Mans @RootTrail

@alisaesage I think AI has compressed the expertise curve. There is still enormous value in deep expertise because real world hacking involves things AI doesn't magically remove.

Network   🔸 PuTTY - is an SSH and telnet client, developed originally by Simon Tatham.   🔸 Mosh - is a SSH wrapper designed to keep a SSH session alive over a volatile connection.   🔸 Eternal Terminal - enables mouse-scrolling and tmux commands inside the SSH session.   🔸 nmap - is a free and open source (license) utility for network discovery and security auditing.   🔸 zmap - is a fast single packet network scanner designed for Internet-wide network surveys.   🔸 Rust Scan - to find all open ports faster than Nmap.   🔸 masscan - is the fastest Internet port scanner, spews SYN packets asynchronously.   🔸 pbscan - is a faster and more efficient stateless SYN scanner and banner grabber.   🔸 hping - is a command-line oriented TCP/IP packet assembler/analyzer.   🔸 mtr - is a tool that combines the functionality of the 'traceroute' and 'ping' programs in a single tool.   🔸 mylg - utility which combines the functions of the different network probes in one diagnostic tool.   🔸 netcat - utility which reads and writes data across network connections, using the TCP/IP protocol.   🔸 socat - utility which transfers data between two objects.   🔸 tcpdump - is a powerful command-line packet analyzer.   🔸 tshark - is a tool that allows us to dump and analyze network traffic (wireshark cli).   🔸 Termshark - is a simple terminal user-interface for tshark.   🔸 ngrep - is like GNU grep applied to the network layer.   🔸 netsniff-ng - is a Swiss army knife for your daily Linux network plumbing if you will.   🔸 sockdump - dump unix domain socket traffic.   🔸 stenographer - is a packet capture solution which aims to quickly spool all packets to disk.   🔸 tcpterm - visualize packets in TUI.   🔸 bmon - is a monitoring and debugging tool to capture networking related statistics and prepare them visually.   🔸 iptraf-ng - is a console-based network monitoring program for Linux that displays information about IP traffic.   🔸 vnstat - is a network traffic monitor for Linux and BSD.   🔸 iPerf3 - is a tool for active measurements of the maximum achievable bandwidth on IP networks.   🔸 ethr - is a Network Performance Measurement Tool for TCP, UDP & HTTP.   🔸 Etherate - is a Linux CLI based Ethernet and MPLS traffic testing tool.   🔸 echoip - is a IP address lookup service.   🔸 Nemesis - packet manipulation CLI tool; craft and inject packets of several protocols.   🔸 packetfu - a mid-level packet manipulation library for Ruby.   🔸 Scapy - packet manipulation library; forge, send, decode, capture packets of a wide number of protocols.   🔸 impacket - is a collection of Python classes for working with network protocols.   🔸 ssh-audit - is a tool for SSH server auditing.   🔸 aria2 - is a lightweight multi-protocol & multi-source command-line download utility.   🔸 iptables-tracer - observe the path of packets through the iptables chains.   🔸 inception - a highly configurable tool to check for whatever you like against any number of hosts.   🔸 mRemoteNG - a fork of mRemote, multi-tabbed PuTTy on steroids!

Networking is important in cybersecurity, but saying “everyone should be able to design and build a complex network” is an unnecessary standard. Cybersecurity is a huge field. A SOC analyst, malware analyst, pentester, security engineer, GRC professional, and digital forensics analyst don’t need the same depth of networking knowledge. Everyone in cybersecurity should understand networking fundamentals well enough to understand how systems communicate, identify common attack paths, and troubleshoot basic issues. But designing complex enterprise networks is a specialized skill, not a universal requirement for every cybersecurity professional. Learn the fundamentals deeply. Specialize where your role requires it.

korz3yn @webenstein_

4 weeks ago

I believe networking is one of the first things every cybersecurity newbie learns, so everyone should be good at it. Everyone should be able to design and build a complex network.

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Cybersecurity isn’t just about running tools. Understand TCP state machines, DNS, ARP, BGP, VLANs, NAT, routing, MTU, and TLS. If you don’t understand the traffic, you don’t truly understand the attack.

One thing I learned from the “Learning How to Learn” module on my CPTS journey: Talent isn’t something you’re simply born with. It’s built. What looks like natural ability is often the result of repeatedly facing problems, trying to solve those problems, learning patterns, and expanding your comfort zone. A beginner sees complexity. An experienced person sees patterns. That’s why someone can look “naturally talented” at something they’ve simply trained their brain to recognize and solve those problems faster. So instead of asking, “Am I talented enough?” I’m learning to ask: “How much have I practiced thinking this way?”

Trying to learn cybersecurity without understanding networking feels like learning a language without knowing the alphabet. IP addresses. Ports. TCP/UDP. DNS. ARP. Routing. Subnetting. At first, it all looks confusing. Then one day, things start clicking.

You don’t need the CCNA certification to get into cybersecurity. But you do need strong networking fundamentals. Understanding IP addressing, subnetting, TCP/UDP, ports, DNS, DHCP, ARP, routing, switching, VLANs, NAT, ACLs, and firewalls will make cybersecurity much easier to understand. For me, the path makes sense: Networking → Linux → Cybersecurity → HTB/CPTS The goal isn’t to become a network engineer before learning cybersecurity. The goal is to understand networking well enough that it doesn’t become a barrier when learning security. CCNA certification? Not a must. CCNA-level networking knowledge? Absolutely worth it.

@22betNaija Criminals

@CyberSamuraiDev Yes I’m interested

@Officialwhyte22 Hiiiiiiij

@0xv1nx0 Congratulations

Nobody is smart at the start. Nobody is dumb after 10,000 attempts.

@amysly_ Tools evolve but foundations stay the same and very important to master if you must go far