Are you interested in ethical hacking/pen testing/red team engagements? If so, you’re in the right place.
The following 13 books are the favorites of @OccupytheWeb (Twitter) of Hackers Arise. In November 2022, he appeared on David Bombal’s YouTube channel, an excellent resource on cybersecurity, and provided the following list of books as a roadmap for learning.
#1: Linux Basics for Hackers
If you’re new, this is the first book you should read. It provides the essentials.
- OccupyTheWeb (Author)
- English (Publication Language)
- 248 Pages – 12/04/2018 (Publication Date) – No Starch Press (Publisher)
#2: Grey Hat Hacking
- HARPER (Author)
- English (Publication Language)
- 704 Pages – 02/16/2022 (Publication Date) – McGraw Hill (Publisher)
#3: This Is How They Tell Me the World Ends
- Hardcover Book
- Perlroth, Nicole (Author)
- English (Publication Language)
- 528 Pages – 02/09/2021 (Publication Date) – Bloomsbury Publishing (Publisher)
#4: Hands on Hacking
- Hickey, Matthew (Author)
- English (Publication Language)
- 608 Pages – 09/16/2020 (Publication Date) – Wiley (Publisher)
#5: Penetration Testing
- Weidman, Georgia (Author)
- English (Publication Language)
- 528 Pages – 06/14/2014 (Publication Date) – No Starch Press (Publisher)
#6: Getting Started Becoming a Master Hacker
- Occupytheweb (Author)
- English (Publication Language)
- 358 Pages – 11/25/2019 (Publication Date) – Independently published (Publisher)
#7: The Science of Human Hacking
- Hadnagy, Christopher (Author)
- English (Publication Language)
- 320 Pages – 07/31/2018 (Publication Date) – Wiley (Publisher)
#8: Black Hat Python
- Seitz, Justin (Author)
- English (Publication Language)
- 216 Pages – 04/14/2021 (Publication Date) – No Starch Press (Publisher)
#9: Hacking Connected Cars
- Knight, Alissa (Author)
- English (Publication Language)
- 272 Pages – 03/17/2020 (Publication Date) – Wiley (Publisher)
#10: Hacking: the Art of Exploitation
- Easy to read text
- It can be a gift option
- This product will be an excellent pick for you
- Erickson, Jon (Author)
- English (Publication Language)
#11: Pentesting Blueprint
- Audible Audiobook
- Phillip L. Wylie (Author) – Matthew Josdal (Narrator)
- English (Publication Language)
- 03/30/2021 (Publication Date) – Gildan Media (Publisher)
#12: Hacking APIs
- Ball, Corey J. (Author)
- English (Publication Language)
- 368 Pages – 07/12/2022 (Publication Date) – No Starch Press (Publisher)
#13: Bug Bounty Bootcamp
- Bug Bounty Bootcamp: The Guide to Finding and Reporting Web Vulnerabilities
- No Starch Press
- ABIS BOOK
- Li, Vickie (Author)
- English (Publication Language)
Network Basics for Hackers (Available in Early 2023)
This book (which will be published by No Starch Press in early 2023) is supposedly an exposition of networking protocols and how they can be broken. It was written by @OccupytheWeb, so I expect it to be good. I’m listing it (despite the book not being out yet) because it was mentioned on David Bombal’s podcast.
Honorable Mentions by David Bombal
These books weren’t recommended by @OccupytheWeb, but add some diversity to the above list. @OccupytheWeb offered the general opinion that he didn’t like them, but according to David Bombal, many of his viewers do. So as the expression goes, your mileage may vary here.
#14: The Web Application Hacker’s Handbook
- Comes with secure packaging
- It can be a gift item
- Easy to read text
- Stuttard, Dafydd (Author)
- English (Publication Language)
#15: Black Hat Go
- Book – black hat go: go programming for hackers and pentesters
- Language: english
- Binding: paperback
- Steele, Tom (Author)
- English (Publication Language)
#16: The Hacker’s Playbook
- Kim, Peter (Author)
- English (Publication Language)
- 294 Pages – 03/13/2014 (Publication Date) – CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform (Publisher)