What to Do After Ethical Hacking?
Taking the Next Steps in Your Cybersecurity Career
This is the next phase after Ethical Hacking. The knowledge of penetration exercises, advanced pentesting abilities, and cybersecurity career advancement are the main highlights.
White-hat hacking involves exploring the world of security, which is undoubtedly exciting and engaging.
After passing the fundamental process and receiving your certifications, you feel a sense of accomplishment and wonder, “What is the next step?” The next chapter in the pathway to your safety specialization is quite sensitive and can lead you to a more exciting career.
Let’s begin this path’s adventure. This covers the wide range of advanced penetration testing it offers and discusses the opportunities it presents.
Why Ethical Hacking is a Core Cybersecurity Skill?
Ethical hackers know how to break into systems and build a strong shield. Ethical hackers, who are able to think and understand how the wicked guys work, help companies predict, recognize, and solve security breaches.
This is why people welcome ethical hackers. They are the ones who will do a mock attack to check the castle’s strength.
The Common Questions that Arise.
- How does ethical penetration test work?
- Why is there such a lengthy introduction to hacking intrusions, authentication, and procedures?
Ethical Hacking Penetration Testing
Let’s learn what it is and how it works!
Pentesting, short or “Penetration Testing,” is the unauthorized act of gaining unregistered access to a network in order to identify its vulnerabilities.
It is intricate, focused, and strategic method of hacking, which is known as ethical hacking. Pentesting assists businesses in identifying vulnerabilities that some automated tools might have overlooked, enabling a more thorough security setup.
Evolution and Transition of Ethical Hacking to Penetration Testing
The move from ethical hacking to penetration testing is quite logical. Both positions are about checking and improving cybersecurity, but the specificity of penetration testing is of a different order.
A penetration tester has the ability to control different systems, perform the most advanced data draining, and detail the report down to the minute with vulnerability and mitigation strategies.
Main Duties for a Penetration Tester
Penetration testers perform a wide range of duties, including:
1- Scoping: Identify the systems, applications, or networks that are the targets of the testing process.
2- Reconnaissance: Find details of the target (for example, IP addresses and domain names).
3- Searching for the Weakness: Use various methods, both automated and manual, to find security holes.
4- Exploit the Bugs: Use attacks similar to those of real attackers, such as gaining entry by using the access code.
5- Documentation of Results: Recount the entire testing process and propose any necessary fixes.
Why is Advanced Penetrating Testing rated very highly as the best bet?
Advanced penetration testing does not only improve your skills but also makes you more attractive, for your skills, to any employer.
Through expertise in complicated vulnerabilities and specialized testing techniques, you acquire strong links with cyber threats, thus presenting yourself as the only remaining defence of a company against today’s cyber threats.
The Qualifications for Becoming a Penetration Tester
- Educational Background: A bachelor’s degree in computer science, IT, and cybersecurity are required, but not mandatory.
- Content Focus: The content is primarily focused on conveying information.
- Engagement Level: The content is generated with moderate engagement, balancing information and reader interest.
- Tone: Maintains a neutral tone.
- Clarity: Clear generates content with a focus on clarity, avoiding ambiguity and confusion.
- Language Complexity: Simple; uses straightforward language and sentence structures suitable for easy comprehension.
- Hands-on Experience with penetration testing tools and techniques.
2- Certifications: To prove your skills, acquire C|PENT certifications.
3- Continuous Learning: Stay abreast on the most recent developments in cybersecurity trends and technology.
Opportunities for Careers Following Ethical Hacking
After ethical hacking, there are a variety of job opportunities that can lead to job satisfaction and good financial benefits, including:
1- Penetration Tester: Specializing in searching for and breaking down the weak points of specific systems.
2- Red Team Member: Imitate real-world attacks to test a company’s defences.
3- Security Architect: Develop secure systems and networks.
4- Digital Forensics Investigator: Study cyberattacks and obtain digital proof.
Career Benefits of Advanced Penetration Testing
A fantastic approach to accelerating your penetration testing career is to fine-tune your advanced penetration testing equipment.
Penetration testing is a unique discipline.
Qualified and well-experienced testers can experience high levels of satisfaction and earn substantial income.
As stated by Indeed, the median annual income for penetration testers in the US will be greater than $119,238 in 2024.
MarketsandMarkets predicts that the market will witness over a hundred percent growth within the next five years, reaching $2.7 billion in 2027 from $1.4 billion in 2022.
However, penetration testers should also consider these essentials.
A successful penetration tester will fulfil an impressive list of requirements to be productive in the environment.
Networking Knowledge: Learn the basic networking principles, such as TCP/IP and DNS. Network architecture is an essential piece of knowledge that resonates with you.
Operating Systems Proficiency: Learning how to use Windows, macOS, and Linux is within your realm, at which point you can comfortably work.
Programming Skills: To work with programming languages like Python, Java, and Bash, you should be at least an intermediate.
Analytical Abilities: Train your cognitive faculties to be creative and adaptive thinkers.
Certifications: Consider obtaining a EC-Council certification, such as C|PENT.
Let’s briefly discuss the Certified Penetration Testing Professional (C|PEN).
The C|PENT certification is a cornerstone for people who are eager to get into testing, from entry-level positions to instructor-level positions.
1- Its focus is on advanced skills.
2- Spying on a Windows system and clarification of domain users and groups
3- Binary-exploitable Defence Intelligence Reports and privilege promotion are available.
4- Professional reporting techniques.
This easily accessible course brings the candidate within reach of practical, hands-on experience as well as accreditation with the NICE cybersecurity framework, thus familiarizing an individual with more than 15 potential job roles in cybersecurity.
The Next Era of Penetration Testers
The market is increasingly feeling the need for talented testers. MarketsandMarkets’ survey reveals that the global penetration testing market is expected to double by 2027.
Additionally, it is anticipated that earnings will surpass $119,000 annually in the US. [(Source Courtesy: EC Council]
Ethical Hacking and Penetration Testing are superior Cybersecurity methods.
Combining ethical hacking with penetration testing techniques creates a cloud security environment.
This dual capability presents you with the opportunity to:
1- Implement Proactive Measures: Proactive measures involve identifying and resolving potential vulnerabilities prior to their exploitation.
2- Ensure a thorough inspection of the entire environment. Detect and analyse all security weaknesses in an IT setup.
3- Confirm Compliance with Regulations: Trust companies or organisations to meet certain cybersecurity legal requirements.
To sum it up,
Stepping up to penetration testing from ethical hacking is a great move that increases your abilities and even creates new work opportunities.
With the right cybersecurity pentesting certification and skillset, you can become a valuable resource in the dynamic field of cybersecurity.
Take your life to the next level and get to know the exciting, challenging, and extremely beneficial field of penetration testing. (Source Courtesy: EC Council)
If you’re looking for an Ethical Hacking Course or a cybersecurity online certification course, register now at 3.0 University.
You may also like
Penetration Testing Ethical Hacking
