Penetration Testing Specialist Training in South Africa

Penetration Testing, often referred to as Ethical Hacking, is one of the most crucial areas of cybersecurity.
This course aims to teach participants how to identify, exploit, and report vulnerabilities within information systems —
using the same tools and techniques as real-world attackers, but within a legal and ethical framework.

Throughout this hands-on training, you will learn how to plan, execute, and document a full-scale penetration test —
from reconnaissance and scanning to exploitation, post-exploitation, and professional reporting.

By the end of this course, participants will have the technical and analytical skills required to conduct penetration tests in real environments, following international standards such as OSSTMM, OWASP, and NIST.

This training is designed for professionals who want to develop advanced cybersecurity and ethical hacking skills:

• Cybersecurity Specialists

• Network and System Administrators

• Red Team Members

• Security Auditors and Consultants

• IT Professionals aspiring to become Ethical Hackers

Basic networking and system knowledge is recommended.

Upon completion of this course, participants will be able to:

• Conduct end-to-end penetration testing projects independently

• Identify, exploit, and mitigate system vulnerabilities

• Apply ethical hacking methodologies within legal frameworks

• Analyze and report findings using industry standards

• Enhance their organization’s overall cybersecurity resilience

The course follows a methodology-driven, hands-on approach, covering both technical depth and security best practices.

Introduction and Preparation Phase

• What is a Penetration Test?

• Legal requirements and authorization process (NDA, scope definition)

• Why organizations need penetration testing

• Overview of modern testing methodologies and planning

Information Gathering and Reconnaissance

• Passive and active information gathering methods

• Using specialized search engines for reconnaissance

• Network scanning with tools such as hping and Nmap

• Packet analysis and sniffing techniques (Wireshark)

Vulnerability Analysis

• Common vulnerability scanners (Nessus, OpenVAS, Nikto)

• Understanding scan results and prioritizing risks

• Legal and compliance considerations of security testing

System-Based Penetration Testing

• Windows Systems: User privilege escalation, service exploitation

• Linux / Unix Systems: Configuration flaws, local privilege escalation

• Cisco Network Devices: IOS vulnerabilities, SNMP and configuration testing

• Database Systems: SQL injection, access control testing, and data extraction

Network Security Testing

• Internal network security testing (LAN/WAN)

• Firewall penetration testing and bypass methods

• IPS/WAF evasion techniques

• Exploiting weaknesses in security infrastructure

Wireless and DDoS Testing

• Wireless network vulnerabilities (WEP, WPA2, WPA3)

• DoS/DDoS attack simulations and defense strategies

Exploitation Techniques

• What is Exploitation?

• Advanced exploitation and payload delivery

• Malware, Trojan, and Backdoor analysis

• Password attacks (Brute-force, Dictionary, Hybrid)

Social Engineering

• Understanding social engineering concepts

• Real-world phishing and impersonation attacks

• Psychological manipulation techniques and countermeasures

Reporting and Documentation

• How to write a professional penetration testing report

• Risk classification (CVSS, CWE)

• Executive summaries for management

• Report optimization and best practices