Best Beginner to Advanced Hacking Books to Read in 2023

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Hacking is an art. Also, it is a difficult skill to master. To hack into a system or a server, you must essentially be more skilled and efficient than the developer. To become an expert in this profession, you must put in a lot of time and work. In this article, we are going to discuss the best hacking books to read in 2023.

Whether you want to be an ethical hacker or a black hat hacker, you’ll need to be familiar with a lot of topics, including programming, network security, security tools and frameworks, and hacking principles.

One question that every prospective hacker has is, “Where can I receive accurate and effective information to be successful in ethical hacking?” The correct response, however, is to read and practice.

Although reading and studying through books may appear archaic in today’s technologically advanced world, the actual information is contained solely within these bundles of pages. Although online courses and YouTube videos can provide a wealth of information, the power of a good book cannot be underestimated.

Hundreds of hacking books are available to help you get started in the field. Here are a few of the top books on ethical hacking that will take you from a beginning level to an intermediate level. These finest books will undoubtedly be an excellent place to begin your journey.

11 Best Hacking Books

1) Hacking: The Art of Exploitation

Let’s start our list of the best hacking books with Hacking: The Art of Exploitation. It focuses on a number of frequent issues that ethical hackers experience when they first start out. This hacking book can assist beginners in performing their tasks more efficiently. This is one of the greatest books for learning the technical aspects of programming, shell programming, scripting, and exploitation.

This book will help you comprehend the complexities of digital security duties, whether you are a newbie or have very little hacking skills. This great and well-written book will teach you everything you need to know about gaining access to a system.

2) Ghost in the Wires: My Adventures as the World’s Most Wanted Hacker

Kevin Mitnick wrote the hacking book, Ghost in the Wires, which was published in 2011. The book tells the story of Kevin Mitnick’s path from becoming the world’s most wanted hacker to becoming the world’s most wanted hacker. Kevin was a black hat hacker who switched sides and became a white hat.

The book details how he deceived the FBI, NSA, and other agencies, going unnoticed for years. He hacked into large corporations, stealing money and tampering with information. He was later involved in significant hacking activities and became a consultant in system intrusion prevention. The tale of how he accomplished all of this is told in this hacking book.

3) Red Team Field Manual (RTFM)

Ben Clark’s RTFM is a hacking book that reads more like a manual than a novel. Its contents contain codes and script strings that can be simply navigated through in any system to uncover flaws and weaknesses. The book’s codes are compatible with Python and a number of other scripting languages.

4) The Basics of Hacking and Penetration Testing

This hacking book covers all of the fundamentals of penetration testing and hacking without assuming any prior understanding of the subject. It takes you on a step-by-step journey through penetration testing, from gathering information through scanning, exploiting, and eventually writing a report. Rather than delving into specific principles, this book will provide you with a comprehensive picture of hacking.

5) The Web Application Hackers Handbook: Finding and exploiting security flaws

You’ve probably heard of Burp Suite, which is one of the most popular penetration testing tools. The founder of the organization that built this formidable tool published this hacking book. Web Application Hackers Handbook is designed specifically for someone who is new to hacking and computer science.

The book’s content begins with extremely basic internet information and progresses through the hacking world step by step. It will allow you to discover various vulnerabilities and look for the weakest portions of a program before attacking online applications.

The hacking book also teaches you how to defend yourself against various forms of cyberattacks using hacking tactics. It is a 21-chapter collection that is ideal for newbies.

6) CISSP All-In-One Exam Guide

Next name on this list of popular hacking books is CISSP All-In-One Exam Guide. This book was written by Shon Harris for those studying for the Certified Information Systems Security Professional test in order to obtain cybersecurity certifications. The ethical hacker’s system, network, legal, and governance sectors are all covered in this hacking book.

7) Metasploit: The Penetration Tester’s Guide

Metasploit is a popular computer security tool that every hacker must know about. This hacking book is dedicated to explaining the popular hacking tool. The book is on penetration testing and security testing and was written by David Kennedy, Jim O’Gorman, Devon Kearns, and Mati Aharoni.

It goes over all of the testing methods in a way that makes them feel more like a tutorial. This hacking book is prepared in such a way that it will help newcomers to the subject to learn relevant skills and become security professionals.

8) Practical Malware Analysis: The Hands-on Guide to Dissecting Malicious Software

This hacking book was written by Michael Sikorski and Andrew Honig to explain how to analyze and locate malware on a Windows machine. The book is written from a beginner’s point of view in order to help them understand the general concept.

9) Social Engineering: The Art of Human Hacking

This book was written by Christopher Hadnagy in 2010. The methodology used in human hacking, such as forcing someone to give their password, is discussed in the book. Methods of identity theft, fraud, and deception are all covered in this hacking book.

10) Applied Cryptography: Protocols, Algorithms, and Source Code in C

The encryption process in hacking is the subject of Bruce Schneier’s book. This hacking book covers all aspects of cryptography as well as how it relates to hacking. It contains a number of C applications that allow someone to use coding in hacking.

11) The Code Book

The last name on our list of the best hacking books is The Code Book. Written by Simon Singh, it was published in New York in 1999. The book isn’t fully about hacking or computer network information. Nonetheless, it contains information about the codes and ciphers that have been used to communicate and transfer messages since ancient times.

The book is on cryptography, which is the method of encrypting or coding messages. This hacking book is significant since the computer language or codes are likewise encrypted, which aids in deciphering the code’s flaws.

Conclusion

Now that we’ve given you a fantastic list of excellent hacking books to read, it’s up to you to decide which ones you want to go for. Just go ahead and start reading! You now have a plethora of choices.

A person can never go wrong with a good book. Moreover, if you really want to learn more about hacking or start a career in this field, you should start with the fundamentals, and, believe it or not, a book will provide you with more accurate knowledge than any 10 minute YouTube video.

Obtaining useful information will boost your confidence in your abilities, allowing you to get a decent cybersecurity job or become a proficient hacker.

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