Cyber Penetration Testing & Ethical Hacking 2026

To effectively secure modern networks, you must first understand the mindset of an attacker. That is, you have to attack your own network to learn how to defend it. This is where ethical hacking and penetration testing come in. A penetration test, also known as a pen test or pentest or cyber security penetration test, is an authorized simulated attack on a system designed to evaluate and strengthen its security posture.

In this cybersecurity course, you will learn how to conduct a pentest and what cybersecurity is all about. You will learn how to build and hone the skills to develop the mindset of someone who has the sole purpose of attacking a system and/or network

As you progress, you will follow a structured penetration testing methodology and learn how to conduct network penetration testing in detail. You will build the skills and apply techniques to penetrate devices, servers, and client systems, and perform security penetration testing engagements. You will work within a defined scope, targeting systems that simulate real-world cyber pen testing environments.

Each day, you will be presented with a scope of work and have a number of targets to engage and attempt to “own.” The targets will be progressive in nature, with the size of the attack surface being reduced as your skill sets increase. Henceforth, you will gain hands-on experience in cybersecurity pen testing, identifying weaknesses, exploiting vulnerabilities, and understanding how attackers operate in IT scenarios.

By the end of this program, you will have conducted multiple simulated penetration test cyber security engagements and drafted a preliminary report of findings just like a professional penetration tester. The techniques taught are aligned with industry practices used by global cybersecurity penetration testing teams. The system is proven and effective, and can be put into place at once.

Your instructor, Kevin Cardwell, is a former senior U.S. Navy cybersecurity expert and the author of multiple books on cybersecurity.

More about this course and Starweaver

This course is led by a seasoned technology industry practitioner and executive, with many years of hands-on, in-the-trenches cybersecurity work. It has been designed, produced and delivered by Starweaver. Starweaver is one of the most highly regarded, well-established training providers in the world, providing training courses to many of the leading financial institutions and technology companies, including:

Ahli United Bank; Mashreqbank; American Express; ANZ Bank; ATT; Banco Votorantim; Bank of America; Bank of America Global Markets; Bank of America Private Bank; Barclay Bank; BMO Financial Group; BMO Financial Services; BNP Paribas; Boeing; Cigna; Citibank; Cognizant; Commerzbank; Credit Lyonnais/Calyon; Electrosonic; Farm Credit Administration; Fifth Third Bank; GENPACT; GEP Software; GLG Group; Hartford; HCL; HCL; Helaba; HSBC; HSBC Corporate Bank; HSBC India; HSBC Private Bank; Legal & General; National Australia Bank; Nomura Securities; PNC Financial Services Group; Quintiles; RAK Bank; Regions Bank; Royal Bank of Canada; Royal Bank of Scotland; Santander Corporate Bank; Tata Consultancy Services; Union Bank; ValueMomentum; Wells Fargo; Wells Fargo India Solutions; Westpac Corporate Bank; Wipro; and, many others.

Happy learning.