A pentester, also known as a penetration tester, is a cybersecurity professional who conducts authorized simulated attacks on computer systems, networks, applications, and databases to assess their security posture and identify potential vulnerabilities. A pentester’s goal is to help organizations improve their security measures and protect against real-world threats.
Some of the roles and responsibilities of a pentester are:
• Perform tests on applications, network devices, and cloud infrastructures using various tools and techniques, such as scanning, enumeration, exploitation, privilege escalation, etc.
• Design and conduct simulated social engineering attacks, such as phishing, vishing, baiting, etc., to test the human factor of security.
• Research and experiment with different types of attacks, such as web application attacks, wireless attacks, network attacks, etc., to discover new vulnerabilities and attack vectors.
• Develop methodologies and frameworks for penetration testing based on industry standards and best practices, such as OWASP, NIST, PTES, etc.
• Review code for security vulnerabilities and provide recommendations for secure coding practices.
• Write clear and concise penetration testing reports detailing the findings and recommendations for remediation.
• Provide technical support and guidance to clients and stakeholders on how to mitigate the identified risks and enhance their security awareness.