Cyber Security Literacy Done Right

Three Recommended Readings for All Aspiring Hackers

The art of conversation is something that technologists, particularly hackers often portrayed as struggling with. Any as much as we hate to admit it — stereotypes often as not, have some basis in reality. My first time regularly engaging with literature began when I started listening to audio books during my daily commute to university. It was a way to fill the hour in a half time I spent in transit every day in a fashion where I felt I was learning something. Not long after I took my first elective course — an introduction to film studies. I considered credit no-crediting (basically a pass fail designation) the course from the begging as I considered myself a very poor writer — rarely scoring above an 80% in High School English. To my surprise, the first assignment was presented by the professor as a model paper and received the highest mark in the class. I attributed this strictly to my new found hobby of audio books. Ever since then I had a high appetite for reading making a point of reading at least 30 pages nightly before bed. This new found love of reading not only helped me navigate academic and social situations through new found linguistic improvements but helped me decompose challenging problems in the technical space as well. This translated perfectly to the area of cyber security where I found an abundance of interacting material to help be get a sense for the space. Moreover reading non-technical books on Cyber Security helped build my cyber security expertise in a way that was both relaxing and informative, not to mention not nearly as challenging as engaging with a technical textbook. Below I will describe my top five cyber security suggested readings for people looking to begin on their own journey.

The Code

This was the first cyber security book given to me by a parents friend. It describes the history of encryption starting with Julius Caesar and the Caesar Cipher, and walks the reader all the way to the modern age with the development of the RSA. It even made predictions about the development of the quantum computer and it’s implications on encryption, going as far as detailing new cryptographic algorithms. What I found particularly fun about this read was it’s list decryption challenges at the end of the book. In the copy I was given people who solved all puzzles were given instructions on how to contact the author.

What I found interesting about this read was how the field of study related to the Lindy effect which states that the future life expectancy of a non-perishable good is proportionate to it’s current age. The read made me realise that cyber security as a profession, more particularly encryption was highly likely to be around for ever, and employment was not a concern in my life time. In many ways this book was the spark that got me started.

Ghost in the Wire

My next read was titled “The Ghost in the Wire” by Kevin Mitnik. If you are reading this article you should really know who this is. Take a minute to google it if you don’t. Seeing that there was not many available educational institutions where I could learn Cyber security (CEH, which I later obtained, was out of my price range), I decided to read Kevin’s book as a source of inspiration. Although it was a long read it really shed light onto the hacker ethos and state of mind. Through Kevin’s autobiographical sketch that detailed everything from faking bus cards, to social engineering and computer hacking, I learned that sometimes the best way to learn was to take the hands on approach and just try. This book inspired me to begin using Kali Linux and start penetrating Virtual Machines. Penetration testing, as a practice, is truly auto-didactic as it favours those who can continually discover unknown vulnerabilities. Simply trying is truly the best way to learn. I later read his two novels “The art of invisibility” and the “The art of deception” which proved to be more technical.

The Cult of the Dead Cow

This was my most recent read, and coincidentally out of all three books is the most contemporary in regards to the history of cyber security. It begins with the formation of a hacker group called the “Cult of the Dead Cow” in the early ’80s on bulletin boards — a form of early internet message board. The novel goes in depth into how the group influenced cyber security culture & surrounding hacktivist movements as well as the development of many tools we use today — including Tor. Further it describes the beginnings of many hacker conventions most notably Defcon, where some of the earliest tools we still use today, such as Black Orifice (the name still makes me chuckle), were initially demoed. Although there were times where I felt the book glossed over some details it gave my a much needed background into what formed the hacker community we grew to know today, as well as providing a soft introduction to their culture and ethos.

I plan to keep reading and learning through novels along side my cyber security studies. So far, books — technical or not have proven to be a great resource in the times when I am away from my keyboard. I recommend all aspiring cyber security professionals — hackers or not to check these three books out. Here’s to many more readings to come!