If you google “cybersecurity” you’ll get about 151,000,000 results.

Google “intro to hacking” and you’ll get about 2,450,000 results.

Where do you start?

These books will give you a whopper of a background in cyber security:

Don’t judge this book by its cover – it’s a history book. It recounts the history of hacking beginning with phone phreakers in the ’80’s and up through current day. Common malware and scams are described, techniques to preserver your privacy, and more.  Nothing more important than learning where we’ve come from to understand where we are today.

The Cuckoo’s Egg describes how an astronomer who was assigned to reconcile a difference in a server time accounting program discovered foreign hackers diligently trying to penetrate U.S. military organizations, and how he coordinated counter-measures with the FBI, CIA, NSA, and the various bases being hacked. You’ll learn the importance of passwords, changing default credentials, patching, logging, keeping good records, and communication.

Kevin Mitnick is one of the most famous hackers due to the extent and success of his exploits. He was not malicious, he just used systems in ways the owners did not expect them to be used. In The Art of Intrusion he assembles a variety of stories illustrating how hackers gain access to systems. You’ll learn to pay attention to situations that aren’t quite what they are supposed to be.

This brand-new fifth edition teaches you what to do, how you can do it, how you can practice it, and how you can make a career out of it. Very well written and easy to digest.