Most pentest training stops at the scan. You end up with a wall of open ports, a vulnerability count, and no idea which one actually matters. The job starts after that.

Tonight we take one target from cold start to shell in 90 minutes. Recon, enumeration, the decision about what to attack, and the exploit that lands, using Kali and Metasploit the way you would use them on a real engagement. It's a lab target we own, and nothing is pre-baked. Open Kali and follow along, or watch and take notes.

This one is network-wide. HQ in the DMV, Atlanta, and South Florida on the same call.

🎯 What We'll Cover
\- What a pentester actually does — the phases of an engagement\, and the scope and rules of engagement that come before any scan
\- Recon and enumeration live — running nmap against the target and reading the output like an operator instead of a scanner
\- From finding to foothold — picking the one service worth attacking and landing a shell with Metasploit
\- The note you write afterward — because the report is what the client pays for

Hosted by Tyrone E. Wilson, founder of Cover6 Solutions, 30 years in IT and cybersecurity.

Scheduling note: we're on Tuesday this week because Wednesday belongs to the in-person Meet & Greet in the DMV.

📺 Watch live on YouTube: https://youtu.be/Y6r9E0YIHto
📝 Get a head start: read the Pentester Roadmap 2026 on our blog: https://www.cover6solutions.com/penetration-tester-roadmap-2026/

🧭 Find your path
\- Not sure pentesting is your lane? Take the free career path assessment: https://www\.cover6solutions\.com/career\-path/
\- Keep practicing after tonight with Pentester Prep Labs: https://www\.cover6solutions\.com/product/pentester\-prep\-labs/
\- Prep for the certs on this path:
• PenTest+: https://www.cover6solutions.com/product/comptia-pentest-pt0-003-practice-exam-3/
• CEH: https://www.cover6solutions.com/product/ec-council-ceh-practice-exam/
\- Browse every Cover6 course: https://www\.cover6solutions\.com/courses/

📬 Get The 6, our free weekly cybersecurity brief, every Monday: https://www.cover6solutions.com/the6/
🔗 Every Cover6 link in one place: https://www.cover6solutions.com/links/

🎤 Want to speak at a future meetup? https://sessionize.com/cover6community

Rep the community → https://www.cover6solutions.com/product/cover6-shield-unisex-t-shirt/
Grab a Cover6 Shield tee and show up repping the community that helped get you here.

🤝 Hiring entry-level security talent, or want your brand in front of people building into this field? Sponsorship and hiring conversations start at info@cover6solutions.com

Cover6 Community

Tyrone E. Wilson

David

Zo J.

Fatima

caroline.e.hilbert

gmalik1342

Chandrashekar

Mina

Suraj Patil

Sharath Manuel

Eileen Davis (Scott)

John Samedy

Jason M

Adonai Kay

KC003

William Blair

Housin Eng

Mr Shan

badriyoussouf

Pentester Fundamentals: From Recon to Shell

Online event

No agenda. No slides. No pitch. Three hours of the DMV security community in one room.

Note the day — this one's a Wednesday, not our usual Friday.

Come as you are: twenty-year practitioners, first-cert students, career changers, hiring managers. The conversations that actually move careers don't happen in a lecture — they happen standing around with a drink in your hand, talking to someone who's two years ahead of you.

🎯 What to Expect
\- Pure open networking — no presentations\, no agenda
\- Practitioners\, newcomers\, students\, and hiring managers from across the DMV
\- Good energy\, familiar faces\, and plenty of new ones
\- Drinks right there if you want one

🅿️ Parking: in the hotel garage
🚇 Metro accessible — Blue/Yellow Line, Crystal City Station

🔗 Stay connected:
\- Cover6 Solutions: https://www\.cover6solutions\.com
\- YouTube \(live streams \+ replays\): https://www\.youtube\.com/@Cover6Solutions
\- Courses and certification prep: https://cover6solutions\.com/courses/

🎤 Submit a talk/demo: https://www.papercall.io/cover6community

🤝 Want your brand in front of 9,900+ cybersecurity professionals? Sponsorship packages are available — info@cover6solutions.com

Rep the community → https://www.cover6solutions.com/product/cover6-shield-unisex-t-shirt/
Grab a Cover6 Shield tee and show up repping the community that helped get you here.

Julio T.

Dave Chakrabarti

kartikkalakuntla1

Yebsira Gebisa

Dani

Alex C.

majdajam19

amad.jalloh1

Merry

Nishant Nichani

Kate R

Dylan W

soufyan

T. I

isidorlacy

Rachel Catchment

The Cover6 Community Meet & Greet

The National Landing Hotel

Two weeks ago we sat in the SOC and watched real attack traffic hit a live SIEM. Last week we went the other way and took a target from recon to shell. Tonight we put both seats in the same room.

We run one attack against a lab target we own, then switch chairs and hunt for it. What did the attacker leave behind? Which log caught it? Which one didn't, and why? You'll see the same event from both sides, and you'll see why each side gets better by watching the other one work.

This year's Cybersecurity Awareness Month theme is "Don't Make It Easy for Them." Tonight you'll see what that looks like from both sides of the keyboard.

This one is network-wide. HQ in the DMV, Atlanta, and South Florida on the same call.

🎯 What We'll Cover
\- The attack\, step by step: recon\, the foothold\, and what the attacker did once they were in
\- The defense\, same timeline: the alerts and log lines each step produced in Splunk
\- The gaps: what the defender missed the first time\, and the detection that closes it
\- How to practice both sides at home\, and which one to start with

Hosted by Tyrone E. Wilson, founder of Cover6 Solutions, 30 years in IT and cybersecurity.

📺 Watch live on YouTube: https://youtu.be/1H84MGRpGOU
📝 Get a head start: read both roadmaps on our blog before the session:
\- SOC Analyst Roadmap 2026: https://www\.cover6solutions\.com/soc\-analyst\-roadmap\-2026/
\- Pentester Roadmap 2026: https://www\.cover6solutions\.com/penetration\-tester\-roadmap\-2026/

🧭 Find your path
\- Not sure which side is yours? Take the free career path assessment: https://www\.cover6solutions\.com/career\-path/
\- Practice the defense: SOC Analyst Prep Labs: https://www\.cover6solutions\.com/product/soc\-analyst\-prep\-labs/
\- Practice the attack: Pentester Prep Labs: https://www\.cover6solutions\.com/product/pentester\-prep\-labs/
\- Browse every Cover6 course: https://www\.cover6solutions\.com/courses/

📬 Get The 6, our free weekly cybersecurity brief, every Monday: https://www.cover6solutions.com/the6/
🔗 Every Cover6 link in one place: https://www.cover6solutions.com/links/

🎤 Want to speak at a future meetup? https://sessionize.com/cover6community

Rep the community → https://www.cover6solutions.com/product/cover6-shield-unisex-t-shirt/
Grab a Cover6 Shield tee and show up repping the community that helped get you here.

🤝 Hiring entry-level security talent, or want your brand in front of people building into this field? Sponsorship and hiring conversations start at info@cover6solutions.com

#AttackNDefend #CybersecurityAwarenessMonth

Jay P

Ken Johnson 

Navi

Hamzah Hassan

Seth 

Mike Swartz

Eric Kiragu

Khalil Redmond

rugorji1

Attack & Defend: Hack It, Then Catch It

Cover6 Solutions

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{PRO_NETWORK_NAME} is on Meetup Pro with more than {PRO_MEMBER_COUNT} members across {PRO_GROUP_COUNT} Meetups worldwide. Meetup Pro is the professional tool for organizing and communicating a network of users, partners, contributors and members.

Cover6 Solutions, LLC is a veteran-owned cybersecurity and vCISO firm in Northern Virginia: virtual CISO services, CMMC advisory, penetration testing and vulnerability assessments.

We also run the Cover6 Community, one of the largest cybersecurity communities in the country. Since 2012, our free meetups, workshops, CTFs and the Cover6 Watchroom livestream have brought together career changers, students, SOC analysts, pentesters and security leaders.

Groups: Cover6 Community (virtual + DMV), Atlanta and West Palm Beach.

Founded by Tyrone E. Wilson, a practicing vCISO with 30 years in IT and cybersecurity.

https://www.cover6solutions.com

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