Inside the SOC: A Day in the Life of a Penetration Tester
Let's explore the offensive side of Security Operations. Life of a Penetration Tester: Ethical Hacking in Action
Penetration Testers, or ethical hackers, are cybersecurity professionals who test an organization's security by simulating real-world cyberattacks.
Their goal is to uncover vulnerabilities before malicious hackers do, helping businesses strengthen their defenses.
But what does a typical day look like for a Penetration Tester?
Let’s break it down.
A Day in the Life of a Penetration Tester 🛠️
1. Scoping the Engagement – Before any test begins, Penetration Testers work with clients to define the scope, goals, and limitations of the assessment. This ensures ethical and legal compliance. In other words, you are to work ony on the items defined for the engagement, test them out, send a report.
2. Reconnaissance & Information Gathering – Using Open-Source Intelligence (OSINT), testers collect data about their target, such as exposed credentials, misconfigured systems, and publicly available information.
3. Scanning & Enumeration – Tools like Nmap, Nessus, and Burp Suite help identify open ports, services, and potential vulnerabilities within a network or application. Normally, this is announced and SOC team is notified so they won’t disrupt the testing engagement.
4. Exploitation & Gaining Access – Testers attempt to exploit discovered weaknesses using penetration testing frameworks like Metasploit, custom scripts, and manual testing techniques. Again, most of the time this is an announced activity, SOC team will not disrupt even if the activity is triggering multiple alerts.
5. Privilege Escalation & Lateral Movement – Once inside, the goal is to move deeper into the network, mimicking real cyber attackers and identifying further security gaps.
6. Post-Exploitation & Persistence – Penetration testers assess how much damage an attacker could cause by maintaining access, stealing data, or deploying simulated malware.
7. Reporting & Remediation – Findings are documented in a detailed report with recommendations on how to fix vulnerabilities. A final debriefing with stakeholders ensures security improvements are implemented. The report is also shared to SOC team so they can improve their detection in case any activity during the engagement missed to detect.
Challenges of Being a Penetration Tester ⚠️
Rapidly Changing Threat Landscape – New vulnerabilities and attack techniques emerge daily. Depending on the scope of work, you need to be updated on different attach techniques you can use as part of your testing engagement.
Legal & Ethical Considerations – Testers must always work within authorized boundaries to avoid legal risks. You only test what was defined in the engagement.
Bypassing Advanced Security Measures – Modern security tools make it harder to exploit systems.
High Responsibility & Expectations – Clients rely on penetration testers to find every possible weakness, making thoroughness essential.
Key Skills of a Penetration Tester 🔍
Deep Knowledge of Exploits & Vulnerabilities – Understanding common weaknesses like SQL injection, XSS, and privilege escalation.
Scripting & Automation – Proficiency in Python, PowerShell, or Bash for custom exploit development.
Networking & System Security – Expertise in firewalls, IDS/IPS, and cloud security.
Report Writing & Communication – Clear documentation and effective communication with technical and non-technical stakeholders.
Certifications & Continuous Learning – Many Penetration Testers earn certifications like OSCP, CEH, or GPEN to validate their expertise.
Why Being a Penetration Tester is Rewarding ✅
You Think Like a Hacker (Legally!) – You get to break into systems for a good cause.
You Help Secure Organizations – Your work directly prevents data breaches and cyberattacks.
Exciting & Ever-Changing Field – No two engagements are the same, keeping the job dynamic and engaging.
Final Thoughts 🔥
Being a Penetration Tester is a thrilling and challenging career that requires creativity, problem-solving, and technical expertise.
If you enjoy ethical hacking, staying ahead of cybercriminals, and testing security limits, this might be the perfect role for you.
Being able to test security controls, perform an intrusion and apply different hacking techniques is such a fun way of having job.
Are you a Penetration Tester or looking to become one?
Share your thoughts and experiences in the comments!
LET’S BUILD TOGETHER
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I’m here to help you grow, learn, and succeed in the world of cybersecurity.
Thank you for joining me on this journey.
Here’s to learning, sharing, and making an impact together!
With you on this cyber path,
Jeff