Advanced • Hands-on
Advanced Penetration Testing
Become the person teams call when the “easy vulns” are already fixed. This course focuses on chained exploits, evasive post-exploitation, and reporting that stands up in front of security leadership, auditors, and developers.
Overview
This is not a “first hacking course”. Advanced Penetration Testing assumes you already know basic web vulns, common tools, and simple privilege escalation. Here, we focus on what typically separates mid-level testers from senior operators: deep recon, chained vulnerabilities, realistic Active Directory and cloud scenarios, and clean reporting that can drive real remediation.
You will learn how to move from single-issue findings (“XSS on page X”) to end-to-end attack paths that show business impact: from low-severity misconfigurations to full domain compromise or cross-tenant data access.
Who this is for
- Penetration testers who feel “stuck” at basic web/app findings.
- OSCP / eJPT holders preparing for OSEP/OSED or red-team style work.
- Security engineers and blue-teamers wanting to understand attacker tradecraft.
- Lead testers who must explain risk to managers, not just write POCs.
What you’ll be able to do
- Design and execute realistic, scoped engagements end-to-end.
- Build and exploit chained attack paths in web, infra, AD, and cloud.
- Balance stealth vs speed when EDR and logging are present.
- Produce clear, prioritized reports that leadership can act on.
Curriculum
The curriculum emphasizes methodology, not magic tools. For every topic you’ll learn: what problem it solves, how to do it manually, and how to safely automate it when needed. Each module is supported by at least one lab and a short write-up template.
Module 1
Advanced Recon & Target Profiling
Moving beyond simple subdomain brute-force and nmap scans. Building target maps using OSINT, technology fingerprinting, leaked assets, code repositories, and third-party dependencies. You’ll learn how to create a living “attack surface document” that guides your whole assessment instead of random scanning.
Module 2
Initial Access in Modern Environments
Techniques for breaking assumptions around authentication and perimeter security: JWT and OAuth/OIDC weaknesses, misconfigured SSO, SSRF chains into internal panels, deserialization bugs, and abusing “forgot password” flows. You’ll see how multiple “medium” issues can become a reliable initial foothold.
Module 3
Privilege Escalation & Lateral Movement
From local privilege escalation on Linux/Windows to lateral movement across servers and user accounts. We cover misconfigured services, credential harvesting, token abuse, container escapes, and cloud IAM privilege creep. You’ll learn when to escalate, when to pivot, and when to stay low and collect more context.
Module 4
Web Applications at Depth
Beyond classic OWASP Top 10: business logic flaws, multi-tenant isolation issues, access control edge cases (IDOR/BOLA), mass assignment, and complex injection chains. We also discuss real issues around API-first architectures and microservices: broken object-level authorization, mTLS misconfigurations, and shared secret sprawl.
Module 5
Active Directory & Enterprise Tradecraft
Enumerating and abusing complex AD environments using BloodHound-style mapping, Kerberoasting, constrained delegation weaknesses, credential theft, and living-off-the-land techniques. You’ll connect AD paths to cloud and VPN access, and learn when to stop escalation because business impact is already proven.
Module 6
Cloud & Container Attack Paths
Practical attack patterns in AWS/Azure/GCP-style setups: mis-scoped IAM roles, overly-trusted instance metadata, exposed credentials, and poor network segmentation. We also cover container breakouts, misconfigured orchestrators, and abusing CI/CD pipelines to move from “just dev access” to production data.
Module 7
Post-Exploitation, OPSEC & Data Ops
Once you are “in”, what next? Planning data collection, staying stealthy under EDR and logging, and avoiding unnecessary impact. You’ll practice building minimal toolchains for enumeration, data staging, exfil simulation, and safe cleanup, with clear notes on what artefacts you leave behind.
Module 8
Reporting, Risk & Stakeholder Communication
Converting technical wins into business outcomes. We walk through report structures, risk rating logic, proof-of-concept design, and how to write remediation guidance that developers and architects can actually use. You’ll learn how to defend your findings when questioned by management or other security teams.
Module 9
Capstone: Full Engagement Simulation
You’ll perform an end-to-end simulated engagement against a lab environment that mimics a real company: multiple apps, internal services, and mixed on-prem + cloud. Starting from scoping and rules of engagement, you will perform recon, gain access, escalate, pivot, and demonstrate meaningful impact with a final written report.
Labs & Capstone Work
Every major concept is backed by a lab. Labs are designed so that you can repeat them later in your own home lab or on cloud VMs, not only in our environment.
Lab track: Recon & Discovery
You’ll build an asset inventory from what looks like “just a website”: mapping subdomains, technologies, exposed services, and leaked metadata. The goal is to learn how senior testers decide where to invest time and which parts of the attack surface matter most.
Lab track: AD + Cloud Path Building
Given a mix of on-prem AD and cloud accounts, you’ll identify abusive paths: from initial low-priv account, through misconfigurations, to high impact access. You’ll practice representing that path visually and in written form for a report.
Capstone: Full Engagement
A multi-week project where you treat the lab like a real client. You’ll maintain daily notes, write an interim update, and finish with a final report and debrief-style summary aimed at non-technical stakeholders.
Prerequisites
Technical baseline
- Comfortable with Linux and Windows basics (services, logs, processes, permissions).
- Basic web application security: XSS, SQLi, auth bypass, simple IDOR, etc.
- Working knowledge of TCP/IP, DNS, HTTP/HTTPS, VPNs, and basic routing.
- Prior hands-on with tools like nmap, Burp Suite, and at least one scripting language.
Mindset & hardware
- A laptop with at least 16 GB RAM recommended (8 GB minimum with cloud labs).
- Willingness to read docs, debug broken setups, and think like a defender as well as an attacker.
- Commitment to ethical testing: we only work on authorized targets with clear scope.
Unsure whether you’re ready? Contact us with your background and we’ll suggest whether to start here or with a more foundational course first.
Outcomes
The goal of this course is not just to give you “more techniques”, but to change the way you think about assessments and how you communicate your work.
Engagement-level thinking
You’ll be able to plan, execute, and document complete engagements—from scoping and recon through exploitation, post-ex, and debrief—rather than hunting for isolated bugs.
Stronger career profile
The skills map directly to advanced roles (senior pentester, red-team operator) and higher-difficulty exams, making your portfolio and interviews much stronger.
Better collaboration
You’ll be more effective working with SOC, DevOps, and engineering teams—explaining how an attack actually unfolded and what realistic fixes look like.
Schedule & Delivery Modes
We run this program in flexible formats so working professionals and students can both attend. Batch dates and availability may vary.
| Mode | Duration | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Weekend cohort | 5–7 weeks | Sat–Sun sessions with heavy lab focus, recommended for working professionals. |
| Weekday evenings | 4–6 weeks | Shorter weekday sessions plus independent lab work in between. |
| Custom team batch | Flexible | Tailored for internal security teams with customized schedule and case studies. |
Pricing / Engagement
Pricing depends on the delivery mode (cohort vs custom), depth of mentoring, and whether you enroll as an individual or as part of a team. EMI options may be available for individuals in some regions.
Individual learner
Full access to sessions, labs, and capstone, suitable if you are preparing for advanced exams or a move into senior pentesting roles.
Request a quoteTeam / security group
Ideal for small offensive security or blue-team squads that want to level up together, including organization-specific case discussions where appropriate.
Get team pricingAcademic / partner programs
For universities, training partners, or government academies who want to integrate advanced penetration testing into their curriculum.
Talk to usFAQs
Is this the right course after OSCP or similar?
Yes. We assume you already know basic exploitation and want to move into more realistic, chained attack paths and enterprise-style testing. If you haven’t done OSCP but have equivalent hands-on experience, you’ll still be fine.
Will this prepare me directly for OSEP / OSED?
This course is not a clone of any specific exam, but many skills—especially recon, tradecraft, and reporting—map very well to those tracks and to real-world work.
Do I need my own lab or VPS?
We provide structured labs, but we also encourage you to build a small home or cloud lab. We’ll give guidance on recommended environments and how to practice safely on your own.
Are sessions recorded?
For most cohorts, sessions are recorded so you can revisit complex topics. Exact details (retention, access) are shared during enrollment for each batch.
Ready to operate like a senior pentester?
Reach out for batch dates, full syllabus, and guidance on whether this is the right next step based on your current skill level and goals.
Talk to us