Kali Linux If you're not using Kali Linux as your base pentesting operating system, you either have bleeding-edge knowledge and a specialized use case or you're doing it wrong. After all, why use a horse and buggy to cross the country when you can fly in a jet plane? Here are the supersonic tools that make a modern pen tester's job faster, better, and smarter. Today, though, a full suite of automated testing tools turn hackers into cyborgs, computer-enhanced humans who can test far more than ever before.

As you might expect, these are largely the same tools and techniques employed by malicious hackers.īack in ye olde days of yore, hacking was hard and required a lot of manual bit fiddling. In this article, we're going to look at one specific aspect of the pen tester's trade: the tools they use to defeat their clients' defenses. Their goal is to demonstrate where and how a malicious attacker might exploit the target network, which allows their clients to mitigate any weaknesses before a real attack occurs.įor an in-depth look at what penetration testing entails, you'll want to read our explainer on the subject.

A penetration tester, sometimes called an ethical hacker, is a security pro who launches simulated attacks against a client's network or systems in order to seek out vulnerabilities.

Top hacking tools