Cybersecurity Red Team
Cybersecurity Red Team: Conduct a Penetration Test for a Real Startup. A 4–8 weeks Intravarsity career experience (30–50 hours) for school and undergraduate s
You'll be matched with a cybersecurity startup from Silicon Valley's ecosystem. Under their supervision, you'll learn ethical hacking methodologies, conduct a real penetration test on a designated target application, and write a professional vulnerability report — the same deliverable their clients pay thousands for.
Work with a cybersecurity startup to conduct an ethical penetration test on a real web application. Find vulnerabilities, write exploit reports, and present findings to their security team.
Who it is for
High school, secondary school students & undergraduates. Basic understanding of how websites work. No hacking experience required.
Weekly plan
Week 1: Recon & Fundamentals
- Meet the cybersecurity startup team and understand their methodology
- Learn networking fundamentals — TCP/IP, DNS, HTTP, encryption
- Set up Kali Linux and essential pentesting tools (Burp Suite, nmap)
- Perform passive and active reconnaissance on the target application
Week 2: Vulnerability Discovery
- Scan for common web vulnerabilities — XSS, SQL injection, CSRF
- Test authentication and session management weaknesses
- Exploit OWASP Top 10 vulnerabilities in the test environment
- Document each finding with severity ratings and evidence
Week 3: Advanced Exploitation & Reporting
- Attempt privilege escalation and lateral movement techniques
- Write a professional penetration test report following industry standards
- Propose remediation strategies for each vulnerability found
- Review your report with the startup's senior security analyst
Week 4: Presentation & Debrief
- Present your security findings to the startup's engineering team
- Discuss responsible disclosure and cybersecurity ethics
- Learn about career paths in cybersecurity from the startup founders
- Receive Proof-of-Work credential and security recommendation
What you produce
- Professional penetration test report
- Vulnerability assessment with severity ratings
- Remediation recommendations
- Cybersecurity startup recommendation
- Intravarsity Proof-of-Work credential
Skills
Ethical Hacking, Penetration Testing, Kali Linux, Burp Suite, Network Security, OWASP Top 10, Report Writing, Security Analysis
Commitment
~5–8 hours/week for 4–8 weeks (30–50 hours total). 100% Virtual — work remotely with a Silicon Valley security startup.