Ethical Hacking and Penetration Testing Fundamentals

Course Details

A 3-day course, 6 hours per day (18 hours in total), delivered as lectures with hands-on labs in a closed simulated environment. Intermediate level. Learners take home a lab guide, a penetration test report template, a sample authorization letter and an OWASP Top 10 checklist. Important: all practice takes place only in the lab provided by the institute; these techniques must never be used against systems without authorization.

Day 1: Ethics, Methodology and Reconnaissance

Section 1: Ethics, Law and Test Scope

• The difference between ethical hacking, penetration testing and unlawful attacks
• The Computer Crime Act and the liability testers must understand
• Defining scope, authorization letters and non-disclosure agreements
• Professional ethics and responsible disclosure

Section 2: Penetration Testing Methodology

• The standard phases: reconnaissance, scanning, gaining access, maintaining access and reporting
• Black box, grey box and white box testing and when to use each
• Referencing international frameworks such as the OWASP Testing Guide and MITRE ATT&CK
• Planning a test and communicating with the system owner during the engagement

Section 3: Preparing the Test Lab

• Installing and using Kali Linux and its core tooling
• Building a closed simulated network with target machines for practice
• Managing snapshots and restoring the test environment
• Lab: build your own lab and verify connectivity to the targets

Section 4: Reconnaissance

• Passive reconnaissance: OSINT, WHOIS, DNS and public organizational information
• Active reconnaissance and identifying the target scope
• Organizing collected information to plan the next testing phase
• Lab: gather target information in the lab and produce a findings summary

Day 2: Scanning and Exploitation

Section 5: Scanning and Service Enumeration

• Port scanning and service enumeration with Nmap and reading the output correctly
• Operating system and service version fingerprinting
• Using the Nmap Scripting Engine for initial vulnerability checks
• Lab: scan the lab network and build an inventory of exposed services

Section 6: Vulnerability Assessment

• Using vulnerability scanners and interpreting their reports
• Severity ranking with CVSS and referencing CVEs
• Filtering false positives and confirming real vulnerabilities
• Lab: assess target vulnerabilities and rank them by risk

Section 7: Network and Server Exploitation

• Controlled, in-scope exploitation concepts
• Using the Metasploit Framework: modules, payloads and safe configuration
• Common vulnerabilities from misconfiguration and unpatched services
• Lab: exploit a lab target and record the evidence

Section 8: Web Application Vulnerabilities (OWASP Top 10)

• An overview of the OWASP Top 10 and the vulnerabilities most common in enterprise web apps
• Testing injection, broken access control, XSS and insecure configuration
• Using Burp Suite and OWASP ZAP to intercept and modify HTTP requests for testing
• Lab: test a simulated web application against the OWASP Top 10 and record results

Day 3: Post-Exploitation and Reporting

Section 9: Password and Authentication Attacks

• Collecting and analyzing password hashes and password strength
• Password testing techniques and their legal and ethical limits
• Defenses: password policy, MFA and detecting abnormal login attempts
• Lab: test password strength in the lab and summarize recommendations

Section 10: Post-Exploitation, Social Engineering and Wi-Fi

• Scoped post-exploitation: privilege escalation and evidence collection without damaging the system
• Social engineering and phishing: how deception works and how to build staff resilience
• Wireless network security and safe configuration
• Lab: simulate a phishing scenario to design organizational defenses

Section 11: Reporting and Recommendations

• Report structure: executive summary, scope, methodology, findings and recommendations
• Risk ranking and writing recommendations the IT team can actually implement
• Handling evidence appropriately and keeping the report confidential
• Lab: write a test report based on the two days of hands-on work

Section 12: Capstone Test and Next Steps

• Capstone: test a lab target end to end from reconnaissance to a complete report
• Present the findings and receive instructor feedback
• Defensive countermeasures and working with SOC teams and system administrators
• Workshop: present results and plan a path toward security certifications