Security+ Certified: Here's my journey (no AI used for writing/editing)

Intro

This is the day where I can introduce myself as a Certified Security Specialist. It was kind of a journey I’d say. Not only because of the certification itself, but because of the broader picture that I see after using many learning resources. I’d say that this journey was Security+++ and it is only a beginning. I’m so excited. I’d say that I had two semesters in my journey. Let’s dive deeper:

Vision when starting?

Before starting my cyber transition journey I had a vision to dive deeper. Not only into the Security+ (which itself is kind of a broad cert).

First of all I wanted to dive deeper into Linux. I was using it for a few years before, but I wanted to understand it more deeply. The possibilities on Linux OS is endless.

After that I wanted to understand Network, which is a very important topic in a context of Cyber Security.

After Network I wanted to understand tools and techniques which are used in Cyber Security world (not all of them, but at least the most popular).

Important part about my journey is that I’ve used Physical Books. I’ve bought them and I have them as a cheat sheets.

FIRST SEMESTER

Linux Basics for Hackers

This book was very fun and interesting. I really love how Master OTW writes. Real world examples, history of computers and stuff like that. I really enjoyed tasks after every chapter. It gave me lots of practical skills and understanding about Linux OS.

Network Basics for Hackers

I really wanted to dive into this book even before the Linux basics, because I felt that this book has some really really important part of IT in general. It was really rich with content about Internet and Networks in general. It was really interesting to do practice tasks. I bough Alpha external NIC with capability of Monitor mode. Scanning networks and seeing that there are still networks “protected” with WPS was kind of disappointing. With nowadays computing power brute forcing WPS takes few hours.

I want to clarify that I was not cracking Wi-Fis, only scanning them from outside.

Getting Started Becoming a Master Hacker

This book was kind of a desert. I had a grasp on different tools. I had a really interesting dive into the history of Hacks and cyber security in general. I really enjoyed this book. Lots of hands on practice tasks.

What surprised me?

There was few topics that really surprised me.

One of them is RF (Radio Frequencies). It is soooo powerful and important. Long story short - everything is Radio. Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, GPS, GSM.

Other topic was CAN (Controller Area Network). In other words - vehicles networks. How does everything work in a vehicle. I understood how thieves are stealing vehicles and how once again RF is doing a big part in this field. It was really interesting to do a practice tasks with CAN simulator. You can literally tell a vehicle to open all of the doors and accelerate to 100km/h via terminal.

SHORT BREAK

I think it is really important to give yourself time after learning big piece of information. Good sleep is your friend.

SECOND SEMESTER

After a break it was time to learn for the Security+ exam.

Hackers-Arise Boot-camp

First part was a boot-camp by Master OTW on Hackers-Arise. As mentioned before, OTW is a really good teacher. I like that he was teaching not only the topics of exam, but he also gave real world examples of the stuff that he was teaching.

Professor Messer

After that I wanted to dive into dry theory and mark all of the topics that I felt weak after Hackers-Arise boot-camp. Professor Messer is a great resource.

Boson practice exams

I think one of the most important resource was Boson Simulation Exams. A really really good resource for studying and feeling how the exam looks like and how does the questions are formulated.

Acronyms

This was a tough part. There are 300+ possible acronyms in the Securtiy+ exam. First I was just grinding them, but after that I was doing other technique. I was studying the topics and trying to understand the process of different technologies (acronyms) and then they’ve just clicked.

Outro

Well, I could talk and write about this journey, but it is only a beginning. I am really excited for the upcoming projects. One of them is physical lab for a deeper dive into the Network, Firewall configuration, logging and important parts of Cyber Security.

Believe in yourself and you can do anything!

CREDITS

Huge credits and a big thank you to the Master OTW.

Thanks to the Professor Messer

A big thank you to Benjamin - my support and mastermind when times are difficult:

End of first year. Stay tuned for the future.