PentestHint Certified Penetration Testing Associate (PH-CPTA)

About PH-CPTA

PentestHint Certified Penetration Testing Associate, PH-CPTA, is a Level 2 certification program for learners who want to move from cybersecurity fundamentals into practical penetration testing foundations. The program is designed for beginners, students, IT professionals, career switchers, developers, system administrators, freshers preparing for internships, and PH-CSF certified candidates who want a structured next step.

The 3-month live instructor-led format includes 48 live classes from Monday to Thursday, one hour live sessions, more than 45 hours of training, lifetime access to class recordings, one year of PentestHint Academy access, hands-on labs, notes, lab manuals, assignments, weekly quizzes, resume review, mock interview support, and the PH-CPTA exam.

Program Outcomes

• Understand how cybersecurity assessments are performed across web applications, networks, mobile apps, wireless networks, and cloud basics
• Build comfort with Linux, Windows, networking, virtualization, cryptography, reconnaissance, scanning, enumeration, and reporting
• Practice tools such as Kali Linux, Nmap, Burp Suite, Wireshark, Postman, MobSF, JADX, APKTool, ADB, Frida, Objection, BloodHound, ffuf, dirsearch, Nikto, WhatWeb, Gobuster, SQLMap, and Aircrack-ng
• Complete assignments, weekly quizzes, practical labs, and a guided final capstone project
• Prepare a professional report with evidence, business impact, CVSS basics, remediation notes, and career-ready project explanation

Course Curriculum

• Cybersecurity Foundations: CIA Triad, security domains, threat landscape, career roadmap, and risk basics
• Computer, Linux and Windows Basics: operating systems, CLI, permissions, services, logs, PowerShell, users and groups
• Networking Fundamentals: OSI model, TCP/IP, IP addressing, DNS, DHCP, HTTP and HTTPS, SSH, FTP, VPN, and Wireshark
• Virtualization and Lab Setup: VMware, VirtualBox, Kali Linux, Ubuntu, Windows lab, snapshots, NAT, bridged and host-only networks
• Cryptography Basics: encoding, hashing, encryption, certificates, SSL/TLS, PKI, digital signatures, and JWT basics
• Ethical Hacking Methodology: scope, rules of engagement, reconnaissance, enumeration, exploitation basics, evidence, and reporting
• Reconnaissance and OSINT: WHOIS, DNS recon, subdomain discovery, Google dorking, GitHub recon, and Shodan basics
• Network Scanning and Enumeration: Nmap, service detection, banner grabbing, SMB, FTP, SSH, SNMP, RDP, and basic vulnerability identification
• Web Application Security and OWASP Top 10: requests, responses, cookies, sessions, authentication, authorization, Burp Suite, SQL Injection, XSS, IDOR, broken access control, file upload, SSRF, command injection, and misconfiguration
• API, Mobile, Wi-Fi, Active Directory and Cloud Basics: REST APIs, JSON, Swagger, JWT, OAuth basics, Android architecture, MobSF, JADX, APKTool, ADB, SSL pinning concept, Frida, Objection, 802.11, WPA/WPA2/WPA3, BloodHound introduction, AWS and Azure IAM basics, and cloud misconfiguration examples
• Reporting, Career and Final Project: VAPT report writing, CVSS basics, business impact, remediation, resume building, LinkedIn profile, mock interview, and final capstone assessment

Certification Path and Pricing

PH-CPTA sits after Level 1 PH-CSF Security Fundamentals and before future specialization tracks for web, mobile, network, cloud, and red team learning paths. The regular program fee is INR 24,999. PH-CSF certified candidates can enroll at INR 19,999 after certificate verification, saving INR 5,000. The pricing includes 48 live classes, more than 45 hours of training, lifetime recording access, 1-year academy membership, PH-CPTA exam, certificates, labs, assignments, and career support.

Certificates and Final Project

Students receive PH-CPTA certification, a course completion certificate, and an internship experience certificate after completing assigned practical tasks and eligibility criteria. The guided capstone project includes reconnaissance, scanning, web testing, network enumeration, mobile or Wi-Fi basics, evidence collection, and professional report submission. The goal is to help learners practice the assessment workflow and explain their work in a resume, portfolio, or interview conversation.

Frequently Asked Questions

Talk to PentestHint

Contact PentestHint to discuss scope, business context, timelines, evidence requirements, and practical next steps for improving security posture.