Cyber Security is becoming a rising concern for many people and corporations in the modern world. The more connected our world becomes to the internet, the more exposed and vulnerable you become. Knowing how to guard yourself against these dangers is of utmost importance, so we compiled a list of the Best Books on Cyber Security here.
There will also be some books here on Hacking, which you may initially think do not belong in an article on Cyber Security. But the reality is that Hacking and Cyber Security are very similar, and overlap in many areas. Those who know how to exploit and identify weaknesses, will surely also know how to guard against them.
The list of Books we have compiled:
- The Art of Invisibility: The World’s Most Famous Hacker Teaches You How to Be Safe in the Age of Big Brother and Big Data
- Hacking: The Art of Exploitation
- Cult of the Dead Cow: How the Original Hacking Supergroup Might Just Save the World
- The Cuckoo’s Egg: Tracking a Spy Through the Maze of Computer Espionage
- Defensive Security Handbook: Best Practices for Securing Infrastructure
- Social Engineering: The Science of Human Hacking
- Hacking Exposed 7: Network Security Secrets and Solutions
The Art of Invisibility: The World’s Most Famous Hacker Teaches You How to Be Safe in the Age of Big Brother and Big Data
Author: Kevin Mitnick
Publication Date: September 10, 2019
Pages: 320
Written by Kevin Mitnick, who has been dubbed the “World’s Most Famous Hacker”, this book teaches you how to keep yourself untraceable and invisible online. The book starts off by showing you just how exposed your privacy really is, and how you are being tracked 24/7. Kevin Mitnick uses real-life examples to show you exactly what is happening in your life without your knowledge (and consent).
After teaching you about all these dangers, the Author will teach you about how you can safeguard yourself and your family against these threats. Reading this book, you will learn everything from password protection and smart Wi-Fi usage to advanced techniques designed to maximize your anonymity.
Who better than the former Internationally most wanted Hacker, to teach you about the vulnerabilities in your life, and how to guard against them.
Hacking: The Art of Exploitation
Author: Jon Erickson
Publication Date: February 4, 2008
Pages: 488
Jon Erickson, introduces his book Hacking: the Art of Exploitation, to share the art and science of hacking in a way that is accessible to everyone. The Book comes with a CD that provides a Linux Programming & Debugging Environment, so you don’t need to make any modifications to your current system.
The Book will teach all you about the current exploits out there, as well as many other hacking techniques. Get your hands dirty debugging code, overflowing buffers, hijacking network communications, bypassing protections, exploiting cryptographic weaknesses, and make even try your hand at making your own exploits.
A little prior knowledge about the C Programming language and Operating Systems in general will help you, but are not compulsory. The Author has written the book in a way that makes it accessible to even non-programmers (with a little extra effort on your end)
Cult of the Dead Cow: How the Original Hacking Supergroup Might Just Save the World
Author: Joseph Menn
Publication Date: June 2, 2020
Pages: 288
Cult of the Dead Cow is one of the oldest, most respected, and most famous American hacking group of all time. Both directly and indirectly, they have contributed greatly to advancing Cyber Security, forcing many companies to invest more into security for customers, releasing the top testing tool for password security, and contributing to the development of TOR, one of the most important tools for privacy on the web.
The Book is styled more as a story with a message, rather than a textbook or a guide. It tells an interesting tale about a Hacking group, and their exploits and achievements. Hacking exploits and vulnerabilities will be discussed, and you will get to see things from a Hacker’s perspective.
The Cuckoo’s Egg: Tracking a Spy Through the Maze of Computer Espionage
Author: Cliff Stoll
Publication Date: January 1, 2005
Pages: 399
This book tells the tale of Cliff Stoll, a former astronaut turned systems manager, who identified a hacker who had infiltrated the system, and was exposing national secrets. This is the story of how he began his one-man mission to identify and bring the hacker to justice.
Follow Cliff Stoll through a dangerous game of deception, broken codes, satellites, and missile bases that ultimately leads to him exposing an international spying ring related to the Soviet Union Intelligence (KGB) with the help of the FBI and CIA.
Defensive Security Handbook: Best Practices for Securing Infrastructure
Author: Lee Brotherston, Amanda Berlin
Publication Date: May 2, 2017
Pages: 284
Defensive Security Handbook is a great handbook for low-budget organizations who are trying to tighten their security. Hiring Security Professionals can be expensive, so many look for alternative options or try and improvise. This book provides the readers with a Security 101 handbook with the steps, tools, processes, and ideas to help you implement maximum-security improvement at little or no cost.
Each chapter in the book addresses a specific type of issue and how to deal with it. Some of the various issue it addresses are, breaches and disasters, compliance, network infrastructure and password management, vulnerability scanning, and penetration testing.
One of the best books on Cyber Security that you could hope to find.
Social Engineering: The Science of Human Hacking
Author: Christopher Hadnagy
Publication Date: July 31, 2018
Pages: 320
The theme of this Book is centered around the exploiting of the Human mind. You won’t always be facing a system or computer. Rather, sometimes your target may be a human whom you need to bypass. Human nature and emotion is the secret weapon of malicious social engineering, and this book shows you how to recognize, predict, and prevent this type of manipulation.
The Book also teaches you about Social Skills and how to communicate effectively. All this is done in a very friendly and engaging manner by the author, who also shares many real-life examples and success stories (as well as failure stories).
Hacking Exposed 7: Network Security Secrets and Solutions
Author: Stuart McClure, Joel Scambray, George Kurtz
Publication Date: August 1, 2012
Pages: 768
This book is written by three cybersecurity experts, who put you in the shoes of the hackers, show you what the hackers do, what tools they use, and how they exploit the vulnerabilities of your own system. It follows up by teaching you the correct counter measures to these exploits.
A book is a little old, and doesn’t contain the most modern techniques, but it’s still a good option for beginners looking to get their feet wet.
This marks the end of the Best Books for Cyber Security article. Any suggestions or contributions for CodersLegacy are more than welcome. Questions regarding the article content can be asked in the comments section below.
