Today, the field of cybersecurity is flourishing at an incredible speed. this is opening the doors to many new job opportunities in the cybersecurity field. If you are interested in learning cybersecurity, some books can help make your learning journey fruitful. This article on ethical hacking + cybersecurity books will guide you through the best cybersecurity books. These books will introduce you to new ideas and help answer your cybersecurity questions.
what is cybersecurity?
Before we get into the best cyber security books, let us give you a quick refresher on cyber security. Cybersecurity refers to the practice of protecting programs, networks, computer systems, and their components from unauthorized digital access and attacks. we call these attacks cyberattacks.
You are reading: Books on ethical hacking
Cyber attacks result in loss of and access to sensitive data, loss of money and loss of reputation for organizations. therefore, it is crucial to prevent cyber attacks, and for that, implementing cybersecurity measures is a must.
what is ethical piracy?
ethical hacking is the process by which the vulnerability of a system is discovered and exploited. We do this in order to guarantee the security of the system.
We know people who do ethical hacking as ethical hackers. Ethical hackers perform such hacking only with the prior permission of the proper authorities. Various hacking techniques and tools are used to carry out ethical hacking.
Let us now guide you through the list of the best books on cybersecurity.
the best books on ethical hacking + cybersecurity
Here, we have formulated a list of top 10 cybersecurity and ethical hacking books that will help students. Let’s get started:
1. Hacking: A Beginner’s Guide to Hacking, Basic Security, and Penetration Testing
author: juanslavo
- This book on hacking is useful for beginners. can help you take the first step in your ethical hacking career.
- Topics covered in this book are history of hacking, types of hackers, various types of hacking attacks, tools and software hacking essentials, and hiding IP addresses.
- also talks about mobile hacking, email address hacking, penetration testing and phishing attacks.
2. piracy: the art of exploitation
author: jon erickson
- This world famous hacking book has two editions, one published in 2003 and the other in 2008.
- Focuses on network security and computer security. The second edition of this book introduces you to C programming from a hacker’s perspective. here, he will learn how to program computers using c and shell scripts.
- Of the many concepts in this book, he will also learn how to hijack tcp connections, decrypt encrypted wireless traffic, and speed up brute force attacks.
3. metasploit: the penetration tester’s guide
authors: david kennedy, jim o’gorman, devon kearns and mati aharoni
- A metasploit framework is a vital tool used by hackers to discover and exploit vulnerabilities. however, for first time users, it can be a bit challenging. therefore, this book will teach you all about metasploit.
- In this book, you will learn the interfaces of the framework, the module system, advanced penetration testing techniques, including network reconnaissance, attacks from the client-side, wireless attacks, and targeted social engineering attacks.
- Here, you’ll also learn how to integrate nexpose, nmap, and nessus with metasploit to automate discovery.
You will learn many hacking skills in this ethical hacking book.
4. penetration testing: a practical introduction to hacking
author: georgia weidman
- This cyber security book sheds light on penetration testing. penetration testers discover security weaknesses in operating systems, networks, and applications.
- This book focuses on the basic skills and techniques that a penetration tester requires. Here, you’ll get acquainted with the main stages of a real assessment, including gathering information, discovering vulnerabilities, gaining network access, and more.
- In addition to the above, you will learn how to crack passwords, bypass antivirus software, automate attacks, and also learn how to use the metasploit framework to launch exploits and to write your metasploit modules from the many other teachings.
5. The Hacker’s Playbook 3: A Practical Guide to Penetration Testing
author: peter kim
- This is the third iteration of the thp – the hacker playbook series. brings new strategies, attacks, exploits and tips. in addition to all the new concepts, it highlights some techniques from the previous versions.
- Hacker’s Playbook 3 – Red Team Edition familiarizes you with the Red Team. Red Teams simulate advanced real-world attacks to test your organization’s defensive teams.
- reading this will help you improve your offensive hacking skills and attack routes. In addition to that, it also focuses on real-world attacks, exploitation, custom malware, persistence, and more.
6. practical malware analysis: the practical guide to dissecting malicious software
authors: michael sikorski, andrew honig
- Malware is malicious software that is often used by hackers to exploit system vulnerabilities. This book on practical malware analysis teaches about the tools and techniques used by cyber security analysts.
- This book will guide you through analyzing, debugging, and disassembling malicious software.
- Here, you will also learn how to set up a secure virtual environment to scan for malware, how to decrypt open malware, measure the damage it has caused, clean up your network, and verify that malware never returns.
7. social engineering: the science of human hacking
author: christopher hadnagy
- Social engineering relies on human error to gain access to sensitive information. systems can be protected, but we can’t use any code that might be secure to help protect data when it comes to a human being.
- This book describes the most commonly used social engineering methods and shows how they were used in the past.
- Here, you’ll learn to examine common social engineering tricks, discuss how social engineers can use emotions, take successful countermeasures to prevent hacking, and much more.
8. applied cryptography: protocols, algorithms and source code in c
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authors: bruce schneier
- This book on cyber security provides a comprehensive survey of modern cryptography.
- defines how professionals can use cryptography to encrypt and decrypt messages.
- consists of various cryptographic algorithms and shows how to solve security problems.
9. black hat python: python programming for hackers and pentesters
author: justin seitz
- many exploitation frameworks are written in python; here, using github, you’ll learn how to create command and control trojans, detect sandboxing, and automate common malware tasks.
- in this book, you’ll explore the darker side of python’s capabilities, such as infecting virtual machines , writing network sniffers, creating stealthy Trojans, etc.
- This book covers some basics of networking, web applications, windows privilege escalation tricks, and more.
10. The Web Application Hacker’s Handbook: Finding and Exploiting Security Flaws
author: dafydd stuttard and marcus pinto
- The second edition of this book focuses on up-to-date web applications, exposing them to attacks and executing fraudulent transactions.
- talks about the latest step-by-step methods for attacking and defending the wide range of ever-evolving web applications. it also discusses new remote frameworks, html5, ui redress, and hybrid file attacks to name a few.
- In addition to the above, the other concepts are attacking authentication, attacking the application server, finding vulnerabilities in the source code, etc.
11. hacking: hacking, security testing, penetration testing and basic security
author: juanslavo
price: $19.99
Piracy can be a real threat to anyone. the only way to protect yourself from hacking is to learn how to hack. This book contains all the basics of hacking as well as the intricate techniques and methods you can use to hack. uses simple technological language that beginners can understand, without omitting any of the complex details required to hack.
The language of this ethical hacking book is simple enough for beginners to understand, without omitting any of the intricate details required to engage in hacking activity.
12. beginners guide to hacking
author: alan t. Norman
price: $7.95
This book is perfect for beginners just learning to do their first trick. contains all the different techniques and tools used by both criminal and ethical hackers. you will learn all about how information security can be compromised and how you can identify attacks on any system. You will also learn about phishing techniques, wifi hacking, email hacking, along with lots of tips for ethical hacking.
13. hackers and painters: great ideas of the computer age
author: paul graham
price: $10.39
Using thoughtful prose and historical examples, Graham takes his readers on an exploration called “An Intellectual Wild West” where he explains the technological world and the motivations of the people who inhabit it. he’ll learn about hackers, what motivates them to hack, and why he should care. there are so many other ideas discussed in this book, including the importance of beauty in software design, wealth creation, freedom of expression, the open source movement, internet startups, the programming language renaissance, digital design and much more.
14. advanced penetration testing: hacking the world’s most secure networks
author: wil allsopp
price: $23.10
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This book is written by a top security expert, wil allsopp, who has done hacking and penetration testing for fortune 100 companies all over the world. contains a number of advanced hacking techniques for high security environments. The book also includes a very realistic and complex attack simulation using examples from Kali Linux and Metasploit. You will also learn how to deeply infiltrate operating systems and networks using the collected credentials.
15. the hardware hacker: adventures to make and break hardware
author: andrew bunnie huang
price: $19.65
hardware hacker is a key resource for all would-be hackers. Contains a collection of personal essays and interviews on topics such as the legality of reverse engineering, law, China-U.S. intellectual property practices, and much more. contains very detailed passages on manufacturing and provides a comprehensive look at the issues that arise with open source hardware.
16. backtrack 5 wireless penetration testing beginners guide
author: vivek ramachandran
price: $41.50
This book is written for beginners to easily grasp the concepts and understand the techniques of wireless attacks. each attack is described using rich illustrations and steps in the form of a lab exercise. This book assumes familiarity with backtrack and basic wireless concepts. So if you’re an IT professional or security consultant with some knowledge of backtracking, then this book is for you.
17. gray hat hacking: the ethical hacker’s handbook
authors: allen harper, ryan linn, stephen sims, michael baucom, huascar tejeda, daniel fernandez, moses frost
price: $58.70
This book provides you with step-by-step methods on how to harden computer networks using effective ethical hacking techniques. presents practical planning and analysis methods for identifying a hacker’s devious weapons, skills, and tactics and for combating them using field-proven remedies, test labs, and case studies. you’ll get full coverage of malware analysis, penetration testing, and reverse engineering techniques.
18. master hacking (the art of collecting and scanning information)
author: rough bothra
price: $11.95
This book provides a simplified approach to hacking for both technical and non-technical readers. You will learn all about the latest tools and techniques of the modern penetration testing framework, discover vulnerabilities, patch vulnerabilities, and protect assets on the network. The book also includes detailed real-life applications of various hacking techniques and acts as a manual for your specific step in information security.
those were the list of best cybersecurity books.
conclusion
In this article, you have seen an overview of the best cyber security books. there are more books that can help you on your cybersecurity learning journey. You can also check out the Cyber Security Expert Masters Program provided by Simplilearn; this will familiarize you with all the skills needed to become a cybersecurity expert.
Do you have any questions for us regarding ‘best cyber security books’? please leave them in the comments section of this article. Qualified experts from our team will contact you as quickly as possible.
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