, and BLS is projecting 32% increase in the demand for information security analysts between 2018 and 2028. A penetration tester is colloquially known as a ‘pen tester’.

Job Description of a Pen Tester

The job of a pen tester is to look after the security of any organization by finding the vulnerabilities. These tests are based on the boundaries set forth by the company. The scope of work should be clearly defined before a pen tester starts working to not end up in any illegal activities. 

Some key responsibilities of a pen tester are:

• Port scanning and Network vulnerability scanning
• Report generation
• Creation of remediation recommendations
• Social engineering attacks
• Penetration testing on physical security

Steps to become a successful Pen Tester

1. Self-analysis

It is not easy to become a penetration tester as it requires plenty of determination, excellent problem-solving skills, dedication to going in detail, and the ability to stay updated with the latest trends in the field. Everyone needs to self-analyze themselves to decide whether they have all the necessary abilities or not to know whether pen testing is the right career option or not.

2. Education

Earlier, organizations thought of hiring ethical hackers from the dark-side and converting them into good guys as there were not many courses for hacking. In recent years, there have been huge developments on this side and college degrees have come up for penetration testers. There are plenty of degrees under the cybersecurity domain for all those who wish to become a pen tester and get in-depth knowledge of this field.

3. Path to a successful career

If an aspiring pen tester wants to step in the cybersecurity industry, there are plenty of ways to do it. One can start their career of a successful pen tester by starting as a security administrator, web-based application programmer, system administrator, network engineer, and network administrator. By starting your career in any of the above-mentioned domains, you can move towards becoming a pen tester.

4. Professional-Level Certifications

Various professional certifications are offered in the IT industry to add value to one’s resume. If you wish to build your career as a penetration tester, you can start with the basic Cisco CCNA certification. With the help of CCNA training, all the candidates get clarity of the basics of networking that are pretty much essential for becoming a penetration tester. The CCNA course works as the foundation for becoming a successful penetration tester.

5. Getting Recognition

There is a set path in every field to become an expert, but for penetration testers, there are different ways like being active in the cybersecurity disciplines, collecting open-source intelligence (OSINT), developing various proprietary attack programs, and working in various bug bounty programs. These are some ways that will make a pen tester get recognition among peer groups and also get recognition in the cybersecurity industry.

6. Stay Updated

New enhancements and advancements are coming up in every field and it is essential to stay updated with all the current happenings in your field. A pen tester needs to stay updated with all the latest trends in security protocols, popularly exploited vulnerabilities, network security, hacking methods, and everything happening in the cybersecurity industry. CCNA training can help you to get the knowledge of everything in the networking domain.

Skills Required for Becoming a Pen Tester

In any field, it is not possible to become successful with the help of just a single skill. If you are looking forward to building your career as a professional penetration tester, you need to possess the right academic credentials as well as certain high-level certifications like the Cisco CCNA certification to clear the basics of networking. With the right mix of skills and opportunity, you can become a successful pen tester.

Other than the basics like a bachelor’s degree and professional certifications, you need a set of skills for becoming successful. Some of the necessary skills are strong networking skills, system administration skills, Linux skills, programming skills, automation skills, communication skills, and interpersonal skills. 

There are plenty of cisco certifications training courses being offered in the market that provide the candidates with practical knowledge and even demonstrates various advanced skills, Koenig Solutions also provides these IT trainings online. Once you work on these skills, it becomes easy to tread towards the path of becoming a successful penetration tester and get a secure job in the industry.

Penetration tester, as a job role, might sound new to you, but there is a lot that crosses the path in the IT industry. If you are new in the IT industry, then you must work towards building the foundation in system administration and the networking domains.