This program equips aspiring penetration testers, security analysts, vulnerability management professionals, and IT security practitioners with the structured methodologies and practical skills required to identify, validate, and remediate security weaknesses in enterprise environments. You will begin by exploring the principles of ethical hacking, understanding the phases of penetration testing, and applying reconnaissance techniques to map attack surfaces responsibly. Through controlled demonstrations and structured analysis, you will learn how to identify exposed services, interpret vulnerability findings, and differentiate true risk from scanner noise.

Penetration Testing and Vulnerability Scanning

Recommended experience
What you'll learn
Analyze attack surfaces through reconnaissance, host discovery, and network scanning techniques.
Evaluate identified vulnerabilities using risk scoring models and contextual business impact.
Apply network and web scanning tools such as Nmap and Nikto to assess exposure.
Design structured vulnerability management and remediation workflows for enterprise systems.
Details to know

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February 2026
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There are 4 modules in this course
Build a strong foundation in ethical hacking and vulnerability assessment by understanding how attackers discover and exploit system weaknesses. Learn to apply structured penetration testing methodologies, perform reconnaissance and scanning to map attack surfaces, and evaluate vulnerabilities using industry scoring models and contextual risk factors. Through hands-on practice, you will analyze assessment results, distinguish real risks from scanner noise, and conduct responsible, standards-aligned security testing.
What's included
16 videos8 readings4 assignments
Advance your ethical hacking skills by performing controlled network and web exploitation simulations to validate real security risks. Learn to analyze service enumeration results, identify protocol weaknesses, and map attack paths across network infrastructures. Apply OWASP-aligned testing techniques to assess web application defenses, validate vulnerabilities through hands-on exploitation, and distinguish exploitable findings from false positives.
What's included
10 videos4 readings3 assignments
Implement from vulnerability discovery to structured risk reduction by designing and operating effective vulnerability management programs. Learn how to automate patching and remediation workflows, validate fixes through logging and controls, and govern vulnerabilities using policies, metrics, and SLAs. Build dashboards and reports that clearly communicate risk posture, remediation progress, and security improvements to stakeholders.
What's included
10 videos4 readings3 assignments
This module is designed to assess an individual on the various concepts and teachings covered in this course. Evaluate your knowledge with a comprehensive graded quiz.
What's included
1 video1 reading2 assignments1 discussion prompt
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Frequently asked questions
This course is ideal for aspiring penetration testers, vulnerability analysts, SOC professionals, and IT security practitioners.
No. Foundational cybersecurity knowledge is helpful, but the course builds structured ethical hacking skills step by step.
Yes. You will perform host discovery, service enumeration, and web exposure analysis using industry-standard tools.
More questions
Financial aid available,
¹ Some assignments in this course are AI-graded. For these assignments, your data will be used in accordance with Coursera's Privacy Notice.


