AFP-PE
Pentester / Ethical Hacker
The AFP Pentester track trains penetration testers specialised in African banking, card payment and fintech environments. The ACRC Cyber Range is the technical foundation for hands-on learning and exams.
Who it is for
- Security engineers and technicians seeking an offensive specialisation
- Red Team members in financial institutions
- Technical auditors and third-party testers (mandated providers)
- Cybersecurity students with solid technical foundations
Certification levels
AFP-PE Foundation
- Prerequisites
- Knowledge of TCP/IP networking and Linux/Windows systems
- Total duration
- 4 days (28h)
- Exam format
- 50-question technical multiple-choice test + 1 beginner-level CTF challenge (Cyber Range)
- Practical exam location
- ACRC Cyber Range
- Validity
- 3 years (recertification required)
Curriculum
- 3h
Legal framework for penetration testing in Africa (WAEMU, OHADA, ECOWAS)
Lecture
- 4h
Pentest methodologies: PTES, OWASP, OSSTMM
Lecture + demonstration
- 4h
Passive reconnaissance and OSINT in an African financial context
Cyber Range lab
- 4h
Scanning and enumeration (Nmap, Nessus, OpenVAS)
Cyber Range lab
- 5h
Basic vulnerability exploitation (Metasploit)
Cyber Range lab
- 5h
Introduction to web application testing (OWASP Top 10)
Cyber Range lab
- 3h
Writing a basic pentest report
Writing exercise
Skills acquired
- Carry out reconnaissance and scanning on an authorised environment
- Exploit common vulnerabilities in a lab environment
- Produce a structured, actionable penetration test report
- Respect the legal and ethical framework of penetration testing
AFP-PEN Practitioner
- Prerequisites
- AFP-PE Foundation or an equivalent certification (CEH, eJPT)
- Total duration
- 5 days (35h)
- Exam format
- Full pentest on a target infrastructure (Cyber Range), 8h + report
- Practical exam location
- ACRC Cyber Range (supervised)
- Validity
- 3 years (recertification required)
Curriculum
- 6h
Banking infrastructure pentest: SWIFT, core banking, ATM networks
Cyber Range lab
- 6h
Advanced application penetration testing (REST APIs, mobile banking)
Cyber Range lab
- 6h
Active Directory: attacks and detection (Kerberoasting, Pass-the-Hash)
Cyber Range lab
- 4h
Wireless and IoT pentesting in a banking environment
Cyber Range lab
- 4h
Social engineering and targeted phishing (ethical simulation)
ROOM#42 simulation
- 5h
Post-exploitation, pivoting and lateral movement
Cyber Range lab
- 4h
Professional pentest report: structure, CVSS scoring, remediation
Writing workshop
Skills acquired
- Carry out a full pentest on a financial-institution-type infrastructure
- Test the security of online and mobile banking applications
- Produce a professional report that meets the expectations of security teams and management
- Simulate social engineering attacks within an ethical, controlled framework
AFP-PE Expert
- Prerequisites
- AFP-PEN Practitioner + 3 years of penetration testing experience
- Total duration
- 5 days (35h) + advanced engagement report
- Exam format
- Red Team exercise on a complex infrastructure (48h, Cyber Range) + panel presentation
- Practical exam location
- ACRC Cyber Range (exclusive 48h access)
- Validity
- 3 years (recertification required)
Curriculum
- 5h
Designing and running a Red Team programme in a bank
Lecture + case
- 7h
APT simulation: MITRE ATT&CK TTPs adapted to the African financial sector
Cyber Range lab
- 5h
OT/SCADA pentesting in a financial environment (ATMs, HSMs)
Specialised Cyber Range lab
- 6h
Advanced exploitation: 0-day research, EDR/AV bypass
Cyber Range lab (restricted access)
- 5h
Purple Team: Red/Blue collaboration to improve defences
ROOM#42 simulation
- 4h
Running a bug bounty programme for a financial institution
Lecture + lessons learned
- 3h
Writing strategic reports for the CEO and CISO
Writing coaching
Skills acquired
- Lead a full Red Team exercise simulating an APT group targeting an African bank
- Use the MITRE ATT&CK framework to conduct and analyse tests
- Test OT and specialised equipment (HSM, ATM, SWIFT) in a controlled environment
- Produce strategic deliverables for governing bodies
AFP-PE Instructor
- Prerequisites
- AFP-PE Expert + ACRC trainer accreditation
- Total duration
- 3 days (21h)
- Exam format
- Training session delivered before a panel + Cyber Range scenario assessment
- Practical exam location
- ACRC Cyber Range
- Validity
- 3 years (recertification required)
Curriculum
- 4h
Instructional design for offensive training (ethics and safety)
Seminar
- 6h
Building and maintaining Cyber Range environments (CTF, labs)
Technical workshop
- 3h
Ethical supervision of learners during offensive exercises
Course
- 8h
Delivering an AFP-PE module in real conditions
Assessed demonstration
Skills acquired
- Deliver offensive training with full legal and ethical safety
- Design and maintain CTF scenarios tailored to the African financial sector
- Train and assess AFP-PE candidates from Foundation to Expert
Registration request
Leave your details: the ACRC team will confirm the dates and practical details of the next session.
AFP-PE · Pentester / Ethical Hacker
Other tracks
- AFP-RARisk Analyst
- AFP-GouvInformation Security Governance
- AFP-DGExecutives & Board Members: Cyber Leadership
- AFP-ACPInformation Security Audit & Permanent Control
- AFP-DSIChief Information Officer
- AFP-RSSIChief Information Security Officer
- AFP-CTICyber Threat Intelligence
- AFP-DPOData Protection & Privacy
- AFP-FINDigital Forensics & Investigation
- AFP-AIArtificial Intelligence for Cybersecurity & Professional Effectiveness
- AFP-EXLExecutive Leadership, Impact & Influence in Cybersecurity
- AFP-GAILeveraging GenAI in Your Cyber Job
- AFP-CISO101CISO 101: Taking Up the CISO Role
