Cyber Security

roadmap.sh: https://roadmap.sh/cyber-security

Suggested path through the Cyber Security nodes. Each node links to its lesson when written.

Nodes

Fundamentals & basic concepts

• What is cyber security
• CIA triad (Confidentiality, Integrity, Availability)
• Authentication vs Authorization vs Accounting
• Non-repudiation
• Defense in depth
• Zero trust model
• Risk, threat, vulnerability and exploit
• Hacker types (white / grey / black hat)
• Common attack types (phishing, malware, DoS, MITM)
• Basic IT skills prerequisite

Operating systems

• Windows fundamentals
• Linux fundamentals
• macOS fundamentals
• Command line proficiency
• Hardware troubleshooting basics
• Virtualization & VMs

Networking knowledge

• OSI model
• TCP/IP model
• IP addressing & subnetting
• Common ports & protocols (HTTP, HTTPS, DNS, FTP, SSH)
• DNS, DHCP, NAT
• Routing & switching basics
• Network devices (router, switch, firewall, IDS/IPS)
• Wi-Fi & wireless security
• VPNs & proxies
• Packet analysis with Wireshark/tcpdump

Security skills & knowledge

• Network security
• Application security
• Endpoint security
• Cloud security
• Data security & classification
• Physical security
• Social engineering awareness
• Mobile security

Cryptography

• Symmetric encryption (AES, DES)
• Asymmetric encryption (RSA, ECC)
• Hashing (SHA, MD5)
• Digital signatures
• PKI & certificates
• TLS/SSL
• Key exchange (Diffie-Hellman)
• Steganography

Identity & access management

• Access control models (DAC, MAC, RBAC, ABAC)
• Multi-factor authentication
• Single sign-on (SSO)
• OAuth & OpenID Connect
• Kerberos & LDAP / Active Directory
• Password policies & management

Tools of the trade

• Nmap
• Wireshark
• Metasploit
• Burp Suite
• Nikto
• Nessus / OpenVAS
• Aircrack-ng
• John the Ripper / Hashcat
• SIEM tools (Splunk, ELK)
• Kali Linux toolset

Attacks & threats

• Malware (virus, worm, trojan, ransomware)
• Phishing & spear phishing
• DoS & DDoS
• Man-in-the-middle
• SQL injection
• Cross-site scripting (XSS)
• CSRF
• Privilege escalation
• Buffer overflow
• OWASP Top 10

Offensive security

• Reconnaissance & OSINT
• Scanning & enumeration
• Vulnerability assessment
• Exploitation
• Post-exploitation & pivoting
• Penetration testing methodology
• Web application pentesting
• Red teaming

Defensive security

• Security operations center (SOC)
• Logging & monitoring
• Intrusion detection & prevention (IDS/IPS)
• Incident response
• Digital forensics
• Threat hunting
• Threat intelligence
• Endpoint detection & response (EDR)
• Hardening & patch management
• Blue teaming

Governance, risk & compliance

• Security policies & procedures
• Risk management frameworks
• NIST Cybersecurity Framework
• ISO 27001
• GDPR / HIPAA / PCI-DSS
• Security audits & assessments
• Business continuity & disaster recovery

Career & certifications

• CompTIA Security+
• CompTIA Network+
• CEH (Certified Ethical Hacker)
• OSCP
• CISSP
• Capture the flag (CTF) practice

Resources

See resources.md.

Project ideas

• Build a home lab with vulnerable VMs (Metasploitable, DVWA) and document a full pentest from recon to report.
• Set up a SIEM (ELK or Splunk free) to ingest logs from your machines and write detection rules for brute-force and port-scan attempts.
• Write a Python port scanner and a packet sniffer, then compare their output against Nmap and Wireshark to learn the protocols.