Network Penetration Testing Essentials (PEN-100)

Security teams need a safe, consistent way to build offensive-security fundamentals before assigning staff to higher-risk assessment work. Network Penetration Testing Essentials (PEN-100) gives IT Practitioners a structured foundation across Kali setup, Linux and Windows command lines, networking, wireless basics, scripting, monitoring, Metasploit, cryptography, web applications, and Active Directory concepts.

For an IT Director or Training Manager, this is best assigned to entry-level security staff, help desk or network admins moving toward security roles, or teams standardizing baseline knowledge before advanced penetration testing. The course is about 14 hours, 18 minutes of video, so most teams can schedule it across a focused sprint or spread it over several weeks without disrupting operations. Change-management guidance: position this as controlled, ethical skills development—not permission to test production systems without scope and authorization.

CBT Nuggets Playlists can sequence this course into an onboarding path, and Team Reporting helps Team Leads track completion and readiness for the next stage of security training.

IT teams complete this training to reduce the gap between general IT knowledge and practical security assessment work. The course emphasizes the operating systems, network concepts, scripting, and security tools that support safer, more consistent penetration-testing preparation.

• Standardize lab and tool readiness: Team members learn the basics of installing and configuring Kali and Windows environments before working with security tools.
• Improve troubleshooting during assessments: Linux, Windows, and networking basics help practitioners understand what they are seeing when traffic, services, or hosts behave unexpectedly.
• Build repeatable workflows: Bash, Python, and PowerShell scripting foundations help teams automate routine tasks instead of relying only on manual commands.
• Prepare for common security scenarios: Monitoring with Kali, Metasploit, cryptography, web application fundamentals, and Active Directory concepts give teams shared context for reconnaissance, exploitation, and post-exploitation discussions.

Knowledge

• Core PEN-100 concepts and the ethical mindset required for introductory penetration testing.
• Basic Kali Linux and Windows installation and configuration considerations.
• Linux and Windows command-line fundamentals for security work.
• Networking, Linux networking, Windows networking, and wireless networking basics.
• Foundational concepts in cryptography, web applications, and Active Directory.

Ability

• Navigate Linux and Windows environments during beginner-level security tasks.
• Interpret basic network behavior and host connectivity during assessment preparation.
• Write simple Bash, Python, and PowerShell scripts to support repeatable workflows.
• Use Kali-based monitoring concepts to observe network activity.
• Understand where tools such as Metasploit fit within reconnaissance, exploitation, and post-exploitation learning paths.