Network security is vital in ensuring development and database safety in today’s modern technology era. Therefore, it is important for every organization to have competent cybersecurity engineers.
You may wonder: Is it difficult to become a professional cybersecurity engineer? The answer depends on many factors as well as your own efforts.
This job requires seriousness, perseverance, and brains with high thinking ability. So what is the theoretical basis and practice of network security?
My best books below cover different topics, selected based on practicality and user expectations. They raise your awareness of cybersecurity and help you stay ahead, whether a beginner or an experienced one.
1. Hacking: The Art of Exploitation
Specifications
- Publishing company: No Starch Press
- Author: Jon Erickson
- Number of pages: 488 pages
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Reasons to buy
- Best overall quality
- Attractive text
- Updated content
- Suitable for a wide range of readers
Review
I appreciate the content that Hacking: The Art of Exploitation brings. It provides an overview of how hacking works and an in-depth exploration of the topic from a hacker’s perspective. So, it helps readers to more easily visualize existing problems, intrusions, and malicious intentions on the network system.
Unlike many other security books, this product comes with a Live CD, which includes a complete Linux environment. It helps give curious readers a chance to get started with programming and debugging while still making sure it doesn’t affect their computer’s operating system.
It is a unique advantage for learning and developing professional knowledge.
To reach a large audience, the author has carefully used simple textual language, minimizing technical words, helping people read and understand faster.
As a beginner with little knowledge, I am confident in reading and understanding quickly when using this book.
The book includes practical examples accompanying the different chapters. It allows readers to visualize and practice efficiently and effectively.
2. Cult of the Dead Cow
Specifications
- Publishing company: PublicAffairs
- Author: Joseph Men
- Number of pages: 272 pages
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Reasons to buy
- Interesting content for beginners
- Includes many different topics
- Provide network security history
- There are practical examples
Review
A good book with engaging content will be more accessible for you to follow and absorb. The Cult of the Dead Cow is such a product. This book covers historical stories, from the very first formations to the perfect development of cybersecurity.
The author has organized the books scientifically and attractively so I can easily follow each chapter. It provides historical knowledge through real-life stories to make it easier to visualize.
The book is written by the famous author Joseph Men – an experienced reporter and journalist in cybersecurity. Although it is a book that focuses a lot on historical elements, the book’s details are concise and straightforward.
Accordingly, it only covers about 272 pages, giving readers more motivation and inspiration to learn.
3. Ghost in the Wires
Specifications
- Publishing company: Back Bay Books
- Author: Kevin Mitnick and William L. Simon
- Number of pages: 448 pages
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Reasons to buy
- Highly realistic stories
- Humorous, engaging voice
- Easy to reach the audience
- Suitable for beginners
Review
Reading fictional books can form some misconceptions about cybersecurity knowledge and skills. Instead, it would help to buy books built with real stories because it will help you understand more deeply about the problem. The Ghost in the Wires is the best choice for you.
This book is like an exciting horror movie the author wants to convey. Through unique storytelling, the author seeks to bring the reader a sense of intimacy rather than fiction.
I am excited about the stories here. It helps me approach and get acquainted and quickly absorb knowledge. So what is the main content of this book?
It is a true story of the author’s conspiracies and experiences of infiltrating major world corporations, such as Motorola, Pacific Bell, and Sun Microsystems.
From the perspective of a professional hacker, the author wants to convey many meaningful messages about knowledge and practical skills in network security.
4. The Code Book
Specifications
- Publishing company: Anchor
- Author: Simon Singh
- Number of pages: 432 pages
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Reasons to buy
- Interesting content
- Accessible for beginners
- Compact and rambling books
- Suitable for a wide range of readers
- Good historical stories about cryptography
Review
Cryptography in network security is the soul, determining the long-term development in the future. You can refer to this book to understand the connection between cryptography and network security.
The Code Book is author Simon Singh’s most engaging book, detailing the history of coding stretching back to ancient Egypt.
It specifically describes how coding has shaped the world we know today. It helps readers understand the importance of cryptography in developing global information technology.
The Code Book is the perfect choice for experiencing interesting historical stories. It provides an in-depth perspective on the formation and development process and orients the reader on opportunities for advancement in this field.
5. Threat Modeling: Designing for Security
Specifications
- Publishing company: Wiley
- Author: Adam Shostack
- Number of pages: 624 pages
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Reasons to buy
- Include specific instructions
- In-depth, practical knowledge
- Outstanding resources
- Orientation to building threat models
Review
You will only do your job as a cybersecurity professional if you have gone through threat orientation and management programs.
The book Threat Modeling is the best recommendation for your desire to learn.
It presents threat modeling best practices used in practice or effectively in dealing with threats for large global companies, such as Microsoft.
Although I do not personally practice security, I have always appreciated the unique content of this book. It provides valuable expertise with presentations rather than lists, making it easier for the reader to absorb.
This book is for everyone, from beginners to experienced ones. Therefore, it is a good choice for those interested in threat modeling.
6. Hacking Exposed 7
Specifications
- Publishing company: McGraw Hill
- Author: Stuart McClure, George Kurtz & Joel Scambray
- Number of pages: 768 pages
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Reasons to buy
- Lots of useful information
- Include description image
- Include hacking guidelines
- Provide insight into cybersecurity
Review
This book is the culmination of three leading cybersecurity experts who have had experience tackling hacking from an academic perspective. Therefore, the knowledge they bring will ensure practicality and depth.
Despite diving into all aspects of cybersecurity, Hacking Exposed 7 has intrigued me with its brevity, conciseness, and ease of understanding. All content builds on real-life situations to give you a complete perspective on cybersecurity.
The book will update new knowledge every year to bring the most up-to-date knowledge to readers. That is also the point I am satisfied with this product.
If you want to own an in-depth book on anti-hacker solutions, this edition is also quite interesting for your curiosity. It helps you understand and best practice how to fight hacker intrusions.
7. Social Engineering
Specifications
- Publishing company: Wiley
- Author: Christopher Hadnagy
- Number of pages: 320 pages
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Reasons to buy
- Suitable for many objects
- Authentic content
- Easy to understand
Review
In today’s modern day, it is tough to find a book about cybersecurity with all the desired content at a low price. And Social Engineering is the result of more than three months of research. So what is the main content of this book?
This version mainly covers the techniques commonly used to fool even security officers. It shows you how these techniques have been available in the past. From there, you can develop your thinking and generate more new ideas to protect information from hackers and progress to stabilize the network security system.
Its content covers many different topics, is separated with detailed illustrations, and is easy for readers to learn. It is suitable for many audiences, including those with experience and in-depth knowledge related to coding.
8. The CERT Guide to Insider Threats
Specifications
- Publishing company: Addison -Wesley Professional
- Author: Dawn M. Cappelli, Andrew P. Moore
- Number of pages: 432 pages
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Reasons to buy
- For experienced programmer
- In-depth knowledge of insider threat
- Detailed content analysis
- Provide unique insight
Review
The CERT Guide to Insider Threats is an excellent book on insider threats, explicitly designed for those with experience in cybersecurity.
It again sheds light on the dangers threatening the network and guides solutions to deal with them effectively.
Each sentence in this book is written with close language and is easy to understand and absorb. Yet, it requires a high level of concentration from you.
9. CompTIA Security+ Get Certified Get Ahead
Specifications
- Publishing company: Independent Publishing
- Author: Darril Gibson
- Number of pages: 593 pages
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Reasons to buy
- Diversity of resources
- Provide good knowledge about security
- Includes many practice questions
- Easily accessible for newbies
Review
CompTIA Security+ Get Certified Get Ahead is distinguished by its diverse and valuable learning resources. It includes additional practice questions and online labs to reinforce your knowledge and practice.
I am highly interested in its content design, which is easy to access and put into practice quickly. The logical order of chapters according to different topics can make it easier for readers to get acquainted and learn. It is a valuable investment in learning and developing my cybersecurity field.
This edition also gives you in-depth knowledge of security. It directs you to the latest information that many of today’s top IT professionals use.
10. Computer Programming And Cyber Security for Beginners
Specifications
- Publishing company: Independent publishing
- Author: Zach Codings
- Number of pages: 408 pages
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Reasons to buy
- For beginners
- Easy-to-understand language
- Include content on database building
- Provide knowledge related to computer programming
Review
Programming has a vital role in cybersecurity and privacy development. To start with this problem, you must buy a book like Computer Programming And Cyber Security. This edition mainly covers essential computer programming and security topics, suitable for beginners.
No knowledge of network security, but after more than two months, I was confident about my basic knowledge. In this book, I liked how it explains the difference between machine learning and artificial intelligence. The reasoning is coherent and easy to understand, making me excited and motivated to learn.
This book still needs to be covered with highly specialized knowledge. And that is its most significant limitation.
Buying Guides
Publication date
Experimentally, choose books with the most recent publication or reprint date. It means that the knowledge provided to you is the latest and most accurate version. Thus, it will serve your work better.
Author
Each author will have his way of expressing and presenting the content of his book’s content to help readers visualize and understand more easily.
It is a priority for me to choose books written by highly specialized authors with great experience, so the knowledge gained will be more diverse and profound.
Price
You can easily buy a book with an appropriate amount based on your use and economic needs. Notably, attach little importance to their cost, and evaluate in combination with the value content brings. It will help you find the right book.
FAQs
What 3 things does cybersecurity protect?
Cybersecurity protects three things:
- Protect your business from cyber-attacks and data breaches.
- Protection for data and networks.
- Prevent unauthorized user access.
What is the most potent prevention against cyber threats?
There are many measures to prevent cyber threats, but not all are suitable and successfully applied. Here are some of the most frequently used solutions:
- Train highly specialized staff.
- Keep your software and systems entirely up to date.
- Ensure endpoint protection.
- Install a secure firewall.
What are the 4 principles of cybersecurity?
The 4 principles of network security are:
- Govern: Identify and manage security risks.
- Protection: Implement controls to limit security risks.
- Detection: Detect and understand network security events to identify network security incidents.
- Response: Respond to and recover from cybersecurity incidents.
What are the 5 types of cyber attacks?
The types of cyber attacks are:
- Insider threat.
- SQL injection attack.
- Denial of service attack.
- Cryptocurrency theft.
- Password attack.
Who is the god of cyber security?
Ankur Chandrakant is the god of cybersecurity. He is a world-renowned expert on digital science.
Conclusion
With the list above, we hope to help you make your final buying decision easy.
Most importantly, you need to rely on your desire to learn. For me, Hacking: The Art of Exploitation is the best choice for developing a career in cybersecurity.
Thank you for reading!