Introduction
CompTIA PenTest+ Practice Tests: Exam PT0-001 is a companion to the CompTIA PenTest+ Study Guide: Exam PT0-001. This book will help you test your knowledge before you take the PenTest+ exam. We have provided you with over 1,000 questions that cover the concepts of the CompTIA PenTest+ certification exam objectives. This book will help prepare you to take the CompTIA PenTest+ (PT0-001) exam.
Use this book as a guide to help you determine what you need to focus more on prior to taking the actual exam.
Before you attempt to take the PenTest+ exam, you should already be a practicing security practitioner. CompTIA suggests that test-takers should have an intermediate-level skill level based on their cybersecurity pathway. You should also be familiar with some of the tools and techniques that are covered in this book.
CompTIA
CompTIA is a nonprofit trade organization that offers certification in a variety of Information Technology areas. The certifications range from the A+ exam which is the skills needed to become a PC support technician to more advanced certifications like the CompTIA Advanced Security Practitioner (CASP). With the ever increasing number of cyberattacks and new connected devices, the need for skilled cybersecurity professionals is rapidly growing. The CompTIA Cybersecurity Career Pathway will help IT professionals achieve cybersecurity mastery.
The CompTIA CySA+ and CompTIA PenTest+ exams are considered to be more advanced exams and are intended for professionals with hands-on experience who also possess the knowledge covered by the previous exams from the Career Pathway.
CompTIA certifications are ISO and ANSI accredited, and are used within a multitude of industries as a gauge of an individual's technical skills and knowledge.
Why Certify?
CompTIA certifications help individuals create outstanding careers in the Information Technology field and allows companies to have knowledgeable and well-trained employees. In this day and age, certifications are deemed very important in the IT world. Employers that are looking to hire or promote need to make sure that the candidate has the skills needed for the position and certification offers proof of those skills.
The CompTIA PenTest+ is for cybersecurity professionals whose job deals with penetration testing and vulnerability management.
Here is a list of a few positions that utilize the CompTIA PenTest+:
- Penetration tester
- Vulnerability tester
- Security analyst (II)
- Vulnerability assessment analyst
- Network security operations
- Application security vulnerability
The CompTIA PenTest+ Exam
On July 31, 2018, CompTIA launched the PenTest+ certification. This cybersecurity certification is designed for IT professionals who need to identify, exploit, report and manage vulnerabilities on a network.
The CompTIA PenTest+ exam is the only penetration testing exam given at a Pearson VUE testing center that includes both performance-based questions and multiple-choice questions in order to ensure that the candidates have the skills and knowledge necessary to perform tasks on systems.
The PenTest+ exam is unique in that it requires candidates to demonstrate their hands-on ability and knowledge to test devices in traditional desktops and servers as well as new environments such as the cloud and mobile.
After completing the PenTest+ exam successful candidates will have the skills required to customize and perform assessments and to efficiently report any findings. Candidates will also be able to communicate and recommend strategies to improve the overall state of IT security for a network.
The PenTest+ exam is designed to be a vendor-neutral certification for penetration testers. It is designed to measure current penetration testing, vulnerability assessment, and vulnerability management skills focusing on network resiliency testing. Successful candidates will prove their ability plan and scope assessments, know how to handle legal and compliance requirements, and to perform vulnerability scanning and penetration testing activities using a range of tools and techniques, as well as then analyzing the results.
This book is broken down into the following exam objectives:
These five areas include a range of subtopics, from scoping penetration tests to performing host enumeration and exploits.
CompTIA recommends that candidates have three or four years of information security-related experience before taking this exam. While there are no required prerequisites, CompTIA recommends that candidates have already taken the Security+ exam or have equivalent experience. The exam costs $349 USD.
More information regarding the PenTest+ exam and how to take it can be found at: https://certification.comptia.org/certifications/pentest.
How Do You Become CompTIA PenTest+ Certified?
Once you are prepared to take the exam, you can visit the CompTIA website to purchase your exam voucher:
https://store.comptia.org/p/CompTIAPENTEST
Once you have your voucher number you will need to contact Pearson VUE. CompTIA has partnered with Pearson VUE which has testing center locations worldwide. To locate the nearest testing center to you and to schedule your exam go to: https://home.pearsonvue .com/comptia.
Pearson VUE requires that candidates sign into their system in order to schedule exams. If you have an account, just sign in. If you do not have an account, you will need to create one.
On the day of the exam make sure to take two forms of identification and make sure to show up earlier than the exam start time to give yourself enough time to sign in. Remember that you will not be able to bring in any notes, electronic devices or other materials in with you. Either please leave them in your vehicle or the testing center will have a secure location for you to store your belongings.
After the PenTest+ Exam
Once you have completed the exam, you will know your score immediately. The testing center will hand you a copy of your score report and sign you out of the testing center. You should maintain your copy of the score report along with your exam registration records and the email address you used to register for the exam.
Maintaining Your Certification
CompTIA certifications must be renewed periodically. To renew your certification, you must either pass the most current version of the exam, earn a qualifying higher-level CompTIA or industry certification, or complete sufficient continuing education activities to earn enough Continuing Education Units (CEUs) to renew it. At the time this book was written, if using CEUs to renew the PenTest+ certification, it would cost you 60 CEUs.
CompTIA provides additional information on renewals at:
https://certification.comptia.org/continuing-education/how-to-renew
When you sign up to renew your certification, you will be asked to agree to the Continuing Education (CE) program's Code of Ethics, pay your renewal fee, and to submit the materials required for your chosen renewal method.
Using This Book to Practice
This book is organized into seven chapters.
Each chapter covers an exam objective with a variety of questions that can help you test your understanding of the PenTest+ exam objectives. The final two chapters are practice exams that can act as timed practice exams to help determine if you are ready to take the PenTest+ exam.
We recommend taking the practice exams to help identify where you may need to spend more time studying.
As you work through some of the questions in this book, you may encounter tools and technology that you are unfamiliar with. If you find that you are having difficulties, we recommend spending some extra time with books and materials that will help you delve deeper into the subject of interest. This will help fill in any gaps and help you be more prepared to take the exam.
CompTIA PenTest+ Certification Exam Objectives
This book has been written to cover PenTest+ exam objectives. The table below lists the domains measured by this exam and the extent to which they are represented.
Exam Objective Percentage of Exam
1.0 Planning and Scoping 15% 2.0 Information Gathering and Vulnerability Identification 22% 3.0 Attacks and Exploits 30% 4.0 Penetration Testing Tools 17% 5.0 Reporting and...
