Certified Penetration Testing Professional (CPENT) Exam Guide

There has been a rise in demand for cybersecurity professionals who can identify vulnerabilities proactively in applications and infrastructure and offer their skills and expertise in the form of remedial actions to plug these vulnerabilities. CPENT is one such examination testing the skills and expertise of a penetration testing professional and offers a global, coveted certification to those who clear this examination.

This guide walks you through each CPENT domain in a sequential and easy-to-understand format. You will begin with learning how to plan for the exam and prepare your system environment. It then covers critical techniques like Open-Source Intelligence (OSINT), social engineering attacks, vulnerability scanning, and tool usage. You will also explore advanced topics such as privilege escalation, binary exploitation, malware detection, and post-exploitation strategies. The book also teaches you how to document and submit professional pentest reports and includes realistic mock exams to prepare you for the real test environment.

By the end of this book, you will have the skills to perform penetration testing, gather intelligence from various sources, perform social engineering penetration testing, perform penetration testing on IoT, wireless, cloud based systems, advanced exploitation techniques and various tools and techniques to be used for penetration testing.

WHAT YOU WILL LEARN
● Learning different modules to prepare for the CPENT exam.
● Pre-requisites for system and CPENT exam preparation.
● Understanding and learning tools and techniques for penetration testing.
● Learning about the Cyber Kill Chain process.
● Conducting penetration testing on network and web applications.
● Penetration testing methods for IoT, SCADA, cloud assets, and various strategies.
● Drafting and submitting a report for certification.

WHO THIS BOOK IS FOR
This book is for all those cybersecurity professionals who want to learn skills for penetration testing, develop their knowledge about the tools and techniques, and who would like to become Certified Penetration Testing Professionals by clearing the CPENT exam. The readers of this book will be able to learn and apply hacking techniques and clear the CPENT exam with ease. (The anxiety and fear of this certification will be gone, and you will come out with flying colors.)

1. CPENT Module Mastery
2. System Requirements, Pre-requisites, Do’s and Don’ts
3. Penetration Testing Network and Web Applications
4. Open-source Intelligence for Penetration Testing
5. Social Engineering Penetration Testing
6. IoT, Wireless, OT, and SCADA Penetration Testing
7. Cloud Penetration Testing
8. Identifying Weak Spots and Tool Proficiency
9. Tactical Tool Usage and Hacking Strategies
10. Advanced Exploitation and Realtime Challenges
11. Binary Analysis and Exploitation
12. Report Preparation and Submission
13. Mock Exam and Practical Simulation

Rahul Deshmukh is currently working as associate director, cybersecurity at TATA Communications Ltd and has held various positions at MNCs like Tech Mahindra, Cognizant, HCL Technologies, Nokia, etc., in the cybersecurity field. He completed a master of computer applications in 2002, a master of business administration in 2021 from Indira Gandhi National Open University, New Delhi, and a bachelor of science degree in electronics in 1998 from Osmania University, Hyderabad.

With over 27 years of experience as a cybersecurity professional, Rahul Deshmukh has developed skills and expertise in various areas of ethical hacking, penetration testing, network security, data security, cloud security, IoT, and OT / SCADA security. His expertise ranges from packet-level analysis to performing advanced-level exploitation techniques. He has also equipped himself with digital forensics skills and techniques, which are crucial in conducting a cyber fraud investigation. He has authored many articles and research papers published in international magazines and various publications.

His skills and expertise are often leveraged by law enforcement agencies, and as a speaker, he is often invited to speak at various international forums. Rahul Deshmukh also has experience in teaching networking, cybersecurity, penetration testing, cybersecurity design principles, security solutions, and tools and techniques used in all the tiers of cybersecurity. In this book, he shares his knowledge and insights to help you embark on your journey to become a Certified Penetration Testing Professional.