CompTIA PenTest+ vs. EC Council’s CEH

CompTIA PenTest+ and EC Council’s CEH are intermediate-level certifications validating offensive security skills. The content of these certifications looks similar and makes it difficult to decide which one to choose as a career path. We have crafted an in-depth article that explores the key differences between PenTest+ and CEH certifications to help you make an informed decision. Gain valuable insights from this comprehensive guide and discover which certification aligns better with your professional aspirations in the field of cybersecurity.

Table of Contents

What is CompTIA’s PenTest+ Certification?
Job Roles for CompTIA PenTest+
CompTIA PenTest+ Exam Details
What is EC Council’s CEH Certification?
Job Roles for EC-Council’s CEH
CEH Certification Exam Details
Difference between CompTIA PenTest+ and EC Council’s CEH
CompTIA PenTest+ Vs. EC Council’s CEH: Which One to Choose?

What is CompTIA’s PenTest+ Certification?

CompTIA PenTest+ certification is designed for cybersecurity professionals responsible for identifying, exploiting, managing, and reporting vulnerabilities by performing penetration testing and vulnerability assessment on the organization’s network. It mainly focuses on the offensive security skills required to conduct comprehensive penetration testing.

This certification helps to achieve an in-depth understanding of penetration testing objectives such as:

• Planning and Scoping: Explains the importance of planning for penetration testing engagement
• Information Gathering and Vulnerability Identification: Collecting information using appropriate techniques to perform and analyze a vulnerability assessment
• Attacks and Exploits: Perform network attacks, application-based attacks, wireless attacks, and other common attacks to identify security gaps
• Penetration Testing Tools: Use various penetration testing tools, such as Nmap, Wireshark, Metasploit, Burp Suite, etc., to identify exploitable vulnerabilities in the network
• Reporting and Communicating: Reports and communicate with the management team to develop recommended mitigation techniques for identified vulnerabilities

Experience Requirements

The prerequisite for CompTIA PenTest+ certification is to possess a minimum of three to four years of experience in the information security field.

Job Roles for CompTIA PenTest+

After acquiring the CompTIA PenTest+ certification, the following are the demanding job roles you can choose:

1. Penetration Tester
2. Security Analyst
3. Security Consultant
4. Vulnerability Analyst
5. Web Application Penetration Tester

CompTIA PenTest+ Exam Details

What is EC Council’s CEH Certification?

The EC Council’s Certified Ethical Hacker (CEH) certification is an essential and demanding certification designed for cybersecurity professionals. It validates the offensive security skills required to understand the target system’s security vulnerabilities and proficiency in hacking methods and tools. They perform legal security activities such as breaking into a target system to find vulnerabilities in the system.

Ethical Hacker plays a prominent role in identifying the security vulnerabilities in the system and has these key responsibilities for identifying and addressing them:

• Find potential vulnerabilities and security gaps in the organization’s network
• Perform various vulnerability assessments on the system
• Document a report which includes all the findings, such as vulnerabilities, bugs, and security gaps
• Ensure that the information on identified vulnerabilities is secure and confidential and can be shared with an appropriate person
• Resolve the security vulnerabilities to protect the organization’s network from cyber attacks

Experience Required

The experience requirement for CEH certification is to have at least two years of hands-on experience in the information security domain.

Job Roles for EC-Council’s CEH

After acquiring the CEH certification, the candidate will possess the necessary skills required for the following job roles:

1. Information Security Analyst
2. Penetration Tester
3. Security Auditor
4. Vulnerability Tester
5. Cybersecurity Analyst

CEH Exam Details

Difference between CompTIA PenTest+ and EC Council’s CEH

Penetration testing is a process of assessing security that mainly focuses on the specified area in the organization’s network or a system for testing. In contrast, ethical hacking is a process that involves an authorized attempt to hack a target system or application to identify security gaps and vulnerabilities. It helps to resolve the identified security vulnerabilities before exploitation.

The key differences between the roles of Penetration Tester and Ethical Hacker are as follows:

• Penetration Tester evaluates the system’s security to identify vulnerabilities, whereas the Ethical Hacker legally breaks into the system to identify security gaps and vulnerabilities.
• Penetration testing is a one-time process with limited duration, whereas ethical hacking is a continuous process until it finds a security vulnerability in the system.
• Penetration Tester uses three types of testing: Black-box, white-box, and gray-box, whereas Ethical Hacker uses various hacking methods and tools.
• Penetration Tester does not require to work on incident handling and security configuration, but an Ethical Hacker should assist the incident handling team in validating the incident.
• Penetration Tester has less visibility regarding the organization’s security infrastructure, whereas, Ethical Hackers possess high visibility of the organization’s security infrastructure.

CompTIA PenTest+ Vs. EC Council’s CEH: Which One to Choose?

Both PenTest+ and CEH are well-popular and demanding certifications. Although they possess similar content, the skills required, job roles, and responsibilities differ. A Penetration Tester does not possess the skill to become an Ethical Hacker. However, an Ethical Hacker can become a Penetration Tester, as penetration testing is one of the functions of an Ethical Hacker.

If you are aspiring to become a Penetration Tester, CompTIA Pentest+ is the best certification that you can choose. If you are already a Pen Tester and want to become an Ethical Hacker, EC Council’s CEH certification is the best option to advance your career.

How can InfosecTrain help?

InfosecTrain is a global-leading provider of IT certification training and other customized training specializing in information security and cybersecurity domains. It offers instructor-led certification training programs on CompTIA PenTest+ and EC-Council’s CEH certifications which helps you to achieve a complete understanding of methods, tools, and techniques used to identify vulnerabilities in the organization’s system. Check out and enroll now!

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AUTHOR
Emaliya Keerthana
Content Writer

“ Emaliya Keerthana working as a Content Writer at InfosecTrain. She likes to explore the latest technology. She writes on emerging IT-related topics and is passionate about sharing her thoughts through blogs. “