Penetration testing

Penetration testing is a term that we will use very often in this book, and it is a subset of ethical hacking. It is a more professional term used to describe what an ethical hacker does. If you are planning a career in ethical hacking or security testing, then you would often see job postings with the title, Penetration Tester. Although penetration testing is a subset of ethical hacking, it differs in many ways. It's a more streamlined way of identifying vulnerabilities in systems and finding out if the vulnerability is exploitable or not. Penetration testing is governed by a contract between the tester and owner of the systems to be tested. You need to define the scope of the test in order to identify the systems to be tested. Rules of Engagement need to be defined, which determines the way in which the testing is to be done.