{"id":326,"date":"2025-04-27T14:35:46","date_gmt":"2025-04-27T14:35:46","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sites.wp.odu.edu\/potts\/?p=326"},"modified":"2025-04-27T14:46:34","modified_gmt":"2025-04-27T14:46:34","slug":"career-paper","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sites.wp.odu.edu\/potts\/2025\/04\/27\/career-paper\/","title":{"rendered":"Career Paper"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Introduction and BLUF<\/strong> <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Penetration testers are the \u201cgood guys\u201d of the hacker world, also known as ethical hackers. Their main job is to identify weaknesses and vulnerabilities within a company\u2019s cybersecurity practices. These vulnerabilities can range from human errors and lack of cyber awareness training to technical and physical vulnerabilities (Beaver, 2025).  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Penetration Testers and The Social Sciences<\/strong> <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Pentration testers primarily rely on psychology and sociology within the social science realm. While pen testers do conduct a lot of technical work and physical hacking, sometimes they must improvise and rely on human behavior to properly conduct their investigations. For example, pen testers may send out phishing emails to lure individuals into clicking on a link that would install malware onto the computer, allowing the pen tester access to the user\u2019s computer. Additionally, pen testers may conduct what is called honeytrapping. Honeytrapping is where the pen tester will create a fake profile online to deceive the victim into trusting them and then stealing their personal information (Awati, 2024). Both techniques are good examples that demonstrate how understanding how humans think and interact with each other are vital to being successful in the role.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Along with the psychology aspect, many pen testers are required to be great improvisors and be able to think quickly on their feet. In some instances, pen testers have to figure out ways to gain physical access to a building. To do this, they must be good with people and able to quickly read a situation to make the next best move and continue to properly conduct their investigation.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Another social science that closely ties into the role of a penetration tester is criminology. Ironically, the sole job of a penetration tester is to see if they can commit cybercrimes against the companies and businesses that hire them. But it isn\u2019t quite illegal considering they are hired specifically to locate and help remedy vulnerabilities within the company\u2019s cybersecurity framework.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The research conducted within psychology, sociology, and criminology all aid in penetration testers successfully conducting their jobs.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Penetration Testing and Society at Large<\/strong> <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The role of a penetration tester plays a vital role within society. It serves as a sort of check and balance to ensure companies aren\u2019t abusing their consumers\u2019 trust and are properly safeguarding their information. Additionally, pen testers ensure that a company’s employees are properly managing information. Cyberattacks can occur not only to users but also to companies and employees. By pen testers conducting their own analysis and investigation, it ensures companies are properly handling information and are conducting their work properly under a good cybersecurity program. When companies hire pen testers, they are improving the public’s trust with their company. Ultimately pen testing is crucial to protecting the information and safety of vulnerable groups (\u201cWhat is Penetration Testing?\u201d, n.d.). <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Conclusion <\/strong> <\/p>\n\n\n\n

In conclusion, not only is penetration testing a fun and exciting role, but it is also very important in making sure companies are handling their cybersecurity program correctly. Pen testers serve as a sort of line of defense. Without the knowledge and experience pen testers possess, there would be no entity to double check the work of these companies. The vulnerabilities that pen testers find can make all the difference to a company and its consumers. Of course it is an additional cost for companies, but the result of peace of mind is completely worth it.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Works Cited\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Awati, R. (2024, May 6). What is social engineering penetration testing?: Definition from TechTarget<\/em>. WhatIs. https:\/\/www.techtarget.com\/whatis\/definition\/social-engineering-penetration-testing<\/a> <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Beaver, K. (Ed.). (2025, February 17). Become a pen tester: The Essential Guide<\/em>. Cybersecurity Guide. https:\/\/cybersecurityguide.org\/careers\/penetration-tester\/<\/a> <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Penetration testing: Core security<\/em>. What is Penetration Testing? | A Comprehensive Overview. (n.d.). https:\/\/www.coresecurity.com\/penetration-testing#:~:text=Penetration%20testing%20helps%20organizations%20address,gain%20access%20to%20sensitive%20data<\/a>. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Introduction and BLUF  Penetration testers are the \u201cgood guys\u201d of the hacker world, also known as ethical hackers. Their main job is to identify weaknesses and vulnerabilities within a company\u2019s cybersecurity practices. These vulnerabilities can range from human errors and lack of cyber awareness training to technical and physical vulnerabilities (Beaver, 2025).   Penetration Testers and […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":30269,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"hide_page_title":"","footnotes":"","wds_primary_category":0},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites.wp.odu.edu\/potts\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/326"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites.wp.odu.edu\/potts\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites.wp.odu.edu\/potts\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.wp.odu.edu\/potts\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/30269"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.wp.odu.edu\/potts\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=326"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/sites.wp.odu.edu\/potts\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/326\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":343,"href":"https:\/\/sites.wp.odu.edu\/potts\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/326\/revisions\/343"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites.wp.odu.edu\/potts\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=326"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.wp.odu.edu\/potts\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=326"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.wp.odu.edu\/potts\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=326"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}