Cybersecurity Roadmap

Foundations first, then attack and defend: a path from networking basics to hands-on practice.

10 milestones · ~149 hours total

1. 1

   Networking and Linux fundamentals

   ~25h

   TCP/IP, DNS, HTTP, common ports, and comfort in a Linux terminal.

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2. 2

   Security principles

   ~8h

   The CIA triad, threat modelling, risk, least privilege and defence in depth.

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3. 3

   Cryptography basics

   ~12h

   Hashing, symmetric vs asymmetric encryption, TLS and digital signatures.

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4. 4

   Web application security (OWASP Top 10)

   ~20h

   Injection, XSS, CSRF, broken access control and how to prevent each.

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5. 5

   Authentication and access control

   ~10h

   Password storage, MFA, sessions/tokens, OAuth and role-based access.

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6. 6

   Network security

   ~12h

   Firewalls, VPNs, IDS/IPS, segmentation and securing Wi-Fi.

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7. 7

   Vulnerability assessment

   ~10h

   Scanning, reading CVEs, prioritising by risk, and responsible disclosure.

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8. 8

   Logging, detection and incident response

   ~12h

   What to log, spotting suspicious patterns, and the steps of handling an incident.

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9. 9

   Secure coding

   ~10h

   Validate input, handle secrets, update dependencies, and review code for common flaws.

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10. 10

    Hands-on practice

    ~30h

    Legal practice labs and capture-the-flag events; write up what you learn.

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