PenTest Planning & Information Gathering

This course launches the CompTIA PenTest+ Specialization with the foundational skills every professional penetration tester must master before a single packet is sent. Organized into three focused learning modules — PenTest+ Orientation and Engagement Fundamentals, Engagement Planning: Compliance, Standards & Scoping, and Reconnaissance and Information Gathering — learners develop the methodology, legal understanding, and information-gathering techniques that define a successful pen test across approximately 4 hours of expert instruction. Learners benefit by gaining the ability to scope and legally authorize a penetration test, navigate rules of engagement, apply frameworks such as MITRE ATT&CK and OWASP, and perform passive and active reconnaissance using real-world OSINT techniques and scanning tools. This course emphasizes decision-making under realistic constraints — client communication, regulatory compliance, and risk planning — skills that are as critical in the field as any exploit. By the end of this course, learners will be able to structure a professional penetration testing engagement from contract to kickoff and begin building an intelligence picture of any target environment.