[Sutil]

🕵️Hi All,

We were all beginners once, trying to navigate the complex world of cybersecurity. This thread is all about reminiscing and offering a helping hand to those just starting out. Here, we'll share our personal journeys, the challenges we've encountered, the resources that helped us, and advice we wish we'd received when we first started.

I encourage everyone to contribute regardless of your level of expertise - whether you've been in the field for decades or just landed your first job. Please remember to respect everyone's experiences and refrain from posting any illegal content. Let's keep it professional and supportive!

How did you get started in cybersecurity?
What were the biggest challenges you faced as a beginner?
What resources (books, courses, websites) would you recommend to a novice?
What advice would you give to someone just starting out in the field?
Any other tips, tricks, or anecdotes you'd like to share?
This thread could become an invaluable resource for anyone interested in getting into cybersecurity. Let's learn from each other and grow together!

The first big challenge that I've encountered is the overwhelming amount of information available. So many languages, tools, concepts, practices... its tough to figure out where to start. Plus, it can be daunting to see how much there is to learn.

[BiNBo]

I'll bite.

How did you get started in cybersecurity?
What got me interested, well many years ago I started learning about programming and logic concepts. The idea that you could get a computer to do just about anything you could imagine just by learning to tell it how in it's own language fascinated me as a child. From that point forward, I spent years learning and teaching myself everything I could on my own, and eventually once I hit my undergraduate program I decided to start moving towards IT and Cybersecurity. By the time I hit graduate school, I was well invested into a career field I absolutely love.

What were the biggest challenges you faced as a beginner?
Biggest challenges would have to be the quality of materials out there to learn on your own from, granted what's available today and what I had access to are totally different. With modern resources, it's never been more easy to start teaching yourself.

What resources (books, courses, websites) would you recommend to a novice?
Check out the ISC2 CC certification, as of the time of posting this you can sign up for the course and exam for free. It can help just about anybody get a feel for the concepts and ideas that encompass cybersecurity at the entry level. It can even help you to get your first entry level job!

Another resource is TryHackMe (my preference) and the very similar but not quite as tuned (if you ask me) HackTheBox which both can help with understanding the basic and slightly more advanced concepts. As well as offering the opportunity to get some hands on practice with some pretty fun tools and skills.

What advice would you give to someone just starting out in the field?
Never stop searching, there's always something new to learn and some sort of fun way to practice your skills.

Any other tips, tricks, or anecdotes you'd like to share?
If you find yourself working as a systems administrator, accept a single fact. Your end users will find a way past filters, firewalls, etc. to get to porn. EVERY TIME. It's not an if, it's a when.

[Sutil]

Thank you for sharing!💯👍

[Sutil]

The question is why do you want to know? I myself am not in cybersecurity.  However, I can code and do many different IT things on my own.
So, the questions you asked I wouldn't be able to answer it.  I am just curious as to why you want people to reply to your questions?
I assume you want to get into cybersecurity yourself?

Yes, I’m asking because I myself want to know about others experiences however I feel like it would be beneficial for other beginners as well.

[javierpena]

How did you get started in cybersecurity?
A long time ago a friend of mine was bullied by someone and he was able to get inside his email and from there mess with his facebook by posting embarrassing statuses. This situation got me thinking that I can impose anonymous revenge on people who annoy me

What were the biggest challenges you faced as a beginner?
To understand that it takes a lot of years, hands on experience and patience to get to a level where you can actually do some interesting things

What resources (books, courses, websites) would you recommend to a novice?
What helped me the most is this guy's youtube channel https://www.youtube.com/@ippsec

What advice would you give to someone just starting out in the field?
Be patient, take long breaks from studying when you feel you are overwhelmed and if breaks don't help you really think if this is something you are actually interested in or just want to do it because others do it

Any other tips, tricks, or anecdotes you'd like to share?
Don't get seriously involved with anonymous people in the field until you have a solid knowledge about protecting yourself.

[Bastille]

Hello Sutil

I really like the idea, and if we have enough feedbacks this thread should be pinned in the White Hat section in my opinion. Lot of member ask how to get into Cybersecurity, where to start, and also what certs are required, if degrees are needed, and so on.

Maybe in order to be complete the feedback and answer to main questions from beginners, should we add the following ?
If you work/worked in cybersecurity :
> what is/was your job
> what skills/knowledge are required,
> what degree is required / what degree did you get
> what certs are required-appreciated / what certs helped you to apply for this job

Really good initiative Sutil, hope to see you more often here :)

How did you get started in cybersecurity?

After my degree I started my journey as a technician in a helpdesk however it quickly became boring. Always the same stuff, "I can't print, can you help me ?" "My Outlook is not working", "I've burned my laptop, can you please do something remotely ?" and so on ... On the other side hacking was like magic for me, and I was really intrigued about how it works, this field was definitely more entertaining than the current one I'm working in. So almost everyday after my job, I came back to home and looked on Google about hacking stuff, I wanted to understand how it works and mainly how to protect against it. After few months, and after understand the basis, I knew that was the career I wanted to go through. Every time I'm behind a computer for hacking or cybersecurity stuff it's like I'm playing a video game.

What were the biggest challenges you faced as a beginner?

1. The language
As English is not my native language it was harder to learn, most of the content on the Internet (Youtube, Udemy (warez disallowed), tutorials on various websites, etc.) are in English. Even system and software are mostly in English.

2. Cybersecurity is wide
I definitely didn't know where to start, what should I learn first, and that's the main thing that comes from beginner, they are quite lost.


What resources (books, courses, websites) would you recommend to a novice?

1. TryHackMe
That is the best way to begin in my opinion (you can get knowledge on networks, systems, security, hacking, jobs related to cybersecurity, and so on). Besides, most of the content is free.

2. Books
They can be dedicated to some technics, some technologies, certifications, or you can get general knowledge regarding cybersecurity or hacking through it. Books can be read in the public transport when you are going to school or at your work, they can be read when you are waiting somewhere like at the medic, etc. Besides, they are more reliable than contents you can find on the Internet as anyone is able to post anything and say something wrong, however books are usually verified and wrote by recognized experts.

Cons : they can cost a lost / they are not updated and you'll need to buy the new versions if needed. Besides, you need to be well organized, to take structured notes, if you don't want to forget what you just read (reading a whole book without taking notes and you'll remember only between 10 and 20% in general).

3. Internet in general
The Net is just a massive library and you can get any information you need to get into cybersecurity, that's why any motivated people can success in this field in my opinion. However becareful when you use it, don't try to get information or do stuffs from odd websites, darknet websites, and so on, you could learn things that are not true and also hurt your own computer.


What advice would you give to someone just starting out in the field?

- Start with TryHackMe (begin with systems and networks, they are the basis)
- Use Linux in a virtual machine as your daily OS, don't use Dualboot at the beginning, (with VM you can easily rollback if you did something wrong). Start with Ubuntu (most user friendly distro in my opinion), then experience some other to get familiar with the Linux environment.
- Try to learn everyday even if it's just a little (working hard for 1 week and leaving for 2 weeks is not a good way to learn, you'll forgot most of it)
- Try to find some people who are also into it, even better if it's in real life (learning can be boring if you are always alone, besides you can learn from the others too)
- Don't give up, cybersecurity is a wide field, with many domains, and changing everyday, you need to be constent in your work, constent in your study, and even if you get your degree or get your job, you'll need to keep your knowledge and skills updated.


Any other tips, tricks, or anecdotes you'd like to share?

More personal, cybersecurity helped me a lot in my life, especially because I used to do lot of drugs, as I found something more interesting I slowly left drugs for cybersecurity. Every time I did drugs, the next 3-4 days I was really lazy, and it was 3-4 wasted days, 3-4 days where I could learn more, get new skills. As I realized it was a brake for me I stopped doing drugs. (thanks cybersecurity ✌)

As I mentioned to try to learn with other people, we are building a lab in the apartment of an intern I'm friend with at work. He was learning alone, I was learning alone, we discussed about sysadmin and cybersecurity and we ended up to create a computer club for us and few other interns. After the office we go to his apartment, at weekends too, and it's really more pleasant to learn with other people who are passionate. It makes me think about the 80's / 90's when Internet wasn't the thing we know now, and guys used to go their friends' house to talk, learn, practice.

[Blockonome]

Hello Sutil

I really like the idea, and if we have enough feedbacks this thread should be pinned in the White Hat section in my opinion. Lot of member ask how to get into Cybersecurity, where to start, and also what certs are required, if degrees are needed, and so on.

Maybe in order to be complete the feedback and answer to main questions from beginners, should we add the following ?
If you work/worked in cybersecurity :
> what is/was your job
> what skills/knowledge are required,
> what degree is required / what degree did you get
> what certs are required-appreciated / what certs helped you to apply for this job

Really good initiative Sutil, hope to see you more often here :)

How did you get started in cybersecurity?

After my degree I started my journey as a technician in a helpdesk however it quickly became boring. Always the same stuff, "I can't print, can you help me ?" "My Outlook is not working", "I've burned my laptop, can you please do something remotely ?" and so on ... On the other side hacking was like magic for me, and I was really intrigued about how it works, this field was definitely more entertaining than the current one I'm working in. So almost everyday after my job, I came back to home and looked on Google about hacking stuff, I wanted to understand how it works and mainly how to protect against it. After few months, and after understand the basis, I knew that was the career I wanted to go through. Every time I'm behind a computer for hacking or cybersecurity stuff it's like I'm playing a video game.

What were the biggest challenges you faced as a beginner?

1. The language
As English is not my native language it was harder to learn, most of the content on the Internet (Youtube, Udemy (warez disallowed) (warez disallowed), tutorials on various websites, etc.) are in English. Even system and software are mostly in English.

2. Cybersecurity is wide
I definitely didn't know where to start, what should I learn first, and that's the main thing that comes from beginner, they are quite lost.


What resources (books, courses, websites) would you recommend to a novice?

1. TryHackMe
That is the best way to begin in my opinion (you can get knowledge on networks, systems, security, hacking, jobs related to cybersecurity, and so on). Besides, most of the content is free.

2. Books
They can be dedicated to some technics, some technologies, certifications, or you can get general knowledge regarding cybersecurity or hacking through it. Books can be read in the public transport when you are going to school or at your work, they can be read when you are waiting somewhere like at the medic, etc. Besides, they are more reliable than contents you can find on the Internet as anyone is able to post anything and say something wrong, however books are usually verified and wrote by recognized experts.

Cons : they can cost a lost / they are not updated and you'll need to buy the new versions if needed. Besides, you need to be well organized, to take structured notes, if you don't want to forget what you just read (reading a whole book without taking notes and you'll remember only between 10 and 20% in general).

3. Internet in general
The Net is just a massive library and you can get any information you need to get into cybersecurity, that's why any motivated people can success in this field in my opinion. However becareful when you use it, don't try to get information or do stuffs from odd websites, darknet websites, and so on, you could learn things that are not true and also hurt your own computer.


What advice would you give to someone just starting out in the field?

- Start with TryHackMe (begin with systems and networks, they are the basis)
- Use Linux in a virtual machine as your daily OS, don't use Dualboot at the beginning, (with VM you can easily rollback if you did something wrong). Start with Ubuntu (most user friendly distro in my opinion), then experience some other to get familiar with the Linux environment.
- Try to learn everyday even if it's just a little (working hard for 1 week and leaving for 2 weeks is not a good way to learn, you'll forgot most of it)
- Try to find some people who are also into it, even better if it's in real life (learning can be boring if you are always alone, besides you can learn from the others too)
- Don't give up, cybersecurity is a wide field, with many domains, and changing everyday, you need to be constent in your work, constent in your study, and even if you get your degree or get your job, you'll need to keep your knowledge and skills updated.


Any other tips, tricks, or anecdotes you'd like to share?

More personal, cybersecurity helped me a lot in my life, especially because I used to do lot of drugs, as I found something more interesting I slowly left drugs for cybersecurity. Every time I did drugs, the next 3-4 days I was really lazy, and it was 3-4 wasted days, 3-4 days where I could learn more, get new skills. As I realized it was a brake for me I stopped doing drugs. (thanks cybersecurity ✌)

As I mentioned to try to learn with other people, we are building a lab in the apartment of an intern I'm friend with at work. He was learning alone, I was learning alone, we discussed about sysadmin and cybersecurity and we ended up to create a computer club for us and few other interns. After the office we go to his apartment, at weekends too, and it's really more pleasant to learn with other people who are passionate. It makes me think about the 80's / 90's when Internet wasn't the thing we know now, and guys used to go their friends' house to talk, learn, practice.

I think this is of much value and I believe anyone wanting to step into this line of work, could get some beneficial information from this post.

[Bastille]

I think this is of much value and I believe anyone wanting to step into this line of work, could get some beneficial information from this post.

Thanks mate I appreciate :) I hope to share more and inspire beginners to learn cybersecurity

[Sutil]

Hello Sutil

I really like the idea, and if we have enough feedbacks this thread should be pinned in the White Hat section in my opinion. Lot of member ask how to get into Cybersecurity, where to start, and also what certs are required, if degrees are needed, and so on.

Maybe in order to be complete the feedback and answer to main questions from beginners, should we add the following ?
If you work/worked in cybersecurity :
> what is/was your job
> what skills/knowledge are required,
> what degree is required / what degree did you get
> what certs are required-appreciated / what certs helped you to apply for this job

Really good initiative Sutil, hope to see you more often here :)

How did you get started in cybersecurity?

After my degree I started my journey as a technician in a helpdesk however it quickly became boring. Always the same stuff, "I can't print, can you help me ?" "My Outlook is not working", "I've burned my laptop, can you please do something remotely ?" and so on ... On the other side hacking was like magic for me, and I was really intrigued about how it works, this field was definitely more entertaining than the current one I'm working in. So almost everyday after my job, I came back to home and looked on Google about hacking stuff, I wanted to understand how it works and mainly how to protect against it. After few months, and after understand the basis, I knew that was the career I wanted to go through. Every time I'm behind a computer for hacking or cybersecurity stuff it's like I'm playing a video game.

What were the biggest challenges you faced as a beginner?

1. The language
As English is not my native language it was harder to learn, most of the content on the Internet (Youtube, Udemy (warez disallowed) (warez disallowed), tutorials on various websites, etc.) are in English. Even system and software are mostly in English.

2. Cybersecurity is wide
I definitely didn't know where to start, what should I learn first, and that's the main thing that comes from beginner, they are quite lost.


What resources (books, courses, websites) would you recommend to a novice?

1. TryHackMe
That is the best way to begin in my opinion (you can get knowledge on networks, systems, security, hacking, jobs related to cybersecurity, and so on). Besides, most of the content is free.

2. Books
They can be dedicated to some technics, some technologies, certifications, or you can get general knowledge regarding cybersecurity or hacking through it. Books can be read in the public transport when you are going to school or at your work, they can be read when you are waiting somewhere like at the medic, etc. Besides, they are more reliable than contents you can find on the Internet as anyone is able to post anything and say something wrong, however books are usually verified and wrote by recognized experts.

Cons : they can cost a lost / they are not updated and you'll need to buy the new versions if needed. Besides, you need to be well organized, to take structured notes, if you don't want to forget what you just read (reading a whole book without taking notes and you'll remember only between 10 and 20% in general).

3. Internet in general
The Net is just a massive library and you can get any information you need to get into cybersecurity, that's why any motivated people can success in this field in my opinion. However becareful when you use it, don't try to get information or do stuffs from odd websites, darknet websites, and so on, you could learn things that are not true and also hurt your own computer.


What advice would you give to someone just starting out in the field?

- Start with TryHackMe (begin with systems and networks, they are the basis)
- Use Linux in a virtual machine as your daily OS, don't use Dualboot at the beginning, (with VM you can easily rollback if you did something wrong). Start with Ubuntu (most user friendly distro in my opinion), then experience some other to get familiar with the Linux environment.
- Try to learn everyday even if it's just a little (working hard for 1 week and leaving for 2 weeks is not a good way to learn, you'll forgot most of it)
- Try to find some people who are also into it, even better if it's in real life (learning can be boring if you are always alone, besides you can learn from the others too)
- Don't give up, cybersecurity is a wide field, with many domains, and changing everyday, you need to be constent in your work, constent in your study, and even if you get your degree or get your job, you'll need to keep your knowledge and skills updated.


Any other tips, tricks, or anecdotes you'd like to share?

More personal, cybersecurity helped me a lot in my life, especially because I used to do lot of drugs, as I found something more interesting I slowly left drugs for cybersecurity. Every time I did drugs, the next 3-4 days I was really lazy, and it was 3-4 wasted days, 3-4 days where I could learn more, get new skills. As I realized it was a brake for me I stopped doing drugs. (thanks cybersecurity ✌)

As I mentioned to try to learn with other people, we are building a lab in the apartment of an intern I'm friend with at work. He was learning alone, I was learning alone, we discussed about sysadmin and cybersecurity and we ended up to create a computer club for us and few other interns. After the office we go to his apartment, at weekends too, and it's really more pleasant to learn with other people who are passionate. It makes me think about the 80's / 90's when Internet wasn't the thing we know now, and guys used to go their friends' house to talk, learn, practice.

Thank you so much for contributing to this thread😎