Getting a Start in Information Security

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Trust your technolust…

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I like information security, I like it so much I decided to make it my career.

Luckily, I found there was a lot of information and knoweldge freely available for those that knew where to look. The amount of information can be overwhelming, and it is neccesary to focus on what is neccesary and relevent.

Firstly, it is important to figure out what role you are aiming for in InfoSec. There are many different specialisations that are all quite different from each other. I think the best advice in this regard is to do some cusory research and find what you’re most interested in and dive into that.

There is a great series of posts by Lesley Carhart (@hacks4pancakes) on her blog about the different roles. You can find the first post here.

Personally, I enjoyed pentesting the most so I focused my learning towards that.

The advice I read all pointed toward the need for a good foundation in three areas:

* System administration

* Networking

* Programming

In addition several people suggested getting a head start on offensive security concepts alongside the basics.

Here are some books, video series, wikis, resources, and courses I have done and have found useful. I feel like this can cover the basics well, and put someone in good stead for employment.

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SYSTEM ADMINISTRATION
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--[ Linux ]

* The Linux Command Line by William Shotts

* Arch Linux Wiki

--[ Windows ]

* Windows Server Administration by Microsoft

* Active Directory series by Eli the Computer Guy

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NETWORKING
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* Cybrary’s CompTIA Network+ course

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PROGRAMMING
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--[ Python ]

* Learn Python the Hard Way by Zed Shaw