Home labs & practical projects

Scope a small-business security assessment

A project to do with your own tools, with guidance on what to create and capture.

Design project Suggested time: 90–120 minutesNo hardware required for the design

What you could create

A small business requests a “full pentest” but has not identified its assets, service providers or acceptable disruption. You must make the engagement testable and bounded.

Example evidence format

Project evidence map (example)

Assessment scope and rules of engagementScope and inputs

Reporting and retest outlineDecisions and reasoning

Evidence record (example)

Evidence	What to capture
Assessment scope and rules of engagement	Show the inputs, scope and decisions behind this record. Third-party systems are excluded until independently authorised.
Reporting and retest outline	Include the evidence supporting your conclusion. The scope states stopping conditions and a communication route.

What you'll need

Document, spreadsheet or diagram tool

Create a fictional website, office network and externally hosted payment service. Include a busy trading window and an unclear ownership boundary.

Project record

Keep the working files for assessment scope and rules of engagement and record assumptions as you go.

Current reference material

Use the linked provider resources to verify the features, access terms and version relevant to your project.

Access & cost

No paid platform is needed for the written version. Use a document, spreadsheet or diagram tool you already have.

The organisation and records are fictional. Write down assumptions; do not substitute confidential employer information.

Suggested milestones

1
Plan and investigate
Define authorised assets, exclusions, contacts and evidence handling.
2
Develop your approach
Select assessment activities appropriate to each owned asset and constraint.
3
Verify and explain
Prepare report categories and a remediation retest agreement.

Evidence worth keeping

Keep clear, organised evidence of your design and any testing you carry out.

1
Assessment scope and rules of engagement
Show the inputs, scope and decisions behind this record. Third-party systems are excluded until independently authorised.
2
Reporting and retest outline
Include the evidence supporting your conclusion. The scope states stopping conditions and a communication route.

Label design proposals and observed results clearly.

Explain your work

Use these prompts to reflect on your decisions and what you learned.

Which part of your assessment scope and rules of engagement needed the most judgement?
What observation or assumption changed your approach?
What would you improve, and what have you not verified?

Describe this as a personal project in your portfolio.

Useful resources

Use these resources to deepen your understanding and check key details.

Official certification objectives

Review the current provider requirements and relevant subject areas.

CompTIA CertMaster Learn PenTest+

Check relevance, platform versions and current access terms.

Explore external learning resources

Find relevant providers and check features, access requirements and costs.

A useful starting point

Create a fictional website, office network and externally hosted payment service. Include a busy trading window and an unclear ownership boundary.

What a good result looks like

Third-party systems are excluded until independently authorised.
The scope states stopping conditions and a communication route.

Finish the project

Keep the decision record and note unanswered questions. A written design is not evidence that a technical control has been tested.

Independent home-project guidance, not an official vendor lab or a claim of complete exam coverage. Use your own tools and label the work accurately.