Certified Advanced Penetration Tester

The Certified Advanced Penetration Tester (CAPT) training course is designed to enable experienced cybersecurity professionals to develop advanced technical competencies in offensive security and adversarial testing. This advanced-level course provides participants with the knowledge and skills required to conduct sophisticated penetration testing activities and to simulate real-world advanced persistent threat (APT) scenarios within modern enterprise environments.

Why Should You Attend?

As cyber threats become more sophisticated, organizations need professionals who can realistically assess and challenge modern defenses. The Certified Advanced Penetration Tester course is designed for experienced cybersecurity practitioners seeking to build advanced, hands-on skills for testing and strengthening complex enterprise environments.

The course focuses on real-world attack techniques through structured instruction and practical labs, covering advanced exploitation, modern Active Directory attacks, lateral movement, evasion, post-exploitation, and vulnerability chaining within monitored networks. Participants learn to evaluate security controls from an attacker’s perspective and conduct effective penetration testing and adversarial assessments.

Earning the PECB Certified Advanced Penetration Tester credential validates your ability to perform in-depth technical assessments, simulate advanced attack scenarios, and deliver actionable findings that support organizational risk management. Ideal for penetration testers, red team members, and senior cybersecurity professionals, this course equips you to execute advanced testing, bypass modern defenses in a controlled manner, support red and purple team exercises, and strengthen detection and response capabilities.

Who Should Attend?

This training course is intended for:

• Experienced penetration testers seeking to further develop advanced technical capabilities

• Red team members and adversary simulation analysts aiming to enhance their assessment techniques

• Security consultants responsible for conducting complex and high-impact technical assessments

• Threat hunters and incident responders seeking deeper insight into advanced attacker techniques

• Security architects and engineers involved in designing, testing, and validating security controls

• Cybersecurity professionals preparing for senior technical roles or advanced certifications that require hands-on experience in complex attack scenarios

Learning Objectives

By the end of this training course, participants will be able to:

• Execute advanced exploitation to assess hardened targets and complex attack surfaces

• Establish and maintain footholds using persistence and covert communication channels

• Apply privilege escalation and lateral movement across systems and Active Directory domains

• Employ evasion strategies to reduce detection by modern security controls and monitoring

• Plan and conduct realistic red team operations with professional reporting and remediation guidance

Educational Approach

• The course combines advanced theoretical concepts with real-world attack scenarios, ensuring participants develop a thorough understanding of modern penetration testing techniques and assessment methodologies.

• Hands-on labs and guided exercises simulate realistic enterprise environments, enabling participants to apply advanced techniques in controlled, real-life scenarios.

• Participants are encouraged to engage in discussions, collaborate with peers, and exchange professional insights to enhance understanding and practical application of course topics.

PECB offers various training course delivery formats, from traditional classroom settings to modern, technology-driven solutions. To learn more about these formats, please click here.

Prerequisites

Candidates should possess foundational experience in areas such as security assessments or ethical hacking, as this practical knowledge is integral to applying advanced concepts. Familiarity with core technical skills, including the use of the command line, understanding basic networking, and writing simple scripts is also essential.

Agenda of the Training Course

Day 1: Advanced reconnaissance and threat modeling

Day 2: Advanced web exploitation and initial access

Day 3: Post-exploitation, privilege escalation, and credential attacks

Day 4: Active Directory, windows escalation, and pivoting

Day 5: Certification exam

Examination

The “PECB Certified Advanced Penetration Tester” exam fully meets the PECB Examination and Certification Program (ECP) requirements. It covers the following competency domains:

Domain 1: Passive and active reconnaissance

Domain 2: Threat modeling and vulnerability identification

Domain 3: Exploitation and initial access techniques

Domain 4: Post-exploitation techniques and data exfiltration

Domain 5: Documentation and reporting

For specific information about the exam type, languages available, and other details, please visit the List of PECB Exams and Exam Rules and Policies.

Certification

After passing the exam, you can apply for one of the credentials in the table below. You will receive a certificate once you fulfill all the requirements of the selected credential.

The certification requirements for Certified Advanced Penetration Tester are:

The penetration testing activities should follow best practices and include the following:

• Performing internal and external penetration tests

• Identifying, validating, and documenting security vulnerabilities

• Conducting post-exploitation analysis and privilege-escalation testing

• Assessing Active Directory, network segmentation, and cloud-integrated environments

• Producing written reports with remediation guidance

For more information about the PECB certification process, please refer to Certification Rules and Policies.

General Information

• Certificate and examination fees are included in the price of the training course.

• Participants will receive more than 300 pages of comprehensive training materials, including practical examples, exercises, and quizzes.

• Participants who have attended the training course will receive an attestation of course completion worth 31 Continuing Professional Development (CPD) credits.

• Candidates who have completed the training course with one of our partners and failed the first exam attempt are eligible to retake the exam for free within a 12-month period from the course completion date, because the fee paid for the training course includes a first exam attempt and one retake. Otherwise, retake fees apply.

For more information, please get in touch with us at marketing@pecb.com or visit https://pecb.com/en/.