Few areas of cybersecurity measure up against penetration testing in terms of importance and excitement. This activity boils down to finding flaws in computer systems so that organizations can address them proactively and forestall real-world attacks.

A pentester worth their salt should have outstanding tech skills, be a social engineering guru, and have enough confidence to try and outsmart seasoned IT professionals working for large corporations. Pentesters are often referred to as ethical hackers, and for good reason – they need to infiltrate well-secured systems to pinpoint loopholes that black hat hackers can parasitize for nefarious purposes.