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Interview series
Penetration Testing and Offensive Techniques
Security

Penetration Testing Methodology and Attack Lifecycle

TechnicalMedium~30 minDesigned by experts

About this interview

A technical interview on Penetration Testing and Offensive Techniques, pitched at the medium level. A voice AI interviewer leads the conversation, adapts its questions to your answers, keeps you on topic, and afterward gives you honest, specific feedback on where you were strong and where to improve. Expect roughly 30 minutes.

What you'll be assessed on

Describe the phases of a penetration test: reconnaissance, scanning, exploitation, post-exploitation, reporting
Explain passive vs active reconnaissance techniques and OSINT gathering methods
Articulate common privilege escalation paths on Linux and Windows systems
Describe how password cracking, hash attacks, and credential stuffing work
Explain the legal and ethical boundaries that govern authorized pen testing engagements

Topics covered

pentest fundamentalspentest methodologylegal and ethical boundariesreconnaissancescanning and enumerationcredential attackspost-exploitationprivilege escalationdefense evasionlateral movementcredential accessactive directory attackscommand and controladversarial emulation

A few sample questions

Just examples to set expectations - the real interview has many more and adapts to your responses.

Walk me through what penetration testing actually is — how would you explain it to a new team member who has a software background but no security experience?
What is a rainbow table attack, and how does password salting defeat it? Why do modern systems still get compromised through hash cracking?
What are your legal obligations if you discover evidence of an active breach by a third-party threat actor during an authorized penetration test?

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