All skills
Cloud Pentesting Methodology
⬢ TIER 3Technical
High
Salary impact
12 months
Time to learn
Hard
Difficulty
—
Careers
At a glance
Master cloud-native attack surfaces, IAM bypass techniques, data exfiltration paths, and reporting to help enterprises remediate before adversaries strike.
What is Cloud Pentesting Methodology
Cloud penetration testing is authorized, methodical exploitation of cloud infrastructure (AWS, Azure, GCP) to identify security weaknesses before attackers do. Unlike automated scanning, pentesters chain misconfigurations into real compromise scenarios: e.g., overpermissive IAM → privilege escalation → data exfiltration. Key attack vectors:
🔧 TOOLS & ECOSYSTEM
Pacu (AWS pentesting)ScoutSuite / CloudMapperProwler (AWS/Azure/GCP scanner)Metasploit cloud modulesBurp Suite + cloud integrationsTerraform security scanningKubernetes penetration testingNetwork security analyzers
💰 Salary by region
| Region | Junior | Mid | Senior |
|---|---|---|---|
| USA | — | — | — |
| UK | — | — | — |
| EU | — | — | — |
🎓 Certifications
Certified Ethical Hacker (CEH) Cloud Track
OSCP (Offensive Security Certified Professional)
AWS Security Fundamentals
eLearnSecurity Cloud Security Professional (eCCSP)
❓ FAQ
What's the difference between pentesting and vulnerability scanning?
Scanning = automated tools finding misconfigs. Pentesting = manual exploitation + business impact assessment + reporting. Pentesting 10x more expensive, 10x more valuable.
Is cloud pentesting more or less complex than on-prem?
More complex. You're attacking shared infrastructure, multi-tenant systems, API-first architecture. Misconfigs are subtle (overpermissive IAM, exposed S3 buckets).
What's the job market?
~2k roles (US, growing 20% YoY). Consultant/freelance = highest earnings ($150–250/hour). Staff roles in big tech = $200–300k + bonus. Shortage is real.
Do I need CEH/OSCP?
CEH = easier, more corporate accepted. OSCP = harder, more respected by elite hackers. Start CEH; move to OSCP if serious.
How legal is this?
Extremely legal if authorized. Get written scope and rules of engagement (ROE). Unauthorized = criminal. Be paranoid about scope.
Can I work from home?
Yes. Remote engagements standard. You VPN into client infrastructure, run tools, document findings.
Career ceiling?
Senior security consultant $250–350k, Principal Penetration Tester $300k+, VP Security at big tech $400k+.
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