San Francisco, March 4, 2019 – CompTIA, the leading trade association for the global technology industry, and Immersive Labs, creator of the world’s most advanced cyber skills development platform, are challenging cybersecurity professionals in the United States and United Kingdom to test their penetration testing skills this month.
The two organizations today launched the pen test challenge on the opening day of RSA® Conference 2019, the world's leading information security event taking place here this week. Representatives of both CompTIA and Immersive Labs are on site this week at RSA.
“Penetration testing, if done right, is a proven and valuable activity that all organizations should engage in,” said Dr. James Stanger, chief technology evangelist at CompTIA. “Unfortunately pen tests are too often done by rote simply to check a box on a compliance form.
“The true value of a pen test occurs when the testers have adequate skills, and when additional security teams use the pen test results to improve procedures and security controls,” Stanger continued. “Our challenge is designed to provide cybersecurity pros with a chance to hone their pen testing skills and have some fun at the same time.”
"It's great to partner with a such a respected training and global certification provider,” said James Hadley, CEO of Immersive Labs. “We want our gamified and intelligence powered labs to inspire the continuous development of cyber security professionals.”
The CompTIA / Immersive Labs Pen Test Challenge is open to anyone over the age of 18 residing in the U.S. or UK. To enter the competition visit immersivelabs.com/comptia-competition. You’ll receive a verification email with instructions on how to log in to the Immersive Labs platform to begin the challenge.
Once registered, all participants are automatically entered into a prize drawing. Two winners will be selected by random draw performed by a computer process after the close of the competition on Friday, March 24.
Winners will have their choice of:
- The CompTIA Pentest+ Bundle, including CertMaster Learn, a comprehensive, self-paced eLearning program for exam preparation that uses videos, assessment and performance-based questions; CertMaster Practice, and adaptive knowledge assessment that determines what you’ve already mastered and what you still need to learn to improve confidence and increase retention before taking an exam; and an exam voucher, or
- A CompTIA Certification Exam Voucher for the certification of their choice.
Winners will be notified by email. Prizes are non-exchangeable, no-transferable and no cash alternate is offered.
CompTIA PenTest+ certification is designed for cybersecurity professionals tasked with penetration testing and vulnerability management. The CompTIA PenTest+ exam is unique in its use of both hands-on, performance-based questions and multiple-choice questions, ensuring that each candidate possesses the skills, knowledge and ability to perform tasks on systems. The exam also includes management skills used to plan, scope, and manage weaknesses, not just exploit them.
About CompTIA
The Computing Technology Industry Association (CompTIA) is a leading voice and advocate for the $5 trillion global information technology ecosystem; and the more than 50 million industry and tech professionals who design, implement, manage, and safeguard the technology that powers the world’s economy. Through education, training, certifications, advocacy, philanthropy, and market research, CompTIA is the hub for advancing the tech industry and its workforce. www.comptia.org.
About Immersive Labs
Founder James Hadley had the initial idea after instructing GCHQ’s Cyber Summer School, teaching 18-25-year-old students everything from evasion to penetration testing over a ten-week period. He noticed the classes with the highest success rate were the ethical hacking challenges featuring games, which enabled students to solve problems, as opposed to sitting passively in a classroom. Just two years later, the company has grown from just two people to 65 globally. Immersive Labs has offices in Bristol, London and New York.
For more information on Immersive Labs’ offering, please visit www.immersivelabs.com.
Contact:
Steven Ostrowski
CompTIA
+1 (630) 678-8468