Does the fog ever stop? Testing without all the answers

No ratings

Presented at BSides London 2025 by

Ehgren

The fog doesn't clear before you start. It clears because you start. My talk explores what it is like to be a junior penetration tester thrown into the deep end - feeling, at times, totally lost - only to realise that the tools you need aren't always technical, but human. I've been indescribably lucky to be surrounded by mentors, who not only pushed me to try, but to fail, and to document everything. I’ll talk about the danger of skipping the fundamentals, why documentation is your lifeline and how learning the why behind what you’re doing matters more than just completing the task. Not everyone has these mentors, so I want to share all the wisdom I have been given. Lessons, mindset shifts and advice. My talk is my way of paying it forward, contrasting the adivce with real scenarios I have faced while testing.