Professional Penetration Testing: Creating and Learning in a Hacking Lab, Third Edition walks the reader through the entire process of setting up and running a pen test lab. Penetration testing—the act of testing a computer network to find security vulnerabilities before they are maliciously exploited—is a crucial component of information security in any organization. Chapters cover planning, metrics, and methodologies, the details of running a pen test, including identifying and verifying vulnerabilities, and archiving, reporting and management practices. The material presented will be useful to beginners through advanced practitioners.

Here, author Thomas Wilhelm has delivered penetration testing training to countless security professionals, and now through the pages of this book, the reader can benefit from his years of experience as a professional penetration tester and educator. After reading this book, the reader will be able to create a personal penetration test lab that can deal with real-world vulnerability scenarios. "...this is a detailed and thorough examination of both the technicalities and the business of pen-testing, and an excellent starting point for anyone getting into the field." –Network Security

• Helps users find out how to turn hacking and pen testing skills into a professional career
• Covers how to conduct controlled attacks on a network through real-world examples of vulnerable and exploitable servers
• Presents metrics and reporting methodologies that provide experience crucial to a professional penetration tester
• Includes test lab code that is available on the web