Penetration Testing Expert Interview Questions & Answers

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Penetration Testing Expert is an IT professional specialized in vulnerability assessment and penetration testing programs and responsible for the design and performance of application security robustness tests.

Whether you're a job seeker preparing to be interviewed for the role of Penetration Testing Expert or an employer preparing to interview candidates for Penetration Testing Expert position, these Penetration Testing Expert interview questions will help you prepare yourself for the job interview session.

Penetration Testing Expert Interview Questions

Below are a list of some skill-based Penetration Testing Expert interview questions.

1. Explain the Advantages of Penetration Testing
2. Explain the Phases of Penetration Testing 
3. Talk about Your Penetration Testing Experience
4. Explain the Most Difficult Penetration Test You Have Experienced 
5. Explain the Term “Vulnerability” 
6. What are some of the most common vulnerabilities you have identified in your previous penetration testing work?
7. Explain How Data Is Protected During and after Penetration Testing 
8. How would you approach a penetration test if you were given a very limited time frame to complete the work?
9. Explain the Term “Intrusion Detection”
10. What is the difference between a black box penetration test and a white box penetration test?
11. What Are the Possible Causes of Security Vulnerabilities? 
12. If you were given access to a system and you found that it was not vulnerable to any of the attacks you performed, how would you adjust your strategy?
13. Explain How Risk Analysis and Penetration Testing Are Different from Each Other
14. What would you do if you found a vulnerability in a system but you did not have the technical skills to exploit it?
15. Explain the Tools You Will Use for Penetration Testing
16. How well do you understand the concept of privilege escalation and what steps would you take to escalate privileges if you found a vulnerability?
17. Do You Have Any Penetration Testing Certification?
18. Do you have experience using the Burp Suite tool? If so, what are some of its most useful features?
19. Does Penetration Testing Break a System?
20. When performing a penetration test, what is the appropriate level of authorization to use?
21. Do I Still Need Penetration Testing Although My Data Is in the Cloud?
22. We want to test our system’s resilience to a zero-day attack. What types of vulnerabilities would you look for to exploit a zero-day vulnerability?
23. Outline the Systems on Which Penetration Testing Can Be Performed
24. Describe your process for reporting vulnerabilities to clients.
25. What makes a good penetration test report?
26. Should Penetration Testing Be a Routine Test?
27. Can Penetration Testing Disrupt a Company’s Network of Operations?
28. There is a risk that your penetration test will expose vulnerabilities in the system. How would you reassure the client before starting the test?
29. Is Penetration Testing Still Important If the Company Has a Firewall? 
30. Which penetration testing frameworks do you have experience using?
31. Why Should Penetration Testing Be Carried out by a Third Party?
32. What Are the Legal Steps Involved in Penetration Testing?
33. How often should a company conduct penetration tests?
34. Can Penetration Testing Be Automated?
35. Explain the Term “STRIDE”
36. Could you describe XSS?
37. What is data packet sniffing?
38. What types of malware have you found when testing for penetration?
39. How do you explain highly technical terms and threats to leadership?
40. What is an SSL/TSL connection?
41. What's your experience with a Diffie-Hellman exchange?
42. What is file enumeration and why is it important?
43. How do you test penetration with encrypted emails?
44. How does social engineering relate to penetration testing?
45. What auditing software have you used?
46. Could you explain CSRF?
47. What is a SQL injection?
48. Are you familiar with other types of cybersecurity testing?
49. Describe a time when you involved a third party to help with penetration testing.
50. What is threat modeling?
51. Do you have experience using the common vulnerability scoring system?
52. What are the common attackers you might experience?
53. How do you handle privilege escalation?
54. Are you familiar with port scanning software tools?
55. What different approaches do you use for wireless and wired connections?
56. What do you think is the most important skill for a penetration testing expert to have?

Penetration Testing Expert Interview Questions and Answers

Every interview is different and the questions may vary. However, there are lots of general questions that get asked at every interview.

Below are some common questions you'd expect during Penetration Testing Expert interviews. Click on each question to see how to answer them.

1. What is Your Greatest Strength?
2. What is Your Salary Expectation?
3. What Is Your Greatest Accomplishment?
4. What is Your Greatest Weakness?
5. Why Do You Want This Job?
6. Why Do You Want To Leave Your Current Job?
7. Tell Me About Yourself
8. Why Should We Hire You?
9. Do You Have Any Questions for Us?
10. Are You a Leader or a Follower?

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