Summer Break 2021 Review

This summer break (June to August) was an unexpectedly busy one for me, as I embarked on an exciting journey interning as a junior penetration tester. My plan was to complete the eLearnSecurity Certified Professional Penetration Tester (eCPPTv2) coursework and exam by the end of the short summer break. However, I took a different turn by taking up an offer for a junior penetration tester internship.

During the internship period, I focused primarily on penetration testing for web applications and spent my after-work hours to work on the eCPPTv2 coursework. Fortunately, I could skip the web application security portion in the coursework as I was already gaining experience during my internship. As my summer break comes to an end, I did not manage to take the eCPPTv2 exam before school resumed. Nonetheless, the internship experience was more valuable as I got to learn from my skilled colleagues on how they approach web application penetration testing.

A key takeaway of the internship was that I learned that modern web applications are complex due to the vast number of frameworks available. The vulnerabilities taught in the courses like eCPPTv2 only go through the basics. Through this experience, it helped me to recognize that there so much more than what a certification will cover.

Finally, special thanks to the Kostya and Louis Low for the guidance during the internship.