FOR CYBERSECURITY STUDENTS

This is not a simulation and it's not a classroom exercise.

You'll conduct real penetration testing against real MSP environments, produce professional reports, and work alongside experienced practitioners.

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The Work

The work is real. The environments are real. This is what hiring managers look for.

This is the work hiring managers look for. It’s also the work that develops your skills faster than any classroom exercise.

Supervised Penetration Testing

Conduct supervised penetration testing against real MSP environments.

Hands-On Testing

Professional Documentation

Document findings using professional reporting standards.

Professional Standards

Present to Stakeholders

Present results to mentors and MSP stakeholders.

Client-Facing Work

Reports with Your Name on Them

Produce professional-grade reports with your name on them.

Attributed Work

YOU WON’T BE ALONE

Every engagement is supervised by experienced practitioners

You’ll have clear escalation paths, structured feedback at every stage, and direct access to mentors who have done this work professionally for years. Mentors validate every finding before it leaves the program. That protects the MSP — and it protects you.

Direct Mentor Access

Every engagement assigned a named mentor. Real conversations, real guidance, not just office hours.

Structured Feedback

Feedback at every stage — scoping, execution, reporting, delivery. Built to accelerate your professional growth.

Clear Escalation Paths

If you hit something unexpected, you escalate. No guessing, no winging it, no risk to the engagement.

Eligibility

The Hackening is selective by design.

We want students who are ready to do real work for real clients.

Enrollment in or recent completion of a cybersecurity program at a partner college

Participants must be currently enrolled in or have recently completed a cybersecurity or related program at a partner college or university.

Commitment to ethical conduct and professional standards

All participants agree to operate within defined ethical, legal, and professional guidelines. The Hackening is a professionally governed program — conduct is taken seriously.

Willingness to learn and produce professional-quality work

Participants are expected to engage seriously, take direction from their mentor, and produce work that meets professional standards.

Reliability — engagements have real deliverables on real timelines

Participants are expected to manage their time, communicate blockers, and meet deadlines.

The Outcome

By the end of an engagement, you’ll have something most graduates don’t

A documented, real-world cybersecurity work product, validated by an experienced practitioner, delivered to a real client. That’s what gets you hired.