A Beginner’s Road Map on Ethical Hacking

Hey Everyone, I will do a bit of self-introduction. I am Abhishek, an Electrical Engineering student with an unending passion for Cyber Security that is Ethical Hacking to be precise.

So enough of the pep talk , I ‘ll come to the point straight away.

One year back I was a random confused teenager who knew a thing or two about hacking but don’t know where to start. I remained in this state till the “Quarantine.. Thing” happened. Long story short , I will tell you how I started a Hundred-Mile long journey in the road less taken known as “Ethical Hacking”. Happy Learning Everyone :).

What is Ethical Hacking?

The Book definition says..

“Ethical Hacking is an authorised practice of bypassing system security to identify potential data breaches and threat in a network”

Oh my God , that’s a whole lot of gibberish for a young minds. So here is my kind of definition to it:

“Ethical Hacking is basically finding the weaknesses and loopholes in a computer system which can be exploited by Bad Guys to take advantage of the system Owners.”

Sounds Cool. Now let’s see how you can be an Ethical Hacker.

Disclaimer: First of all I am just an Ethical Hacking Enthusiast and not a professional. The given ideas are something which I have acquired through a process of trial and error over the past 5 months.

1. How to get Started:

Just as we start learning everything else , let’s get started with the Basics.

• Learn the meaning of Some Basic Terms like Ethical Hacker, Threat ,Cyber Attack , Vulnerability ,White hat , Black Hat , Grey Hat Hackers , Phishing ,Dos, XSS, SQL injection…….

Actually the list is endless and it may seem like the Greek Army fighting the World War..So you will discover more as you go.

• Hacker101 Videos:

Hacker101 Videos is a part of Hackerone which will give you a great understanding for anything and everything under the sun in the world of Hacking. Just click on the link below and start your Roller Coaster Ride….

https://www.hacker101.com/

• Cybrary :

Cybrary is a growing community where people, companies and training come together to give everyone the ability to learn .Sounds cool right!

https://www.cybrary.it/info/freehackingtraining/

After going through both of these interesting sites I am pretty sure that that you will already have a Head start in your journey.

2. Try to take up some Online Courses:

This Step is purely optional because some of the Courses are paid .But I am really confident that this will surely aid you in the Long run.

Do courses in that particular aspect of Ethical Hacking which interests you , it could be Cryptography, Vulnerability Assessment , Social Engineering etc.

To be frank there are dozens of free sources, the only pre- requisite is the desire to learn. So I‘ll provide some useful links below.

• Linked in Learning:

https://www.linkedin.com/learning/paths/become-an-ethical-hacker?src=aff-lilpar&veh=aff_src.aff-lilpar_c.partners_pkw.1238999_plc.Digital%20Defynd%20-%20LinkedIn%20Learning_pcrid.449670_learning&trk=aff_src.aff-lilpar_c.partners_pkw.1238999_plc.Digital%20Defynd%20-%20LinkedIn%20Learning_pcrid.449670_learning&clickid=UPfxytwcoxyOW1nwUx0Mo3QwUkiRN3z5qUckws0&irgwc=1

• Edx:

https://www.edx.org/course/cyber-security-basics-a-hands-on-approach?source=aw&awc=6798_1595226636_05d13a7bea8904cd6632463578c8b460&utm_source=aw&utm_medium=affiliate_partner&utm_content=text-link&utm_term=427859_Digital+Defynd

• Coursera:

https://www.coursera.org/learn/hacking-patching?ranMID=40328&ranEAID=vedj0cWlu2Y&ranSiteID=vedj0cWlu2Y-J3Hmcw567AuieOObiw9Kfw&siteID=vedj0cWlu2Y-J3Hmcw567AuieOObiw9Kfw&utm_content=10&utm_medium=partners&utm_source=linkshare&utm_campaign=vedj0cWlu2Y

Please do try it out. Anyway you won’t regret….

3. Practice , Practice and Practice

Yeah , you heard me right. This is the most important step in your learning experience. The resources are boundless and the Hacker community worldwide is very strong

Pro Tip:- Never hesitate to ask help from anyone ,even if it is through Social Media Platforms like Linked in or Twitter. Believe me you will surely find some awesome souls more than happy to help you.

Now I will throw light on some of my favourite battle grounds where I hone my skills:

1. PortSwigger Web Security Academy:

“The Web Security Academy exists to help anyone who wants to learn about web security in a safe and legal manner”

Frankly speaking they have been doing 100 % justice to this statement which they portray in their website.

Login to find more…

https://portswigger.net/web-security

2. Try Hack Me :

TryHackMe is an online platform for learning and teaching cyber security, all through your browser. Moreover I can guarantee you its for anyone who loves a fun filled learning experience..

https://tryhackme.com/

3 . Hack The Box:

Hack The Box is an online platform allowing you to test your penetration testing skills and exchange ides and methodologies with thousands of people in the security field.

Hack The Box :: Penetration Testing Labs

Source: Google.

Conclusion:

I think that’s it for now guys .So this is my first blog and will try to continue based on the reader’s response . I may not be proficient in the field that I am talking about but I am just an athlete who started running couple of months before you had started.

Please do drop in your valuable comments, suggestions and viewpoints I will be more than happy to reply..

As a parting note I would like to say:

“Share your Ideas, however small it may seem because even that is a new KNOWLEDGE

and ……….KNOWLEDGE is POWER.

Thanks for reading…You just made my day…