CompTIA PenTest+ Certification Training

• Penetration Testers
• Security Analysts
• Ethical Hackers
• Network and Systems Administrators
• Security Consultants
• IT Professionals
• Information Security Managers
• Cybersecurity Enthusiasts
• Security Engineers
• Anyone Interested in Security Testing

Pre-requisites for CompTIA PenTest+ Certification:

• While there are no strict prerequisites for CompTIA PenTest+, it is advisable to have a background of at least three-to-four years in hands-on information security or a related field before attempting the exam. CompTIA PenTest+ is designed to be pursued after completing CompTIA Security+ or having equivalent experience, emphasizing technical and hands-on proficiency

$392 is the exam fee for CompTIA Pentest+

750 (on a scale of 100-900)

• 1.0 Planning and Scoping 14% 
• 2.0 Information Gathering and Vulnerability Scanning 22%
•  3.0 Attacks and Exploits 30% 
• 4.0 Reporting and Communication 18% 5.0 Tools and Code Analysis 16% 
• Total 100%

The CompTIA PenTest+ certification remains valid for a period of three years from the date of successful certification. To ensure the ongoing relevance of your skills and expertise, you have the option to renew your CompTIA PenTest+ certification by completing continuing education activities or retaking the latest version of the certification exam. This renewal process helps demonstrate your up-to-date knowledge and proficiency in penetration testing methodologies and practices.

1. Security Operations

Log ingestion - Time synchronization - Logging levels • Operating system (OS) concepts - Windows Registry - System hardening - File structure o Configuration file locations - System processes - Hardware architecture • Infrastructure concepts - Serverless - Virtualization - Containerization • Network architecture - On-premises - Cloud - Hybrid - Network segmentation - Zero trust - Secure access secure edge (SASE) - Software-defined networking (SDN) • Identity and access management - Multifactor authentication (MFA) - Single sign-on (SSO) - Federation - Privileged access management (PAM) - Passwordless - Cloud access security broker (CASB) • Encryption - Public key infrastructure (PKI) - Secure sockets layer (SSL) inspection • Sensitive data protection - Data loss prevention (DLP) - Personally identifiable information (PII) - Cardholder data (CHD) Given a scenario, analyze indicators of potentially malicious activity. • Network-related - Bandwidth consumption - Beaconing - Irregular peer-to-peer communication - Rogue devices on the network - Scans/sweeps - Unusual traffic spikes - Activity on unexpected ports • Host-related - Processor consumption - Memory consumption - Drive capacity consumption - Unauthorized software - Malicious processes - Unauthorized changes - Unauthorized privileges - Data exfiltration - Abnormal OS process behavior - File system changes or anomalies - Registry changes or anomalies - Unauthorized scheduled tasks • Application-related - Anomalous activity - Introduction of new accounts - Unexpected output - Unexpected outbound communication - Service interruption - Application logs • Other - Social engineering attacks - Obfuscated links CompTIA Cybersecurity Analyst (CySA+) CS0-003 Certification Exam: Exam Objectives Version 3.0 Copyright © 2022 CompTIA, Inc. All rights reserved. 1.4 Compare and contrast threat-intelligence and threat-hunting concepts. • Threat actors - Advanced persistent threat (APT) - Hacktivists - Organized crime - Nation-state - Script kiddie - Insider threat o Intentional o Unintentional - Supply chain • Tactics, techniques, and procedures (TTP) • Confidence levels - Timeliness - Relevancy - Accuracy • Collection methods and sources - Open source o Social media o Blogs/forums o Government bulletins o Computer emergency response team (CERT) o Cybersecurity incident response team (CSIRT) o Deep/dark web - Closed source o Paid feeds o Information sharing organizations o Internal sources • Threat intelligence sharing - Incident response - Vulnerability management - Risk management - Security engineering - Detection and monitoring • Threat hunting - Indicators of compromise (IoC) o Collection o Analysis o Application - Focus areas o Configurations/ misconfigurations o Isolated networks o Business-critical assets and processes - Active defense - Honeypot 1.0 | Security Operations 1.3 Given a scenario, use appropriate tools or techniques to determine malicious activity. • Tools - Packet capture o Wireshark o tcpdump - Log analysis/correlation o Security information and event management (SIEM) o Security orchestration, automation, and response (SOAR) - Endpoint security o Endpoint detection and response (EDR) - Domain name service (DNS) and Internet Protocol (IP) reputation o WHOIS o AbuseIPDB - File analysis o Strings o VirusTotal - Sandboxing o Joe Sandbox o Cuckoo Sandbox • Common techniques - Pattern recognition o Command and control - Interpreting suspicious commands - Email analysis o Header o Impersonation o DomainKeys Identified Mail (DKIM) o Domain-based Message Authentication, Reporting, and Conformance (DMARC) o Sender Policy Framework (SPF) o Embedded links - File analysis o Hashing - User behavior analysis o Abnormal account activity o Impossible travel • Programming languages/scripting - JavaScript Object Notation (JSON) - Extensible Markup Language (XML) - Python - PowerShell - Shell script - Regular expressions CompTIA Cybersecurity Analyst (CySA+) CS0-003 Certification Exam: Exam Objectives Version 3.0 Copyright © 2022 CompTIA, Inc. All rights reserved. 1.5 Explain the importance of efficiency and process improvement in security operations. • Standardize processes - Identification of tasks suitable for automation o Repeatable/do not require human interaction - Team coordination to manage and facilitate automation • Streamline operations - Automation and orchestration o Security orchestration, automation, and response (SOAR) - Orchestrating threat intelligence data o Data enrichment o Threat feed combination - Minimize human engagement • Technology and tool integration - Application programming interface (API) - Webhooks - Plugins • Single pane of glass  

1. Vulnerability Management   

Given a scenario, implement vulnerability scanning methods and concepts. • Asset discovery - Map scans - Device fingerprinting • Special considerations - Scheduling - Operations - Performance - Sensitivity levels - Segmentation - Regulatory requirements • Internal vs. external scanning • Agent vs. agentless • Credentialed vs. non-credentialed • Passive vs. active • Static vs. dynamic - Reverse engineering - Fuzzing • Critical infrastructure - Operational technology (OT) - Industrial control systems (ICS) - Supervisory control and data acquisition (SCADA) • Security baseline scanning • Industry frameworks - Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard (PCI DSS) - Center for Internet Security (CIS) benchmarks - Open Web Application Security Project (OWASP) - International Organization for Standardization (ISO) 27000 series Tools - Network scanning and mapping o Angry IP Scanner o Maltego - Web application scanners o Burp Suite o Zed Attack Proxy (ZAP) o Arachni o Nikto - Vulnerability scanners o Nessus o OpenVAS - Debuggers o Immunity debugger o GNU debugger (GDB) - Multipurpose o Nmap o Metasploit framework (MSF) o Recon-ng - Cloud infrastructure assessment tools o Scout Suite o Prowler o Pacu • Common Vulnerability Scoring System (CVSS) interpretation - Attack vectors - Attack complexity - Privileges required - User interaction - Scope - Impact o Confidentiality o Integrity o Availability • Validation - True/false positives - True/false negatives • Context awareness - Internal - External - Isolated • Exploitability/weaponization • Asset value • Zero-day Cross-site scripting - Reflected - Persistent • Overflow vulnerabilities - Buffer - Integer - Heap - Stack • Data poisoning • Broken access control • Cryptographic failures • Injection flaws • Cross-site request forgery • Directory traversal • Insecure design • Security misconfiguration • End-of-life or outdated components • Identification and authentication failures • Server-side request forgery • Remote code execution • Privilege escalation • Local file inclusion (LFI)/remote file inclusion (RFI) Compensating control • Control types - Managerial - Operational - Technical - Preventative - Detective - Responsive - Corrective • Patching and configuration management - Testing - Implementation - Rollback - Validation • Maintenance windows • Exceptions • Risk management principles - Accept - Transfer - Avoid - Mitigate • Policies, governance, and servicelevel objectives (SLOs) • Prioritization and escalation • Attack surface management - Edge discovery - Passive discovery - Security controls testing - Penetration testing and adversary emulation - Bug bounty - Attack surface reduction • Secure coding best practices - Input validation - Output encoding - Session management - Authentication - Data protection - Parameterized queries • Secure software development life cycle (SDLC) • Threat modeling  

1. Incident Response and Management

• Cyber kill chains • Diamond Model of Intrusion Analysis • MITRE ATT&CK • Open Source Security Testing Methodology Manual (OSS TMM) • OWASP Testing Guide Detection and analysis - IoC - Evidence acquisitions o Chain of custody o Validating data integrity o Preservation o Legal hold - Data and log analysis • Containment, eradication, and recovery - Scope - Impact - Isolation - Remediation - Re-imaging - Compensating controls Preparation - Incident response plan - Tools - Playbooks - Tabletop - Training - Business continuity (BC)/ disaster recovery (DR) • Post-incident activity - Forensic analysis - Root cause analysis - Lessons learned  

1. Reporting and Communication

• Vulnerability management reporting - Vulnerabilities - Affected hosts - Risk score - Mitigation - Recurrence - Prioritization • Compliance reports • Action plans - Configuration management - Patching - Compensating controls - Awareness, education, and training - Changing business requirements • Inhibitors to remediation - Memorandum of understanding (MOU) - Service-level agreement (SLA) - Organizational governance - Business process interruption - Degrading functionality - Legacy systems - Proprietary systems • Metrics and key performance indicators (KPIs) - Trends - Top 10 - Critical vulnerabilities and zero-days - SLOs • Stakeholder identification and communication Stakeholder identification and communication • Incident declaration and escalation • Incident response reporting - Executive summary - Who, what, when, where, and why - Recommendations - Timeline - Impact - Scope - Evidence • Communications - Legal - Public relations o Customer communication o Media - Regulatory reporting - Law enforcement • Root cause analysis • Lessons learned • Metrics and KPIs - Mean time to detect - Mean time to respond - Mean time to remediate