Being a cyber pro means knowing what’s under your trackpad.
By Gary Whitsett, Lead Technical Instructor, and Omar Durvesh, Lab Technician, at SecureSet Colorado Springs
As a cybersecurity academy we get a lot of requests from new students for equipment recommendations. Just as a race car driver needs to have the proper parts under their hood to compete, you’ll need the right specs on your laptop to begin the process of becoming an effective cyber professional.
While top-of-the-line hardware isn’t necessarily required, if you’re still running Windows XP, or your computer has an uncanny resemblance to the one below, it may be time for you to consider an upgrade.
As you take your first steps into the hacking world, you’ll soon become very acquainted with virtual machines. Put simply, a VM runs on your personal computer and provides you with a laboratory where you can practice your hacks. While an excellent tool for practicing, VM’s are taxing on the systems that they run on. Below are some ideal laptop specifications to look for, to ensure that your cyber career starts with a bang instead of a bleep.
Intel i5 or i7 CPU (i7 recommended)
While the AMD Ryzen chip has more cores, the performance of the Intel chip tends to be better for virtualization, based on the feature set included. Both the i5 and i7 lines offer models that have four CPU cores (six cores with 8th generation or newer). When running multiple virtual machines simultaneously, the extra cores will provide better performance. Obviously, two i7s would be ideal, if you can find a laptop with this configuration. The i7 chip also has a larger cache that may increase performance, especially for background tasks outside the virtual machines.
32GB RAM
When it comes to running virtual machines, the RAM requirements for each individual VM will dictate the total amount of RAM needed for good performance. Depending on the nature of the VM operating system, 2–4GB RAM per machine is usually recommended. With 32GB of system RAM, four 4GB virtual machines can be run with little to no impact to the overall system.
Hard Drives
Virtual machines get stored as files on the hard drive. Even with dynamically allocated hard drives on the VMs, the space required can grow quite rapidly. At least 100GB of space dedicated to the VMs, plus an adequate amount for the operating system would be necessary. SSDs will give significantly better performance over traditional hard drives. A 500GB or larger SSD is ideal.
Ethernet Cards
If possible, dual Ethernet cards would allow complete isolation of VM applications, like Kali Linux. A second wireless adapter would also be recommended for WiFi sniffing/cracking. The extra Ethernet card would also allow for pass-through networking (inline monitoring).
The Inside Matters
You can be the best driver in the world, but if you show up to the Indy 500 with a Ford Pinto, chances are you won’t be popping champagne bottles after the race. These specifications are great to keep in mind if you’re ready to purchase a laptop that’s capable of handling VMs. Meeting the suggested criteria is essential for being able to run the plethora of programs that cybersec pros use on a regular basis. The less time you spend wondering if your VM is about to crash your laptop, the more time you can put into your goal of becoming a cybersecurity professional.
