Pentest Professional Course

Teacher

Free

Overview
Curriculum

This intensive, hands-on course is designed for security professionals who want to build on the foundational principles of penetration testing. Developed by the author of Professional Penetration Testing by Thomas Wilhelm, participants will deepen their knowledge through practical exercises, real-world case studies, and immersive lab sessions that simulate sophisticated attack scenarios. By combining the core methodologies from Wilhelm’s book with cutting-edge techniques, this course equips students with the skills needed to conduct end-to-end penetration tests in modern enterprise environments.

Key Features:

Mentor-Driven Learning Experience: Beyond traditional lectures, students benefit from personalized guidance and support from seasoned pentesting professionals who offer feedback, help troubleshoot real-world challenges, and provide career advice throughout the course.
Foundational Framework: Grounded in the methodologies outlined in Professional Penetration Testing, ensuring a strong theoretical and methodological base.
Hands-On Lab Access: Full access to a dedicated lab environment where you will practice advanced exploitation, pivoting, and persistence tactics.
Personal Lab Replication: Students can download an exact copy of the online lab to create their own local pentesting environment, giving them the flexibility to practice the same challenges outside of the structured course schedule and tailor experiments to their individual learning pace.
Personal Copy of “Professional Penetration Testing” included: Every student gets a copy of the Professional Penetration Testing book by Thomas Wilhelm, which is referenced throughout the course.
Beyond the Book: Real-world, up-to-date exploits and adversarial strategies that complement and extend the skills covered in the text.
Expert-Led Instruction: Guidance from experienced instructors who share insights from live pentesting engagements.
Comprehensive Tool Coverage: Exploration of popular tools and frameworks, as well as custom scripts and specialized utilities for targeted scenarios.

What You Will Learn:

Foundational Principles & Ethics:
- Legal considerations, rules of engagement, and scoping strategies.
- Proper lab setup, tool configuration, and best practices for documentation.
Advanced Reconnaissance & Network Analysis:
- Deep OSINT methods, stealth scanning, and network mapping.
- Evasion techniques to bypass modern intrusion detection systems.
Vulnerability Research & Exploit Development:
- Identifying high-impact vulnerabilities using both automated and manual approaches.
- Crafting exploits to overcome advanced protections (ASLR, DEP, CFG) and building custom payloads.
Post-Exploitation & Lateral Movement:
- Persistence techniques on Windows and Linux, including privilege escalation.
- Pivoting through segmented networks and evading detection.
Web & Application Attacks:
- OWASP Top 10 vulnerabilities, microservices, and API-specific threats.
- Secure coding pitfalls, fuzzing endpoints, and container-aware exploitation.
Cloud & Container Attacks:
- Common misconfigurations in AWS, Azure, and GCP, along with IAM pitfalls.
- Container breakout strategies and orchestrator (Kubernetes/Docker) vulnerabilities.
Reporting & Executive Communication:
- Translating technical findings into risk-based, actionable recommendations.
- Writing executive summaries and delivering clear, concise presentations.
Capstone Project:
- Orchestrating a full-scope pentest—from recon to final debrief.
- Producing a polished, professional report suitable for industry reference.

Who Should Enroll:

Security analysts, system security administrators, or anyone who has information security experience and wants to become a professional penetration tester.
Students who have completed the Pentest Fundamentals Course

Prerequisites:

Familiarity with networking concepts (TCP/IP, routing, firewalls).
Basic understanding of operating systems (Windows, Linux).
Prior exposure to common pentesting tools and methodologies (e.g., Metasploit, Nmap).
Completion of an entry-level pentest or ethical hacking course, or equivalent experience, is highly recommended.

Course Format:

Duration: Typically 5-7 months of intensive instruction and practice (may vary).
Delivery: Combination of online lectures, live demonstrations, group discussions, and lab-based challenges.
Evaluation: Practical lab exercises, a capstone pentest project, and a final written assessment with oral presentation.

By the end of this course, participants will have the confidence and capability to conduct thorough, professional penetration tests that not only identify vulnerabilities but also demonstrate how those vulnerabilities can be exploited in the real world—ultimately empowering organizations to strengthen their security posture.

Course Features

Lectures 44
Quiz 0
Duration Lifetime access
Skill level Intermediate
Language English
Students 1
Assessments Yes

Curriculum

12 Sections
44 Lessons
Lifetime

Expand all sectionsCollapse all sections

Module 1: Foundations & Lab Setup
Learners gain fluency in essential networking principles, ensuring they can navigate IP addressing, routing, and key protocols (TCP, UDP, HTTP, DNS, etc.) with confidence. This module also covers advanced Open Source Intelligence (OSINT) techniques, teaching participants how to gather detailed insights from public data sources. Students practice locating critical metadata, scouring social media, and utilizing custom scanning scripts while continuously honing skills in stealth and ethical boundaries.
5
Module 2: Reporting & Executive Communication
As students approach the culmination of their learning, the spotlight shifts to generating professional-grade pentest documentation. They practice structuring detailed vulnerability reports, risk prioritization, and remediation roadmaps. Furthermore, they learn to craft executive summaries that translate technical findings into strategic, business-relevant insights. Through peer review sessions and mentor feedback, participants refine their writing, presentation, and persuasion skills, ensuring they can effectively communicate with a broad range of stakeholders.
3
Module 3: Networking Fundamentals & OSINT
After covering the basics, learners deepen their understanding of reconnaissance, moving beyond simple scanning methods. They explore advanced open-source intelligence (OSINT) tactics, metadata analysis, and custom script development. Strategies for evading detection—such as circumventing Intrusion Detection Systems (IDS), Intrusion Prevention Systems (IPS), and honeypots—are examined in depth. Through practical exercises, students gather intelligence on a simulated corporate network, applying ethical limits to ensure safe and responsible information gathering.
3
Module 4: Reconnaissance & Target Profiling
Building on OSINT, participants dive deeper into active reconnaissance strategies tailored for modern enterprise environments. They learn to map large-scale networks, evade Intrusion Detection Systems (IDS), and identify honeypots. In-depth labs guide students through analyzing complex topologies, interpreting port scan data, and discovering hidden services. Special attention is given to advanced DNS enumeration, banner grabbing, and pivot-based reconnaissance in segmented networks.
3
Module 5: Network Exploits & Evasion Techniques
Focusing on network-layer attacks, this module explores classic and emerging exploits used against common services and protocols. Students learn how threat actors bypass firewalls and intrusion prevention solutions through fragmentation, tunneling, and encryption-based stealth. They also practice forging traffic and using custom-coded payloads to slip past network defenses. By dissecting real-world case studies of network breaches, learners gain insight into practical evasion tactics used by adversaries.
3
Module 6: Vulnerability Analysis & Automation Tools
In addition to relying on automated tools—such as Nessus, OpenVAS, and custom scanners—students develop an understanding of manual verification methods to reduce false positives. They learn how to integrate scan results into vulnerability databases, assign accurate risk scores, and prioritize findings for exploitation. The labs help learners create efficient scanning workflows, combine multiple tool outputs, and document vulnerabilities in a standardized format.
4
Module 7: Exploit Development (Buffer Overflows & Shellcoding)
In this advanced sequel, participants tackle modern defense mechanisms such as Address Space Layout Randomization (ASLR), Data Execution Prevention (DEP), and Control Flow Guard (CFG). They refine their exploit code to circumvent these protections, using return-oriented programming (ROP) and other sophisticated techniques. Through guided lab exercises, learners gain the experience needed to modify publicly available exploits for real-world scenarios and strengthen their reverse-engineering and debugging capabilities.
4
Module 8: Post-Exploitation & Advanced Lateral Movement
Shifting focus to the post-exploitation phase, this module examines how attackers solidify their foothold, escalate privileges, and move laterally in compromised networks. Participants study various persistence methods, including services, scheduled tasks, and kernel-level backdoors, on both Windows and Linux systems. In addition, they test multi-stage attacks using proxy chains, SSH tunneling, and custom pivot scripts. Realistic lab environments present segmented networks and Active Directory setups, challenging students to maintain stealth as they traverse different trust boundaries.
4
Module 9: Web & Application Pentesting
This first deep dive into web security covers essential concepts from the OWASP Top 10, including SQL injection, cross-site scripting (XSS), cross-site request forgery (CSRF), and insecure direct object references (IDOR). Students learn how to intercept and manipulate traffic using Burp Suite, methodically test authentication and session management, and identify common misconfigurations. Labs feature vulnerable web applications that reinforce systematic testing processes and the creation of detailed proof-of-concept exploits.
6
Module 10: Cloud Attacks & Container Security
Moving into the cloud, participants learn to analyze misconfigurations in popular platforms (AWS, Azure, GCP) and examine Identity and Access Management (IAM) pitfalls. Detailed labs reveal how attackers exploit overly permissive roles, exposed secrets, and unprotected storage buckets. Container security is explored more extensively, covering escape techniques, insecure registry setups, and cluster misconfigurations in orchestrators like Kubernetes. By the end, learners can effectively uncover security lapses within modern, containerized infrastructures.
5
Module 11: Capstone Project (Extended Engagement)
To solidify and showcase their expanded knowledge, students undertake an extended Capstone Project spanning multiple modules. In a fully simulated environment, they conduct a complete penetration test that integrates all learned concepts—from recon and exploitation to post-exploitation, lateral movement, and reporting. This includes a strong emphasis on advanced or novel threat scenarios, such as container breakouts or targeted social engineering. Regular mentor check-ins and peer collaboration foster continuous improvement and reflection.
2
- 11.0
  Strategic Planning and Scoping of a Full-Scale Pentest Engagement
- 11.3
  Integrating Lessons Learned into a Comprehensive Pentest Strategy
Module 12: Capstone Presentation & Next Steps
In the concluding module, participants present their Capstone findings, offering detailed walk-throughs of their engagements and discussing remediation recommendations. This final stage features constructive critiques from instructors, enabling students to finalize their reports and sharpen their communication prowess. The course concludes with guidance on career advancement, certification options, and professional networking opportunities. Graduates leave equipped not only with comprehensive pentesting expertise but also with a robust portfolio piece and the confidence to excel in a rapidly evolving cybersecurity landscape.
2
- 12.0
  Delivering a Professional-Quality Report and Vulnerability Management
- 12.1
  Delivering a Cohesive Presentation That Highlights Key Attack Chains and Outcomes