Skill-Focused Cybersecurity Learning Plan

Pre-requisites (Already Completed)

• Soft Skills
• Programming Skills
• Network Basics

Phase 1: Foundation (3-4 months)

1. IBM and ISC2 Cybersecurity Specialist Professional Certificate (Coursera)

   • Complete all 10 courses in the program
   • Estimated Time: 15-20 hours/week for 2-3 months
   • Focus Areas:
     • Hardware and Operating Systems
     • Software, Programming, and Databases
     • Networking and Storage
     • Cloud Computing
     • Security Principles
     • Incident Response, Business Continuity, and Disaster Recovery
     • Access Control Concepts
     • Network Security
     • Security Operations
     • Breach Response Case Studies

2. TryHackMe: Beginner Path

   • Complete the entire Beginner Learning Path
   • Estimated Time: 40-60 hours (spread over the phase)

3. Programming for Cybersecurity

   • Focus on Python for Security Scripting (Done)
   • Resources: "Black Hat Python" by Justin Seitz (read and practice)
   • Estimated Time: 2-3 weeks (alongside Coursera courses)

   Skills You Will Learn:

   • Networking and Socket Programming: Create network tools using sockets and learn client-server architecture.
   • Web Scraping: Use Beautiful Soup and Requests to gather data from web pages.
   • File and Data Manipulation: Read/write files and parse logs for analysis.
   • Basic Security Tools Development: Develop tools for tasks like password cracking and network scanning.

Phase 2: Core Security Skills (3-4 months)

1. CCNA (Cisco Certified Network Associate)
   • Topics Include:
     • Networking Fundamentals
     • IP Addressing and Subnetting
     • Routing Protocols (e.g., OSPF, EIGRP)
     • Switching Concepts and VLANs
     • Network Access Control
     • IP Services (e.g., NAT, DHCP, DNS)
     • Security Fundamentals
     • Wireless Networking
     • Network Automation and Programmability
     • Troubleshooting Network Issues
     • Wide Area Networks (WANs)
     • Understanding Cisco Devices and Management
2. TryHackMe: Intermediate Path
   • Complete rooms focusing on specific areas like web application security and network security
   • Estimated Time: 60-80 hours (spread over the phase)

Phase 3: Advanced Skills and Specialization (4-6 months)

1. TryHackMe: Advanced Path

   • Complete advanced rooms and challenges
   • Focus on complex scenarios and advanced attack techniques
   • Estimated Time: 80-100 hours (spread over the phase)

2. Choose a Specialization Area:

   • a) Malware Analysis and Reverse Engineering
   • b) Threat Intelligence
   • c) Application Security
     • Study relevant online resources and practice in your chosen area
     • Estimated Time: 2-3 months

3. Advanced Programming for Cybersecurity:

   • Focus on developing custom tools and exploits
   • Resources: "Gray Hat Python" by Justin Seitz
   • Estimated Time: Ongoing alongside other studies

   Skills You Will Learn:

   • Advanced Python Programming: Master object-oriented programming and design patterns.
   • Exploit Development: Understand vulnerabilities and create proof-of-concept exploits.
   • Malware Analysis: Automate analysis and extraction of indicators of compromise (IOCs).
   • Network and Web Application Security Tools: Build advanced scanning tools and vulnerability scanners.
   • Integration with Security Frameworks: Learn to integrate tools with existing security frameworks and APIs.
   • Advanced Scripting for Incident Response: Automate incident response tasks and develop memory analysis tools.

4. OSCP:

   • Topics include:
     • Web Application Attacks (e.g., SQL Injection, XSS)
     • Network Attacks (e.g., Man-in-the-Middle, Sniffing)
     • Buffer Overflow Exploits
     • Post-Exploitation Techniques
     • Privilege Escalation
     • Bypassing Firewalls and Filters
     • Social Engineering Techniques
     • Scripting and Automation (e.g., Python, Bash)
     • Reporting and Documentation
     • Penetration Testing Methodologies
     • Information Gathering and Reconnaissance
     • Vulnerability Scanning
     • Exploitation Techniques