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Attacking And Defending Active Directory: AD Pentesting
7,291 students
What you'll learn
- Build and configure a fully functional Active Directory Lab for security testing.
- Perform real-world Active Directory attacks used by penetration testers, red teamers, and adversaries.
- Understand and apply defensive techniques to detect, prevent, and respond to AD exploitation.
- Master tools like BloodHound, Mimikatz, Rubeus, CrackMapExec, and PowerView.
- Simulate red team vs. blue team exercises with hands-on attack and defense scenarios.
- Harden Windows infrastructure against common privilege escalation, credential theft, and lateral movement techniques.
- Develop skills for bug bounty, ethical hacking, penetration testing, and SOC analyst roles.
- Gain practical knowledge that prepares you for real-world cybersecurity jobs and certifications.
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Course content
12 sections • 95 lectures • 8h 21m total length
Requirements
- A basic understanding of Windows operating systems and computer networking.
- Familiarity with ethical hacking or system administration is helpful, but not required.
- A computer that can run virtual machines (VMware, VirtualBox, or Hyper-V).
- An eagerness to learn step by step — from setting up an AD lab to launching attacks and defenses.
- No prior Active Directory exploitation experience needed — the course is designed to be beginner-friendly but comprehensive.
Description
Embark on a cybersecurity journey with our course, "Attacking and Defending Active Directory." This comprehensive program is tailored for both cybersecurity enthusiasts and professionals seeking to master the complexities of Active Directory security and Active Directory Pentesting.
The course kicks off with fundamental topics such as Active Directory basics, authentication processes, and essential PowerShell and file transfer skills.
Gain an in-depth understanding of Active Directory structure and components.
Explore the intricacies of domains, forests, trust relationships, and organizational units.
Learn to identify and assess vulnerabilities within Active Directory configurations.
Analyze Group Policy settings and other security parameters for weaknesses.
Explore common misconfigurations and security weaknesses in Active Directory.
Develop proficiency in exploiting vulnerabilities to gain unauthorized access.
Develop strategies for securing and hardening Active Directory environments.
Understand best practices for defending against common attack techniques.
In the initial stages, participants will build a solid foundation in understanding the structure of Active Directory, exploring its components, organizational units, and trust relationships. The focus then shifts to authentication mechanisms, ensuring a secure environment for user identities and access controls. The course further hones skills in PowerShell and file transfer techniques, providing essential tools for effective penetration testing in a Windows environment for Active Directory Pentesting.
As the journey progresses, participants will delve into the heart of offensive security, learning to breach, enumerate, and exploit vulnerabilities within Active Directory environments. Engaging lectures, hands-on labs, and real-world simulations offer a dynamic learning experience. The course culminates in a comprehensive understanding of lateral movement, pivoting, persistence strategies, and advanced exploitation techniques. Throughout the program, ethical hacking principles and responsible disclosure practices are emphasized, ensuring participants are well-equipped to navigate, assess, and fortify Active Directory environments confidently.
Active Directory is the backbone of 90% of enterprise networks worldwide. Attackers target AD to escalate privileges, move laterally, and gain full domain dominance. As a defender, learning how these attacks work is the only way to stop them effectively.
In this course, you will:
Set up your own Active Directory Lab using VMware/VirtualBox.
Launch real-world AD attacks including credential dumping, Kerberoasting, Pass-the-Hash, and Golden Ticket attacks.
Defend against adversaries with security monitoring, hardening, and detection strategies.
Gain hands-on experience with popular tools like Mimikatz, BloodHound, PowerView, CrackMapExec, Rubeus, and more.
Practice red team vs. blue team scenarios to understand both attacker and defender perspectives.
By the end of this course, you’ll be able to:
Confidently execute and defend against Active Directory exploitation techniques.
Improve your organization’s AD security posture.
Boost your career prospects in ethical hacking, penetration testing, incident response, or cybersecurity engineering.
This course is perfect for:
Ethical hackers & penetration testers
Bug bounty hunters
SOC & Blue team professionals
Cybersecurity students & enthusiasts
System administrators who want to secure their AD environments
Join us in mastering the art of attacking and defending Active Directory—enroll now to elevate your cybersecurity expertise in Active Directory Pentesting!
Who this course is for:
- Ethical hackers & penetration testers who want to simulate real-world AD attacks.
- Bug bounty hunters looking to expand into enterprise-level security testing.
- SOC analysts & blue teamers who want to detect, prevent, and respond to AD exploitation.
- Red team professionals who want to sharpen their lateral movement and privilege escalation skills.
- System administrators & IT professionals who want to secure Active Directory against common attack paths.
- Cybersecurity students & beginners who want to build a solid foundation in AD security.