Will AI replace Penetration Testers?
Estimated risk score: 72 out of 100
High replacement risk
Estimate from published task research, not reviewed by a person · how we estimate
Within about 19 points for 4 in 5 of the jobs we checked (53 to 91).
For the occupation as a whole, from ratings of its 22 O*NET tasks published in 2023 and calibrated to our hand scores. A specialty inside it can sit higher or lower.
O*NET-SOC 15-1299.04 · Computer and Mathematical
Tasks rated in 2023 as ones AI could do or speed up
Tasks a GPT-4-class model could do, or do in half the time or less: 15 of its 22 rated tasks; the first 6 are shown. In O*NET’s words.
- Conduct network and security system audits, using established criteria.
- Develop and execute tests that simulate the techniques of known cyber threat actors.
- Develop infiltration tests that exploit device vulnerabilities.
- Document penetration test findings.
- Gather cyber intelligence to identify vulnerabilities.
- Prepare and submit reports describing the results of security fixes.
Tasks rated in 2023 as not sped up by AI
Tasks such a model was rated as not speeding up or taking over: 1 of its 22 rated tasks. In O*NET’s words.
- Assess the physical security of servers, systems, or network devices to identify vulnerability to temperature, vandalism, or natural disasters.
What the job is
Evaluate network system security by conducting simulated internal and external cyberattacks using adversary tools and techniques. Attempt to breach and exploit critical systems and gain access to sensitive information to assess system security.
Also called: Risk Tester, Cyber Tester, Cyber Assessor, Cyber Engineer, Ethical Hacker, Embedded Tester, Hardware Hacker, Security Tester.
Closest jobs we score by hand
In the same field (Computer and Mathematical). Different jobs, each scored by a person.
Source. This site includes information from the O*NET 30.1 Database by the U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration (USDOL/ETA). Used under the CC BY 4.0 license. O*NET® is a trademark of USDOL/ETA. USDOL/ETA has not approved, endorsed, or tested these modifications. (O*NET, CC BY 4.0.) Task ratings: Eloundou, Manning, Mishkin and Rock (2023), “GPTs are GPTs: An Early Look at the Labor Market Impact Potential of Large Language Models”, data used under the MIT licence (licence texts). Our change: we averaged the ratings over this occupation’s tasks and calibrated them to our 0–100 scale. It is not a prediction about any one person and not career advice. Disagree? Write to hello@yourstopwashit.com. How we estimate