Learn to think like an attacker so you can defend like a professional. This instructor-led course takes students through reconnaissance, scanning, web attacks, exploit development, Metasploit, pivoting and professional reporting, and prepares them for the EC-Council Certified Ethical Hacker (CEH v13) exam. Every exercise runs in our own isolated practice labs, never on real systems.
Level: Advanced
Ages: 16–18 and adults
Length: 12 modules, 16 lessons
Format: Live classes with hands-on labs
Instructor: Wesley Swann
Before you enroll: EC-Council sets the CEH exam eligibility rules, and candidates under 18 have extra requirements. Tech Camp for Kids is not affiliated with EC-Council. Every student signs a lab conduct agreement and only tests systems we give them written permission to test.
Ask about the next Ethical Hacking class
Lessons
- Module 01: Base Knowledge and the Ethical Hacking Discipline (Part 1 of 2)
- Module 01: Base Knowledge and the Ethical Hacking Discipline (Part 2 of 2)
- Module 02: Building Blocks for Penetration Testing
- Module 03: Hack the Face Value, Practical Reconnaissance
- Module 04: Master Your Scanning Skills (Part 1 of 2)
- Module 04: Master Your Scanning Skills (Part 2 of 2)
- Module 05: Hack in the Web Box (taught in the live class)
- Module 06: Buffer Overflows and Exploit Development (taught in the live class)
- Module 07: Vulnerability Discovery and Research (taught in the live class)
- Module 08: Mastering the Metasploit Framework (360 Degree) (taught in the live class)
- Module 09: Basic Lab Challenge, Pivoting Through a Dual-Homed Host (taught in the live class)
- Module 10: Intermediate Lab Challenge, Port Forwarding and Internal Pivoting (taught in the live class)
- Module 11: Expert Lab Challenge, Custom Buffer Overflow Exploit Development (taught in the live class)
- Module 12: Writing the Penetration Testing Report (Part 1 of 2) (taught in the live class)
- Module 12: Writing the Penetration Testing Report (Part 2 of 2)
Copyright and Authorized Usage Notice
Copyright 2027 Wesley Swann. All rights reserved.
Wesleyswann.com | Hackerscoach.com
No part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed, or transmitted in any form without prior written permission from the author.
This material is for educational purposes and authorized security testing only. Every technique in this book assumes a signed, written authorization from the owner of the target system before you run a single command against it. The author assumes no liability for misuse.
Curriculum Standards and Technical Alignment (2027 Edition)
This manual aligns with:
- EC-Council CEH v13 (AI): all 20 exam modules, AI-assisted recon, scanning and exploitation workflows, and LLM security testing.
- OWASP Top 10 (2025): code-level coverage of Broken Access Control merged with SSRF (A01:2025), Security Misconfiguration (A02:2025), Software Supply Chain Failures (A03:2025), Injection (A05:2025), and Mishandling of Exceptional Conditions (A10:2025).
- Modern tooling and frameworks: Nmap 7.99x (600+ NSE scripts), Metasploit Framework 6.5+ (Malleable C2 profiles, NTLM relaying, MITRE ATT&CK tagging, msfvenom), Rapid7 InsightVM, Tenable Nessus, Greenbone OpenVAS, ProjectDiscovery Nuclei, x64dbg, and Immunity Debugger with mona.py.
Complete 12-Module Syllabus Overview
| Module | Title | Core Focus and Lab Scope |
|---|---|---|
| 01 | Base Knowledge and the Ethical Hacking Discipline | Rules of Engagement, all 20 CEH v13 (AI) domains, CIA Triad, IPv4/TCP headers, TLS 1.3, WPA3, MITRE ATT&CK phases |
| 02 | Building Blocks for Penetration Testing | PTES 7 phases, NIST SP 800-115, black/gray/white-box testing, STRIDE, attack trees, PCI DSS v4.0 |
| 03 | Hack the Face Value: Practical Reconnaissance | WHOIS/RIR/ASN BGP mapping, DNS AXFR, Certificate Transparency, VHost fuzzing, AI-assisted OSINT triage |
| 04 | Master Your Scanning Skills | Nmap 7.99x packet mechanics, the 6 port states, timing and evasion, NSE masterclass, Lua scripting, Suricata rules |
| 05 | Hack in the Web Box | All 10 OWASP Top 10:2025 categories, Docker DVWA and PortSwigger labs, manual SQL injection, SQLMap, msfvenom |
| 06 | Buffer Overflows and Exploit Development | x86/x64 registers and assembly, x64dbg vs. Immunity/mona.py, Python 3 SLMail POP3 buffer overflow, SEH, DEP/ASLR/ROP |
| 07 | Vulnerability Discovery and Research | The Tech/People/Process triad, CVSS v4.0 math, InsightVM, Nessus, OpenVAS, custom Nuclei templates, OAST |
| 08 | Mastering the Metasploit Framework (360 Degree) | MSF 6.5+ architecture, ATT&CK tags, NTLM relay, Malleable C2, custom Ruby modules, Meterpreter and privilege escalation |
| 09 | Basic Lab Challenge: Pivoting Through a Dual-Homed Host | Multi-subnet pivoting from a dual-homed beachhead (10.10.10.15) to an isolated target (10.0.22.8), SOCKS5, CIDR math, ligolo-ng |
| 10 | Intermediate Lab Challenge: Port Forwarding and Internal Pivoting | Deceptive port redirection (139/tcp to internal 80/tcp), iptables DNAT inspection, Nginx reverse-proxy flaws |
| 11 | Expert Lab Challenge: Custom Buffer Overflow Exploit | End-to-end custom 32-bit Windows buffer overflow proof of concept from scratch, PE headers, bad-character analysis, hardware breakpoints |
| 12 | Writing the Penetration Testing Report | Executive and technical reporting guide, a complete sample report (ACME-01 through ACME-06), and the master command reference |
About the Author and Lead Instructor
Wesley Swann, 3x Microsoft Cloud Architect, Cybersecurity Architect, Ethical Hacker, AI Automation Architect
- Co-Founder and Acting CIO, AIWorkerAgency.com
- Founder and Owner, Cloud2Networks.com (Microsoft SME and Cybersecurity Architect)
- Founder and Owner, HackersCoach.com (Cybersecurity Trainer)
- Founder and Owner, My2ndWorkforce.com (AI Automation Architect)
- Founder and Owner, YourIntunePartner.com (Microsoft Intune Architect)
- Personal site: Wesleyswann.com | Training site: Hackerscoach.com
Wesley Swann has about 20 years of IT experience. He specializes in Microsoft Intune, Entra ID, Microsoft 365 security, and enterprise endpoint management, and he leads technology and security strategy at AI Worker Agency, where he makes sure every AI agent the company deploys is built on sound architecture and practical security controls.
Over the past three years, Wesley has consulted on more than 60 contracts across Microsoft 365, Azure, and cybersecurity. He has moved organizations from traditional security models to Zero Trust architectures across Microsoft 365 and Azure, and he has deployed Microsoft Purview for financial services firms, government agencies, small businesses, and private-sector organizations.
He has also migrated companies from legacy security and endpoint management platforms to Microsoft Intune, leading full deployments that included Windows Autopilot, security baselines, compliance controls, and enterprise endpoint management. He has led Intune rollouts covering more than 30,000 endpoints, and his largest Windows Autopilot program reimaged more than 35,000 devices.
His consulting work also includes penetration testing of websites and applications, security program overhauls, CIS Benchmark implementation through Microsoft Intune, cloud security, incident response, and cloud management.
Wesley is also an educator and author. He owns HackersCoach.com, where his cybersecurity courses and training have generated more than $1 million in sales. He teaches cybersecurity skills to inner-city youth at no cost, opening a path into technology and cybersecurity for students who might not otherwise get the chance.
He also volunteers with several nonprofit organizations, applying OSINT and ethical hacking skills to help efforts that identify and track child predators.
Education and Professional Certifications
Education
- Bachelor’s degree, Information Technology / Cybersecurity, Morris Brown College
- Information Technology Management, Georgia Institute of Technology
Microsoft Certifications
- Microsoft Certified: Cybersecurity Architect Expert
- Microsoft 365 Certified: Enterprise Administrator Expert
- Microsoft Certified: Azure Solutions Architect Expert
- Microsoft Certified: Security Operations Analyst Associate
- Microsoft 365 Certified: Endpoint Administrator Associate
- Microsoft Certified: Identity and Access Administrator Associate
- Microsoft Certified: Azure Administrator Associate
- Microsoft Certified: Azure Security Engineer Associate
- Microsoft 365 Certified: Security Administrator Associate
- Microsoft Certified: Information Security Administrator Associate
- MCSE: Productivity and MCSE: Messaging
- MCSA: Windows Server 2012
- Administering and Deploying System Center 2012 Configuration Manager
EC-Council Certifications
- Certified Chief Information Security Officer (CCISO)
- Licensed Penetration Tester (LPT)
- Certified Penetration Testing Professional (CPENT)
- Certified Ethical Hacker (CEH v9 and v11)
- Computer Hacking Forensic Investigator (CHFI v9)
- EC-Council Certified Incident Handler (ECIH)
- Certified Threat Intelligence Analyst (CTIA)
- Certified Network Defender (CND)
- Certified Cloud Security Engineer (CCSE)
- EC-Council Mentor
Altered Security and Other Certifications
- Certified Azure Red Team Professional (CARTP)
- ISACA Certified in Risk and Information Systems Control (CRISC)
- Certificate of Cloud Security Knowledge (CCSK), and more
Introduction
You picked up this book because you want to stop guessing and start operating. Maybe you have run a scanner, watched it spit out a report full of red and yellow bars, and had no idea which finding actually mattered. Maybe you passed a multiple-choice security exam and then froze the first time a real shell died on you mid-engagement. Maybe you are a system administrator who has been told to “think like an attacker” with no idea where to start.
This book closes that gap. It is built from twelve modules of classroom material I have taught for years, covering reconnaissance, scanning, web exploitation, buffer overflow development, vulnerability research, Metasploit, network pivoting, and the reporting work that actually gets you paid. Three of those modules are full lab challenges where you build the skill yourself instead of reading about it.
I wrote this for one kind of reader: someone willing to open a terminal, type the command, read the output, and ask why it did what it did. Every chapter assumes you already understand networking basics and can read a bit of code. What you will learn here is the mechanical judgment that separates a professional penetration tester from a person who just knows how to click “scan.”
Work through the modules in order. The lab challenges in Modules 09 through 11 build on the scanning, web, and exploit development skills from earlier chapters, and Module 12 asks you to turn everything you found in those labs into a report a client would actually pay for. Keep a lab environment running as you read. Type every command yourself. Reading about a buffer overflow and building one are not the same skill, and only one of them gets you hired.
Welcome to the discipline. Let’s get to work.