As a business owner with a computer network, it’s important to keep testing the network for weaknesses and finding ways to improve its security to prevent costly cyber-attacks and other forms of illegal penetration. If you’re not a trained and qualified network security expert, you’ll need to hire highly skilled and experienced penetration testers to test your network periodically.
While there are many network security experts out there, not all of them are qualified to test penetration. So, as you search for a penetration tester, it’s important to choose an experienced, licensed penetration tester. But what is a penetration testing consultant, and what is the benefit of penetration testing?
As noted above, a penetration tester is a professional computer network security tester who is normally hired by individual business owners and enterprises to penetrate their networks and test their strengths and weaknesses. Therefore, a licensed penetration tester (LPT) is a professional penetration tester with the necessary licenses and certifications to perform pen tests.
An LPT is given authority by the network owner to penetrate their network and perform exhaustive security checks to identify possible points of weakness and propose the most effective corrective measures. For a tester to be licensed, they must have the required skills and experience to deploy advanced pen testing procedures, techniques, tools, and strategies.
These testers must be able to design, secure, test, and troubleshoot your network and advise you on the best measures to take to avert possible attacks now and in the future. Therefore, an LPT must undergo basic training and take all the necessary exams; they should have a certificate to show that they have the necessary expertise and qualifications to earn the license.
What Is a Penetration Testing Exam?
One of the most popular LPT exams is the Global Information Assurance Council (GIAC) exam, which every top-notch pen tester should pass before they become licensed. This exam tests the security expert’s ability to navigate the most hardened systems. To pass this exam, a pen tester must score at least 90%.
Getting this score is a rare feat and therefore only the most qualified testers pass. Their pen-testing expertise is challenged against complex network architectures with tough defense-in-depth controls. The tester is required to make critical decisions under massive pressure at acute stages while choosing their approaches and exploits carefully.
They also have to maneuver various web apps and host penetration testing mechanisms and methods in an internal and external context to finally pawn the hosts and infiltrate data necessary for completing the challenges. The tester must demonstrate their mastery of using advanced pen-testing methodologies and tools, including multi-level pivoting, SSH tunneling, OS weakness exploits, host-based application exploits, web server exploits, app exploits, privilege escalation, and SQL injection, among others.
Importance of Hiring a Licensed Penetration Tester
While there are many penetration testing consultants on the market, not all of them meet the required standards to offer penetration testing services. Therefore, choose your pen tester wisely to avoid disappointment. One simple way to be sure that the person you’re hiring meets the necessary standards is to check if they’re licensed. Here are the benefits of hiring a licensed penetration tester:
Tried and Tested
As mentioned above, penetration testers must undergo rigorous training and testing before they become licensed. They must undergo full training in the field of network security and take all the relevant exams. After this, they must acquire the necessary certificates to prove their level of training and expertise.
It’s only after meeting all these requirements that the pen tester is eligible for a license. So, hiring an LPT gives you peace of mind knowing that the person you’re entrusting with the security of your network is qualified.
Advanced Working Knowledge and Experience
Because a pen tester must go through various stages of training, testing, and active practice before they’re licensed, they pick up useful working knowledge, skills, and experience that they’ll use to perform penetration testing on advanced, multi-layered networks.
Safety of Your Network
While there’s no overall industry accreditation or licensing requirement for pen testers, having the license is a sign of commitment and determination. A practicing license is an important attainment for professionals in any field because it shows that the expert has attained the highest level of training and qualification and can effectively keep your network as safe as possible.
For the most highly skilled and qualified freelance penetration testers, Guru’s got your back. Check out our wide array of experienced professionals, or post a job listing with your project specifications and let fantastic candidates find you!
