Penetration Testing mailing list archives
Re: What is being a pen tester really like?
From: Tim <tim-pentest () sentinelchicken org>
Date: Fri, 28 Jul 2006 12:19:36 -0400
Hello,
I am currently a Java developer but I'm seriously thinking of changing paths to a career in security and pen testing. What I would like to know is what is being a pen tester really like?
I haven't been pentesting as an official job all that long (1.5 yrs), but I'll throw my comments in.
I understand the functions a pen tester performs, but I would really love to hear what it is actually like on a day-to-day basis, on the coal face so to speak. What are the good things about the job, and what are the bad?
The good things about the job: The variety of technical challenges The excitement involved in finding new vulnerabilities. The pay The bad things about the job: Testing can be very tedious, especially when you haven't found many vulns Some clients will treat you as simply fulfilling an audit item, and won't care much about actually fixing their shoddy code You've usually got to keep your findings under wraps, which means most of your work won't go towards building up your 1337 reputation.
Your experiences/advice would be hugely appreciated.
I think the two most important personality traits for being a good pentester might be: Patience, and predisposition to enjoy gambling Strong desire to understand all things technical Having a background in a wide variety of technologies is very important, but of course can be learned if you have the desire. Having deep knowledge of a couple of areas of technology is also good, but you've got to be willing to branch out. HTH, tim ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ This List Sponsored by: Cenzic Concerned about Web Application Security? Why not go with the #1 solution - Cenzic, the only one to win the Analyst's Choice Award from eWeek. As attacks through web applications continue to rise, you need to proactively protect your applications from hackers. Cenzic has the most comprehensive solutions to meet your application security penetration testing and vulnerability management needs. You have an option to go with a managed service (Cenzic ClickToSecure) or an enterprise software (Cenzic Hailstorm). Download FREE whitepaper on how a managed service can help you: http://www.cenzic.com/news_events/wpappsec.php And, now for a limited time we can do a FREE audit for you to confirm your results from other product. Contact us at request () cenzic com for details. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Current thread:
- What is being a pen tester really like? rahul . joshi2 (Jul 27)
- Re: What is being a pen tester really like? Chris Serafin (Jul 27)
- Re: What is being a pen tester really like? William Hancock (Jul 27)
- RE: What is being a pen tester really like? Paul Melson (Jul 29)
- Re: What is being a pen tester really like? crazy frog crazy frog (Jul 30)
- Re[2]: What is being a pen tester really like? Javier O. Augusto (Jul 31)
- Re: What is being a pen tester really like? Maudite MLRL (Jul 31)
- Re: What is being a pen tester really like? Chris Serafin (Jul 27)
- Re: What is being a pen tester really like? Tim (Jul 29)
- Re: What is being a pen tester really like? Rick Zhong (Jul 31)
- <Possible follow-ups>
- Re: What is being a pen tester really like? Danny Fullerton (Jul 27)
- Re: Re: What is being a pen tester really like? bedi . abhishek (Jul 29)
- Re: What is being a pen tester really like? Mark Teicher (Jul 29)