How To Become A Pentester?
Cybersecurity is critical for maintaining the security of a company’s network,
system, and other essential properties. Penetration testing aids the security team in targeting certain aspects of a system to discover any kind of existing vulnerabilities and design imperfections. A pentester helps firms by acknowledging, searching, breaching, and reporting the existing vulnerabilities in their infrastructure.
In this blog, we will try to summarize the core characteristics that a potential penetration tester must have, and what you might need to start working as a penetration tester.
Here are some of them:
Developing a hacker-like mindset: As a penetration tester, you can earn a paycheck by lawfully hacking right into security systems. It can be a busy, interesting work if you have a passion in cybersecurity and issue solving. So, an individual must learn to think like a hacker and practice it. This is not an overnight process; it takes time. It gradually improves with practice as you read more and solve more challenges. Penetration testers possess an interested mind and a hunger to know just how systems work. While many have a solid technical understanding of information systems, they usually lack a crucial characteristic of a good penetration tester: hacker-like thinking. To succeed, you must think like an attacker.
Being creative: Various people define creative thinking differently. As security defenses become a lot more sophisticated, threat actors have had to become very innovative to attain their end goals. In order to imitate these attackers, pen testers must be just as creative. A creative penetration tester can be versatile. They can change course as circumstances change (which is a usual scenario). They should be able to switch their strategies and keep a flexible mind to adapt to, face, and solve new challenges.
Push your limits by learning new things every day: Penetration testers need a solid understanding of Information Technology (IT) and security systems in order to test them for vulnerabilities. Skills that are usually utilized by a penetration tester are:
- Network and application security
- Programming languages, especially, for scripting (Python, BASH, Ruby, Perl)
- Threat modeling
- Linux, Windows, and macOS environments
- Security assessment tools
- Pen test management platforms
- Technical writing and documentation
- Cryptography
- Cloud architecture
- Malware analysis
You should be constantly pushing your limits by acquiring new skills that you think will help you become a better penetration tester.
Enroll in a course or training program/Buy a book: You can register in a specialized course or training program or buy a book to hone the skills you’ll require as a penetration tester. With these types of activities, you can learn new skills in a more organized environment while developing several skills simultaneously.
Cybersecurity certifications show employers and hiring supervisors that you have the skills needed to prosper in the sector. In addition to these general cybersecurity certifications, you can get accredited in penetration testing or ethical hacking.
Respectable certifications to consider include the following:
- CompTIA PenTest+
- GIAC Penetration Tester (GPEN)
- GIAC Web Application Penetration Tester (GWAPT)
- Offensive Security Certified Professional (OSCP)
- Offensive Security Web Expert (OSWE)
- Offensive Security Wireless Professional (OSWP)
- Offensive Security Exploitation Expert (OSEE)
However, professional certifications are not a silver bullet. You can acquire the same skills from the information that is widely available on the internet for free, but it may take a little more of your time and patience.
Practice in real and simulated lab: Numerous companies want to employ penetration testers with previous experience. Thankfully, there are means to start gaining experience beyond the workplace. Several pen testing training programs include hands-on testing in simulated settings. An additional method to gain experience is to take part in bug bounty programs. In these programs, companies typically provide money to independent penetration testers often called as security researchers that locate and report security defects in their system. It’s an exceptional way to test your skills. Sometimes even if reports are not paid, they often acknowledge their work by setting up a Hall-of-Fame page in their company website, which is a great resume builder.
Lastly, you’ll find numerous websites that allow penetration testers to lawfully practice hacking and experimenting. Here are a few to get started:
Honing your social skills: Whether or not you are a hard core geek, you should realize that a pentester is a professional. This indicates that you will need to be able to properly connect with your clients/service consumers. There are two main things you need to focus on:
- Clear reporting and writing ability: This is essential as the solitary result of your job is the pen test report. You could be one of the best hackers on the planet, but if your report is crap, then your customer will believe that your work is crap. So, your report must be clear, objective, and understandable.
- Clear communication ability: You will certainly have to maintain some spoken and written communication with the customer. You will mainly speak with management as they are the individuals who pay you and you need to be able to discuss everything with individuals who are not always technical people. Likewise, you will certainly need to speak with the programmers and describe to them your findings, without annoying them. The ability to communicate clearly is a must.
If you are looking to start your career in Penetration Testing or want to upskill yourself, we recommend you to check our “Penetration Testing” books.
Hope this was helpful.
