T. L. Roderick

Livres / From Zero to Defender

From Zero to Defender: Book 1: Foundations: Computers, Networks, Windows, Linux and Scripting for Future Security Professionals

From Zero to Defender

Book 1: Foundations: Computers, Networks, Windows, Linux and Scripting for Future Security Professionals

par T. L. Roderick · From Zero to Defender, Livre 1

Ce livre est écrit en anglais.

Partez de rien, terminez prêt à défendre. Montez votre propre laboratoire et apprenez les bases de tout défenseur.

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À propos du livre

Start from nothing. Finish ready to defend.

Cybersecurity can look like a closed world of jargon, tools and certificates. This book opens the door from the very first step. You need no previous IT experience: only a computer, curiosity and the patience to practise.

Book 1 builds the foundations every defender relies on. You learn how computers, operating systems and networks really work, then build a home lab of virtual machines on your own computer: a firewall, a Windows domain, a Windows workstation and a Linux server. From there you learn to administer both Windows and Linux as a defender, automate your work with bash and Python, question data with SQL, and understand the web, containers and the cloud.

Every chapter follows the same pattern:

  • Plain explanations that define every term before it is used, with analogies, worked examples and figures.

  • "Check your understanding" questions after each major section.

  • A real case study, told from official reports: what happened, what a defender would have seen, and which controls would have stopped it. Cases include WannaCry and the NHS, BlackLotus, the Dyn DNS attack, Target, NotPetya at Maersk, the XZ Utils backdoor, SolarWinds, TalkTalk, Equifax and Capital One.

  • A guided hands-on lab in which every step says what to do, why, what you should see and what to do if you see something else.

  • An independent challenge with a worked solution, exam-style practice questions with every option explained, and a checklist that tells you when you are ready to move on.

Two checkpoints test everything you have learnt so far and show you exactly what to revisit.

What you will learn:

  • How hardware, memory, storage and data work, from first principles

  • The Windows and Linux command lines, then how to administer both as a defender

  • Networking from addressing and subnetting to ports, packets, firewalls and segmentation

  • How to automate security work with bash and Python, and question evidence with SQL

  • How the web, APIs, containers and the cloud work, and where they go wrong

What you need: a computer you are allowed to install software on, with at least 16 GB of memory and 200 GB of free SSD space (32 GB and 500 GB are recommended). All the software used is free or a free evaluation edition. If your computer runs macOS or Linux, the book tells you what to do differently.

Defensive by design: you learn how attacks work only well enough to recognise, detect, stop and investigate them, and you practise only in your own isolated lab.

Who this book is for: anyone starting out in cybersecurity, including school and college leavers, career changers, and IT staff who want firm foundations before studying for the CompTIA Security+ exam.

The From Zero to Defender series: Book 1: Foundations. Book 2: Security+, Volume 1: Concepts and Threats. Book 3: Security+, Volume 2: Architecture, Operations and Governance. Book 4: The Defender's Craft and CySA+. Book 1 prepares you for the Security+ books; it does not by itself cover the whole exam.

CompTIA, Security+ and CySA+ are trademarks of CompTIA, Inc. This book is independent and is not affiliated with or endorsed by CompTIA.