Cybersecurity Analyst Roadmap

Foundations, defensive skills and hands-on practice for security analyst and application security roles.

7 milestones · ~265 hours total

1. 1

   Networking and systems

   ~40h

   TCP/IP, DNS, HTTP, TLS, Linux and Windows basics that every security task builds on.

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2. 2

   Security fundamentals

   ~30h

   CIA triad, threats and risk, authentication, authorisation, cryptography basics and common attacks.

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3. 3

   Web application security

   ~40h

   OWASP Top 10: injection, broken access control, XSS, CSRF, SSRF and how to fix each one.

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4. 4

   Defensive operations

   ~40h

   Logs, SIEM concepts, detection rules, incident response steps and writing clear reports.

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5. 5

   Hands-on practice

   ~50h

   Practise legally on intentionally vulnerable labs and capture-the-flag platforms; keep notes of what you learn.

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6. 6

   Secure coding and tooling

   ~25h

   Dependency scanning, secret management, static analysis and secure review of real code.

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7. 7

   Certifications and portfolio

   ~40h

   Choose a recognised entry-level certification and publish write-ups of labs you completed.

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