---
id: 2848
title: "What Is Penetration Testing? How Does It Work Step-by-Step?"
source_domain: hackerone.com
source_url: "https://www.hackerone.com/blog/what-penetration-testing-how-does-it-work-step-step"
published_at: "2021-06-14T17:59:53Z"
tags: ["privilege-escalation", "penetration-testing", "ethical-hacking", "security-testing", "guide"]
phying_url: "https://phying.com/item/2848"
lang: en
---

# What Is Penetration Testing? How Does It Work Step-by-Step?

## Summary

A step-by-step explainer of penetration testing: authorized attempts to breach systems, covering scoping, vulnerability scanning, privilege escalation, and physical techniques like dropped USB drives.

## Intelligence Metadata

- **Sources:** hackerone.com
- **Published:** 2021-06-14T17:59:53Z
- **Original:** https://www.hackerone.com/blog/what-penetration-testing-how-does-it-work-step-step
- **Phying News:** https://phying.com/item/2848
