CMIT 386: Penetration Testing and Cyber Red Teaming

Penetration Testing and Cyber Red Teaming is designed to help prepare for the CompTIA PenTest+ exam — performing a full penetration test using the PTES methodology.

What CMIT 386 covers

(Designed to help prepare for the CompTIA PenTest+ certification exam.) Prerequisites: CMIT 291 or CMIT 391 (or CompTIA Linux+ or Linux Professional Institute LPIC-1 certification) and CMIT 321 (or EC-Council Certified Ethical Hacker certification). An introduction to the concepts and skills necessary to perform penetration testing and red teaming.

The goal is to use penetration testing techniques—based on the Penetration Testing Execution Standard (PTES), including pre-engagement interactions, intelligence gathering, threat modeling, vulnerability analysis, exploitation, post-exploitation, and reporting—to perform a penetration test and present findings to management. Topics include tools, such as KALI Linux and the Metasploit Framework, that can be used for penetration testing and strategies for red teaming.

Typical CMIT 386 assignments

Expect a hands-on assignment requiring you to conduct a penetration test following the PTES methodology and present findings in a management-ready report.

Key topics in CMIT 386

• Penetration Testing Execution Standard (PTES)
• KALI Linux and Metasploit Framework
• Vulnerability analysis and exploitation
• Reporting findings to management

Writing tips for CMIT 386

Follow the assignment instructions and rubric line by line

UMGC assignments for CMIT 386 are graded against a specific rubric or grading criteria your instructor provides — every requirement has to be visibly addressed. Skipping a requirement because it seems minor is one of the most common reasons a strong submission loses points.

Document lab work step by step, not just the final result

CMIT courses like CMIT 386 are heavily lab-based and often certification-aligned — evaluators want to see the actual configuration steps, commands, or tool output that got you to the result, not just a final screenshot or conclusion.

Ground your work in the specific technology or platform named in the assignment

Many CMIT courses are tied to a specific vendor platform (Cisco, AWS, Azure, Red Hat) with its own terminology and tools. Using generic networking or security language instead of the platform-specific terms the assignment expects is one of the fastest ways to lose points.

Why students seek help with CMIT 386

Students sometimes present technical exploitation results without translating them into the management-ready report format the course requires — the rubric typically wants that business-facing translation shown, not raw technical output alone.

How GradeEssays helps with CMIT 386

Share your penetration testing assignment and rubric, and your writer will build a management-ready report following the PTES methodology, not raw technical output alone.

Prerequisites and course context

CMIT 386 requires CMIT 291 or CMIT 391 (or CompTIA Linux+/LPIC-1 certification) AND CMIT 321 (or EC-Council Certified Ethical Hacker certification) — a dual prerequisite spanning both the Linux and ethical hacking tracks.

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