Penetration testing, commonly referred to as pen testing or “ethical hacking,” is the process of conducting a simulated cyber attack on an organization’s computer system. Pen testing is an important technique used by cybersecurity professionals for exposing database vulnerabilities and network security flaws that could be exploited by hackers. With so much of today’s critical business as well as personal information accessible through the internet, cyber attacks can be incredibly costly or even dangerous, making this process of identifying vulnerabilities essential.

Pen tests may use a variety of methods to execute a cyber attack, including brute force attacks, SQL injection, phishing, or even hardware devices. In order to simulate real-world cyber attacks as closely as possible, a “single-blind” test is typically carried out by an outside cybersecurity or IT security analyst with no prior knowledge of the network security systems in place, and in a “double-blind” test the company’s own IT and cybersecurity team is not given advance notice. Pen testing procedures also vary depending on whether the organization wants to simulate an external attack from an outside hacker or an internal attack from a disgruntled employee.

Pen testing is an essential part of the toolkit of IT security analysts and cybersecurity consultants, who are responsible for helping companies protect their computer networks and systems against malicious cyber attacks. Unknown network security vulnerabilities can lead to incredibly costly data breaches, potentially exposing private information of an organization, its employees, and its customers, making the identification of these flaws a critically important part of cybersecurity.

Given the elevated and increasing importance of cybersecurity today, professionals in this field are highly sought after. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, information security analysts earned a median annual salary of $99,730 in 2019, and these jobs are expected to grow by 31% between 2019 and 2029 - much faster than average job growth across the rest of the economy.

Certainly. Coursera offers many opportunities to learn about penetration testing and other cybersecurity topics, including individual courses and Specializations spanning multiple courses. You can learn from top-ranked schools like University of California Davis, University of Maryland College Park, University of Colorado, and the University of London, or you can take courses from IBM to earn a professional certificate in cybersecurity. Regardless of where you want to learn from, Coursera lets you view course materials and complete coursework on a flexible schedule so that you can add these important cybersecurity skills to your resume while continuing to pursue your other schoolwork or existing career.