Ethical Hacking & Penetration Testing course

Description

Module 1: Introduction to Ethical Hacking

• Understanding ethical hacking and its importance

• Black hat, white hat, and gray hat hackers

• Phases of ethical hacking

• Legal and ethical considerations in penetration testing

Module 2: Setting Up the Lab Environment

• Installing and configuring Kali Linux

• Setting up virtual machines (VMware, VirtualBox)

• Network simulation tools (GNS3, Cisco Packet Tracer)

• Creating a safe testing environment

Module 3: Reconnaissance & Information Gathering

• Passive and active reconnaissance techniques

• DNS enumeration, WHOIS lookup, and footprinting

• Using tools like Nmap, Maltego, and theHarvester

• Social engineering basics and prevention

Module 4: Scanning & Enumeration

• Network scanning techniques

• Identifying live hosts and open ports

• Service and OS fingerprinting

• Vulnerability scanning with Nessus and OpenVAS

Module 5: Gaining Access (Exploitation)

• Exploitation basics and common vulnerabilities

• Using Metasploit Framework for exploitation

• Exploiting web application vulnerabilities (SQLi, XSS, CSRF)

• Password attacks (brute force, dictionary, rainbow tables)

Module 6: Maintaining Access

• Privilege escalation techniques

• Backdoors, trojans, and rootkits (ethical use in testing)

• Persistence methods in compromised systems

• Avoiding detection during tests

Module 7: Web Application Penetration Testing

• OWASP Top 10 security risks

• Testing authentication, session management, and access control

• Using Burp Suite for manual and automated testing

• Secure coding best practices for developers

Module 8: Wireless Network Hacking

• Wireless standards and security protocols

• Cracking WEP, WPA/WPA2, and WPA3 (testing scenarios)

• Rogue access points and evil twin attacks

• Wireless defense mechanisms

Module 9: Post-Exploitation & Reporting

• Extracting and analyzing compromised data

• Clearing logs and covering tracks (for simulation purposes)

• Writing a professional penetration testing report

• Presenting findings and recommendations to clients or teams

Module 10: Capstone Project

• Conduct a full penetration test on a simulated network

• Document each phase with tools and results

• Present a final security report with remediation steps

• Peer and mentor review for real-world readiness