A bird's eye view of knowledge needs related to penetration testing
Akond Rahman, Laurie A. Williams · 2019
According to the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), penetration testing is an assessment conducted on software systems to identify vulnerabilities that could be exploited by adversaries1. Despite the importance of penetration testing in software security, practitioners search for strategies and guidance on how to get started in the domain of penetration testing. We hypothesize that practitioners have knowledge needs related to penetration testing, which can be synthesized using penetration testing-related questions posted on questions and answer (Q&A) websites. A systematic investigation can identify the knowledge needs of practitioners related to penetration testing, helping the cyber-security community in advancing the field of cyber-security education. The goal of this paper is to help cyber-security researchers in advancing the field of cyber-security education by analyzing penetration testing-related questions posted by practitioners.