🛡️ Ultimate Cybersecurity Master Guide

Professional Cybersecurity Knowledge Base · Red Team · Blue Team · Purple Team

Compiled from 70+ expert books · 90+ PNWC internal documents · custom tools & scripts
Abide by the Legal Terms of Use & Disclaimer for the use and misuse of this repository.

"Under pressure, you don't rise to the occasion; you fall to the level of your training."

"It ain't what you don't know that gets you into trouble. It's what you know for sure that just ain't so."

---

🧭 About This Index

This README is the repository's front door: it lists the main sections, subsection indexes, and selected guides.

Each section link below opens its readable README index directly, not GitHub's file browser. Use the linked chapter and guide titles to move through the material; the code/file listing is optional for people seeking scripts or source.

Use START_HERE.md to navigate by role or goal.

The three primary master guides contain technical material; this page helps you find it.

THANK YOU FOR CHECKING THIS OUT!

---

🎯 Start Here

I Want To...	Start Here
Learn basic computer & network concepts	IT Manual
Choose a learning path by role	Start Here: Choose Your Path
Find a guide by goal or task	Start Here: Quick Start
Browse every section	Navigate By Area

---

🧭 Navigate By Area

New portable hardware lab: M5StickC Plus2 / HackStarterPack — model-specific IR, Sub-GHz CC1101, BLE/HID and safe captive-portal exercises, with credited upstream sources.

Browse without opening the GitHub Code file list: choose a subject in the table below, then select a linked guide from that section's README. For a reader-first route, START HERE.

Defensive Security Quick Paths

Resource	Description
Incident Response	Blue Team triage and incident response
Honeypot Platforms & DIY Sensors	Defensive deception labs and reporting
Kismet/nzyme IDS & IPS	Wireless and network intrusion detection
Wazuh & Other SIEMs	Centralized logs, detections and alerts
Wireless/Wardriving	Authorized wireless surveys

A grouped map of the whole repository. Prefer routing by role/goal? Use START_HERE.md. Looking for section and guide listings? See Supporting Guides & Reference below.

Area	Start here	Also in this area
🚀 Start & Master Guides	START_HERE.md	Ultimate · Enhanced · Specialized Topics · Cliff Notes
🗡️ Offensive Security	Tradecraft	Pentoo Linux · Advanced Techniques · Part 2 · PlayBooks · Checklists
🕸️ App, Cloud & Container	WebAppSecurity	Cloud · ContainerSecurity
🛡️ Defensive & Incident Response	IncidentResponse	REMnux Malware Analysis · Endpoint Visibility · SIEM · IDS & IPS · Honeypots · Raspberry Pi · Proxmox VM · ESP32-S3 · Honeypots → Wazuh · Digital Forensics · Homelab
🗄️ Data Engineering & Automation	Data Engineering	Secure Data Pipelines · Scripts
🔍 OSINT & Recon	OSINT	Tools Catalog · Tsurugi Linux OSINT · Investigator Playbook
📍 Wireless Surveying & Wardriving	Wardriving	SigRoam · Marauder · Biscuit · AWOK Dual C5 · Wardrive Go · Kismet · Wireshark Filters · Deauthentication Analysis · Kismet + Wazuh Lab · nzyme + Wazuh
📡 Specialized & Hardware	SPECIALIZED_TOPICS_GUIDE.md	AI · SDR · HardwareHacking · HardwareTesting · SpaceSecurity · Mobile · uConsole
🔐 Governance, Crypto & Reference	Compliance	Cryptography · Security Keys & Passkeys · Encrypted Storage · Documentation · GLOSSARY.md · OPSEC
📰 Press Freedom & Source Safety	Press Freedom	Device & Mobile Protection · Data Retention · Duress & Seizure Response
⚖️ Legal & Contributing	LEGAL.md	STYLE_GUIDE.md · Contributing · Security Policy

---

📚 Primary Master Guides

Guide	Description
🔥 Ultimate Cybersecurity Master Guide	THE main comprehensive guide - key takeaways from 70+ professional security books, full penetration testing lifecycle
🔥 Enhanced Cybersecurity Master Guide	All of the above + 90+ PNWC internal docs, KB articles, and operational experience layered in
🔥 Specialized Topics Guide	Deep-dive into specialized/emerging domains: AI & LLM Security, Hardware Hacking, Hardware Testing, uConsole Cyberdeck, Space Security, SDR & RF Security

---

📖 Supporting Guides & Reference Material

Curated Research & Practice

Resource	Description
M5StickC Plus2 Hardware Lab	Portable, model-specific hardware lab guidance
Cypherpunk Historical Toolkit Review	Historical tools and their modern relevance
Awesome OSINT List	Curated OSINT discovery and research resources
Awesome-Hacking / h4cker / Training Ecosystems	Curated security-project and learning references
Ethical CTF Pathways	Controlled lab and training progression

These are source-attributed references, not claims that every upstream tool is installed or tested.

Core References

Resource	Description
Practical AI Usage	Prompts, instructions, context, privacy and verifying results
Agent/Project Lanes & Milestones	Goals, milestones, role-based agents, reviews and resume checkpoints
Fact-Checking & AI Audits	Evidence-based checking of claims, sources and agent actions
Notebooks, GPTs & Plugins	Projects, notebooks, reusable assistants and integrations
Glossary	Acronyms and terms used across the repository (C2, EDR, IoC, TTP, OPSEC, SIEM, etc.)
Cheat Sheet & Reference Index	Reviewed system administration, OSINT, wireless, forensics, Bash, SDR, ports and security quick references
Staged Client Security Assessment Blueprint	Consent, OWASP/SCuBA checks, endpoint/DFIR collection, Atomic/Sigma validation, supply-chain checks, findings and retests
Upstream Security Project Source Register	Verified project links, license considerations, workflow ownership, integration status and maintenance process
Security API Catalog & Cookbook	Curated Public APIs resources for OSINT, threat intelligence, NVD/CISA KEV, supply-chain and web/API assessment
Curated Technical Documentation	Links to relevant documentation from Beautiful Docs: GitHub, Git, FreeBSD, FastAPI, Django, PostgreSQL, Redis, Packer and writing standards
Proxy Types, Froxy & DNS Leak Reference	Proxy trust comparison, SOCKS5/SSH and public-list risks; Froxy is for isolated research, not high-sensitivity traffic
Docker Operations & Security Cheat Sheet	Inspection-first Docker CLI/Compose commands, daemon/security boundaries, image/volume inventories and destructive-operation cautions
CLI Field Cheat Sheet (Devhints-informed)	Original command examples for shell, logs, curl/TLS, rsync, GnuPG, Git, Docker and session management
Cybersecurity Cliff Notes	Quick command reference; the essentials at a glance
Advanced Techniques - Part 1	Advanced Metasploit, cloud pentesting, lateral movement, pivoting, etc.
Advanced Techniques - Part 2	Exploit development, buffer overflows, shellcode, custom payloads, etc.
DIY Hardware & Firmware Compatibility	SBC-based DIY pentesting devices as well as compatibility & firmware guides
Debian Linux Command Cheat Sheet	Linux CLI commands for Debian/Ubuntu/Kali/Parrot
Arch Linux Command Cheat Sheet	Linux CLI commands for Arch
BlackArch Linux Cheat Sheet	Linux CLI commands for BlackArch
Wireshark Master Filter List	133 indexed display filters, safe capture/BPF examples, TShark and defensive packet triage
Wireshark Field Cheat Sheet	Fast reference for TCP/DNS/DHCP/TLS/QUIC/802.11 and troubleshooting
OSINT Cheat Sheet	Quick-reference OSINT cheat sheet

Operational Sections

Section	Description
🤖 AI Cybersecurity Resources	Self-hosted AI agents (OpenClaw, AnythingLLM), LLM prompting for security, offline AI deployment, and AI-powered security workflows
📋 Checklists	Pre-engagement, testing, and post-engagement checklists
☁️ Cloud Security	Shared-responsibility models, common misconfigurations, and provider-specific attack surfaces and hardening for AWS, Azure/Entra ID, and GCP
📋 Compliance & GRC	Governance, risk, and compliance guidance covering NIST CSF 2.0, ISO 27001, SOC 2, PCI DSS, CIS Controls, GDPR, HIPAA, CCPA, and control mapping
📦 Container & Kubernetes Security	Container image and runtime attack surfaces, container escape techniques, and Kubernetes hardening using RBAC, Pod Security Standards, and network policies
🔐 Cryptography	Practical cryptography reference covering current and deprecated algorithms, TLS, password storage, key management, and post-quantum standards including FIPS 203, 204, and 205, plus classical ciphers, leetspeak, and cryptanalysis
🔑 Hardware Security Keys & Passkeys	FIDO2/WebAuthn, L1-L3+ certification, SoloKeys, passkeys and recovery workflows
💾 Encrypted Drives & USB Storage	BitLocker, LUKS, VeraCrypt, DIY vaults and PhantomDrive research
🗄️ Data Engineering & Pipeline Infrastructure	General data engineering learning path, existing infrastructure resources, and a proposed documentation roadmap; start with Secure Data Pipelines for TLS, SSH, Git, structured logs, Redis/Memcached, Kafka, and Ansible
📚 Documentation	Supplemental technical documentation, command references, and cheat sheets
🔬 Reverse Engineering	Ghidra installation, binary analysis, scripting, headless workflows, version comparison, and safe malware sourcing via vx-underground
🥷 Hardware Hacking	Physical and electronic attack techniques against embedded systems, microcontrollers, SoCs, and cryptographic hardware
🧰 Hardware Testing	Diagnostic, benchmarking, and reliability stress-testing guides and scripts for PC test benches
🏠 Homelab Guides	Building and maintaining safe, isolated labs for offensive and defensive security practice
🚨 Incident Response	Blue Team operations covering threat detection, log aggregation, artifact analysis, and standardized incident-response procedures — including dedicated IDS & IPS (nzyme, Suricata/Zeek) and Honeypot (OpenCanary, Cowrie, Dionaea, T-Pot, HoneyPi) deployment guides
📱 Mobile Security	Kali NetHunter on OnePlus 6, UserLAnd Linux environments on Android, Android and iOS application pentesting, mobile forensics, and field SOPs
🥷 Navigating the DarkWeb	A Comprehensive Guide to Darknets, Tools, and Intelligence in an online book written by Sébastien Damaye
🔬 Network Audit Playbook	Field-ready professional network security audit procedure
📋 Operational Playbooks	Full index of playbooks covering network audits, Wi-Fi assessments, incident response, phishing, and unauthorized-access investigations
📰 Press Freedom, Source Protection & Digital Safety	Journalist computer, cellphone, network and confidential-source security; lawful retention and disposal; duress and device seizure preparation
🔴 OPSEC	Operational security practices covering anonymity workflows, isolated virtual machines, identity separation, and personal rules for professionals
🔍 OSINT Guide, Tools & Techniques	Comprehensive OSINT methodology with 400+ categorized tools, investigation workflows, and automated VM setup
📄 PDF Resources	Curated PDF references and guides
📚 Playbooks Collection	Simple, detailed, and multi-script Purple Team, Blue Team, Red Team, and incident-response exercises and procedures
💻 Scripts	Security automation scripts, exploitation tools, reconnaissance utilities, payloads, and general-purpose programs
📻 SDR	Software Defined Radio theory, security assessment techniques, practical workflows and applications; RF, NFC/RFID, SubGhz
📊 SIEM Deployment Guides	ELK Stack, Wazuh, Splunk, and Graylog deployment, setup, and configuration guides
🎣 SOP: Phishing Analysis Playbook	Standard operating procedure for phishing-email triage and analysis
👾 Space Security	Offensive and defensive security across the space, ground, and communications segments of modern space systems
🗡️ Tradecraft	Red Team, Blue Team, and Purple Team tradecraft covering Active Directory, C2 frameworks, AV/EDR evasion, LOLBins, threat intelligence, detection logic, and defensive countermeasures
📟 uConsole	Configuration, portable pentesting setups, and operational workflows optimized for the ClockworkPi uConsole cyberdeck
🚷 Unauthorized Access Investigation Playbook	Playbook for investigating suspected or confirmed unauthorized-access incidents
📍 Wardriving & Wireless Surveying	GNSS-tagged Wi-Fi/BLE inventory, Flipper/ESP32-C5 hardware, mobile and Kismet guides, field procedures, and private log handling
🕸️ Web Application Security	OWASP Top 10 guidance and a complete web-application pentesting methodology covering reconnaissance, Burp Suite, injection, access control, and API testing

Subsection Indexes & Focused Entry Points

Parent Area	Subsection / Guide	Coverage
AI	AnythingLLM AgentFlows	Configured security research and analysis flows
AI	OpenClaw	Self-hosted agent setup on TrueNAS SCALE
Data Engineering	Secure Data Pipelines	Secure transport, parsing, enrichment, streaming, and deployment labs
Hardware Testing	Python Diagnostic Suite	Automated hardware tests and result reporting
Incident Response	Endpoint Visibility	Sysmon, Linux audit/syslog, and Osquery telemetry
Incident Response	SIEM	Centralized search and security monitoring guides
Incident Response	IDS & IPS	Wireless and wired intrusion detection guides
Incident Response	Honeypots	Raspberry Pi, Proxmox VM, ESP32-S3, OpenCanary, Cowrie and Wazuh reporting, with direct project guides
Incident Response	Digital Forensics	Memory, disk, and live-response references
Incident Response	Tsurugi Bento Portable DFIR	Windows field-response toolkit, live triage, Sysinternals, evidence export, RAM/disk acquisition decisions and integrity verification
Incident Response	OpenBSD PF Firewall	Rulesets, network-edge deployment, monitoring, and lab validation
Reverse Engineering	REMnux Malware Analysis	Isolated malware-analysis workstation, Proxmox installation, offline triage, PE/PDF and network evidence workflows
Tradecraft	Pentoo Linux	Gentoo-based penetration-testing platform, scoped assessments and wireless tool workflows
Reverse Engineering	Ghidra Master Guide	Five parts and 23 chapters; start with the section index
Reverse Engineering	vx-underground	Malware samples, source, APT reports, and a lab-only intake workflow
OPSEC	Whonix + Kicksecure USB · Tails USB	Distinct host/guest, persistence, installation, and validation workflows
SDR	NanoVNA Field Guide · HackRF Audit Playbook	Antenna/RF measurements and spectrum-survey engagement procedures
Mobile	UserLAnd	Linux userspace on Android, with distribution-specific material
OSINT	Investigator Playbook	Investigation workflow entry point
Scripts	Bash Bunny	Payload setup for authorized physical-access assessments
Scripts	USB Rubber Ducky	DuckyScript compilation and setup
Scripts	Shells & Stagers	Source references for authorized security testing
uConsole	CM4 / CM5 Setup Scripts · CM4 Safety Review	Conservative CM4 preflight, CM5/Parrot setup and display recovery; explicit hardware validation required
Wardriving	Field Workflow · Data Handling · Wi-Fi Deauthentication Detection	Authorization, GPS-quality tests, archived results, WiGLE disclosure decisions

---

Maintenance & Historical Reviews

Current integration/CI review: November 3, 2026 quality report describes today's merged updates, verified checks, corrections and runtime limitations.

Resource	Purpose
Audit Findings Register	Historical August assessment and remediation register; read its scope notice
Audit Report	Historical planning proposals, linked to the findings register

These records describe their dated review scope; they do not certify the current repository.

---

🆕 Unique & Personal Content

Content sourced from PNWC's internal Notion knowledge base and real-world operations - not found in textbooks.

🔴 OPSEC & Operations

• Personal field rules ("ALWAYS use a 3rd-party network!")
• VM isolation and compartmentalization procedures
• Anonymity and identity-separation workflows

🔍 OSINT Arsenal

• 400+ tools organized by category
• Automated OSINT VM build scripts
• Full investigation methodology (target profiling → pivot → report)

📘 Team Playbooks

Purple Team

• Purple Team - Simple
• Purple Team - Detailed
• Purple Team - Multi-Script

Blue Team

• Blue Team - Incident Response Simple
• Blue Team - Incident Response Enhanced

Data Engineering, Detection Pipelines & SIEM

• Data Engineering Section
• Secure Data Pipelines & Security Automation
• Endpoint Visibility
• ELK Stack (Elastic) SIEM Deployment
• Wazuh SIEM Deployment
• Splunk SIEM Deployment
• Graylog SIEM Deployment
• Log Aggregation Guide

💻 Custom Scripts & Tools

• pnwc_install_tools.sh - Cross-distro Linux tool installer (apt · pacman · dnf)
• PowerShell - 12 scripts: AD testing, SMB auth, brute force, port scanning, reverse shells, system enumeration
• Python - Scripts for network recon, credential analysis, Bluetooth, web, geolocation, exploitation tools
• Bash - System admin, recon, auditing, log analysis utilities (Scripts/Bash/)
• C - Low-level utilities: user enumeration, port scanning, system manipulation
• SQL - WordPress admin injection testing scripts
• Go - (Scripts/GO/)

🎯 Attack Case Studies (10+ Analyzed)

Incident	Type
Stuxnet	Nation-state cyberweapon - Iranian nuclear facilities
WannaCry	Global ransomware outbreak
EternalBlue / NSA Leak	NSA exploit leaked by Shadow Brokers
SolarWinds	Software supply chain compromise
Carbanak	APT banking theft campaign
NotPetya	Destructive malware disguised as ransomware
Edward Snowden / NSA	Mass surveillance program revelations
+ 3 additional major data breach case studies	Analysis of root cause, TTPs, and defensive lessons

🔧 Hardware Arsenal Documented

Multi-Tool	Reference
Flipper Zero	Project
WiFi Pineapple	Product
Proxmark3	Project

📟 uConsole & Portable Operations

Field-side cybersecurity requires reliable, highly-portable hardware. This section is dedicated to the ClockworkPi uConsole. It includes step-by-step documentation on turning the uConsole into a dedicated cyberdeck for mobile operations.

• OS & Toolkit Optimization: Customizing Kali Linux, Parrot OS, or custom Debian builds for the uConsole's unique form factor.
• SDR & Wireless Assessments: Configurations for running Wireshark, Kismet, and RTL-SDR in the field.
• Hardware Interfacing: Using the uConsole for serial connections, hardware debugging, and local network audits.

Category	Device	Reference
Hak5 Suite	Rubber Ducky	Product
Hak5 Suite	Bash Bunny	Product
Hak5 Suite	LAN Turtle	Product
Hak5 Suite	Packet Squirrel	Product
Hak5 Suite	Shark Jack	Product
Hak5 Suite	O.MG Cable	Product
RF / SDR	HackRF One	Project
RF / SDR	RTL-SDR	Project
RF / SDR	Ubertooth One	Project
RF / SDR	YardStick One	Project
Wi-Fi Adapter	Alfa AWUS036ACH	Hardware reference
Wi-Fi Adapter	Alfa AWUS036NHA	Hardware reference
Wi-Fi Adapter	TP-Link TL-WN722N	Hardware reference

---

📊 Repository Statistics

Historical snapshot (September 11, 2026): counts below are retained for provenance and should not be interpreted as the current live inventory after subsequent additions. They are not claims that every example has been deployment-tested.

Category	Count / Definition
Top-level content sections	23; excludes .github and assets
Tracked files	495 across the repository
Markdown documents	206 files with a .md extension, including indexes
Playbook documents	10 Markdown files under PlayBooks/, excluding its README
Script source files	215 .py, .sh, .ps1, .go, .c, .rb, .js, or .sql files under Scripts/
Bibliography entries	78 listed references, including books and educational materials

Original compilation figures such as the number of internal PNWC documents are provenance notes, not live repository inventory metrics.

---

🚀 What You Can Do With This Guide

Learning & Practice

• ✅ Conduct professional penetration tests
• ✅ Perform OSINT investigations
• ✅ Execute incident response procedures
• ✅ Study and adapt security automation scripts
• ✅ Assess IoT and embedded device security
• ✅ Develop and analyze exploits
• ✅ Build and operate a security homelab
• ✅ Learn secure data pipelines, structured telemetry, streaming, and repeatable deployments
• ✅ Analyze real-world attack campaigns
• ✅ Deploy Portable Cyberdecks: Set up and optimize the uConsole for on-the-go pentesting, SDR (Software Defined Radio), and field operations.

For Your Career

• ✅ Prepare for OSCP, CEH, GPEN, CySA+, CISSP
• ✅ Build skills for SOC analyst roles
• ✅ Work as a professional pentester or red teamer
• ✅ Specialize in OSINT, forensics, or hardware security
• ✅ Build automation tooling for security workflows

---

🙏 Credits & Acknowledgments

This guide stands on the shoulders of the global cybersecurity community.

📎 Cited Sources For Curated Reference Additions

The following external resources informed selected, original PNWC reference pages; their content is not bulk mirrored. Links point to the source projects and their own license terms. Specific command or installation instructions should be checked against the linked maintainers' current documentation before use.

Original source and license	Where its ideas/links are used	Scope and cautions
Beautiful Docs — matheusfelipeog (MIT)	Curated technical documentation, style conventions, and topic-specific learning links	Inspiration and links to independent docs, not a guarantee that their version-specific instructions are current
Froxy — matheusfelipeog (MIT); underlying proxy-list — clarketm	Proxy types, Froxy and DNS-leak reference in OPSEC	Python free-proxy directory interface only; not vetted egress or a promise of anonymity; never send confidential client information through unknown proxies
Docker Cheat Sheet — wsargent (CC BY 4.0)	Docker operations and diagnostics and container security	Third-party historical command collection; this guide uses independently written examples and prioritizes official Docker CLI and Engine security documentation

Review scope (November 2, 2026): source READMEs and licensing were inspected; new cross-references were checked for repository path correctness. External tool behavior, every older upstream link and production Docker/Froxy execution were not exhaustively tested. The documentation does not authorize active probing, anonymous-proxy use with client data, or unapproved Docker changes. See legal terms.

Other already-integrated references: Devhints commands (merged PR #156) from rstacruz/cheatsheets, Public APIs catalog (merged PR #157) from public-apis/public-apis, and Beautiful Docs/Froxy/Docker references (merged PR #158).

📎 Additional Sourced Assessment, Detection & Research Workflows

New PNWC guides are original summaries and procedural checklists with direct links to upstream source repositories. Documentation-only integration does not imply installation, third-party content mirroring or production testing. The complete source and license register is here.

Original GitHub resources	Where their guidance is integrated
OWASP WSTG and OWASP ASVS (CC BY-SA 4.0); Nuclei templates (MIT)	Versioned web/API verification and safe template review
Red Canary Atomic Red Team (MIT); SigmaHQ; Elastic detection rules	Purple Team test procedures and detection rule validation. Check individual rule licensing.
Velociraptor and ForensicArtifacts (Apache-2.0 for ForensicArtifacts)	Consent-first endpoint and DFIR evidence acquisition
CISA ScubaGear (CC0-1.0)	Microsoft 365/Entra configuration baseline assessment
DefectDojo (BSD-3-Clause)	Issue management, evidence, remediation and retests
OpenSSF Scorecard, Syft, OSV-Scanner, Trivy, Cosign (Apache-2.0); Gitleaks (MIT)	Software supply-chain / SBOM assurance
Bellingcat Toolkit and MVT	OSINT source verification and consensual mobile forensic triage. Review source-specific licenses and data practices.
YARA-X (BSD-3-Clause), Promptfoo (MIT), and rtl_433 (GPL-2.0)	Malware rule lab, LLM/agent evaluations, and receive-only IoT telemetry

Verification boundary: References, methodology and internal paths were reviewed; upstream code execution, customer scans, Microsoft tenant access, radio capture and automated deployment were not undertaken. Confirm source release, file license and legal scope before operational reuse.

🛠️ Key Tools & Frameworks

Exploitation & Post-exploitation

Resource	Notes
Metasploit Framework	Rapid7
Impacket	Fortra
BloodHound	SpecterOps
CrackMapExec	(archived)
NetExec	—
Empire	BC Security
PowerSploit	(archived)
Nishang	—
PEASS-ng	Carlos Polop
Responder	Laurent Gaffié

OSINT

Resource	Notes
theHarvester	—
Sherlock	—
Maltego	—
SpiderFoot	—
Recon-ng	—
Amass	—
Maigret	—
Holehe	—
H8mail	—
PhoneInfoga	—
Photon	—
Michael Bazzell / IntelTechniques	—
Trace Labs	—

Network & Web Security

Resource	Notes
Nmap	—
Wireshark	—
Burp Suite	—
OWASP ZAP	—
Nikto	—
SQLmap	—
Gobuster	—
ffuf	—
Nuclei	—
Subfinder	—
httpx	ProjectDiscovery
AutoRecon	Tib3rius
PayloadsAllTheThings	—
SecLists	—
ExploitDB	—

Password & Credentials

Resource	Notes
Hashcat	—
John the Ripper	—
Hydra	—
Mimikatz	Benjamin Delpy

Wireless & RF

Resource	Notes
Aircrack-ng	—
Kismet	—
Wifite2	—
Bettercap	Simone Margaritelli
ChipWhisperer	NewAE Technology
OpenOCD	—
Bus Pirate	—

Forensics & Reverse Engineering

Resource	Notes
Volatility	—
Autopsy	—
Ghidra	NSA
radare2	pancake
IDA Pro	Hex-Rays
Binwalk	—
YARA	—
vx-underground	—
MalwareBazaar	malware sample and research libraries
Sysinternals Suite	Mark Russinovich

Monitoring & Defense

Resource	Notes
Snort	—
Suricata	—
Zeek	—
OSSEC	—
Elastic Stack	—
Splunk	—
Graylog	—
Wazuh	—
Security Onion	—
nzyme	—

Honeypots & Deception

Resource	Notes
OpenCanary	Thinkst
Cowrie	Michel Oosterhof
Dionaea	DinoTools
T-Pot	Deutsche Telekom Security

📚 Book Authors & Publishers

No Starch Press (primary reference publisher)

• David Kennedy et al. - Metasploit: The Penetration Tester's Guide
• Georgia Weidman - Penetration Testing: A Hands-On Introduction
• OccupyTheWeb - Linux Basics for Hackers
• Justin Seitz - Black Hat Python
• Al Sweigart - Automate the Boring Stuff with Python

Other key works: Ryan Barnett (Black Hat Bash) · Travis Goodspeed (Microcontroller Exploits) · Seth Enoka (Cybersecurity for Small Networks) · Peter Kim (The Hacker Playbook 3) · Ben Clark (RTFM / BTFM) · Christopher Hadnagy (Social Engineering) · Kevin Mitnick (The Art of Invisibility)

See the full 78-entry bibliography below.

🐧 Security Linux Distributions

Distribution	Reference
Kali Linux	Official Site
BlackArch	Official Site
Parrot Security OS	Official Site
BackBox	Official Site
Tails	Official Site
Whonix	Official Site

🌐 Knowledge Frameworks & Communities

Resource	Type / Notes
MITRE ATT&CK	Adversary tactics and techniques
OWASP	Application security
NIST NVD	Vulnerability records
CVE	Vulnerability identifier program
CISA	Cybersecurity advisories and guidance
SANS	Security training and research
Hack The Box	Practical security training
TryHackMe	Guided security labs
VulnHub	Practice machines
OverTheWire	Interactive security exercises
PentesterLab	Web security training
TryHackMe FREE Roadmap	Community-curated learning roadmap, by Uttambodara; availability and room counts may change

🔐 Privacy & Anonymity Tools

Resource	Type
Tor Project	Anonymity network
Mullvad VPN	VPN service
ProtonVPN	VPN service
IVPN	VPN service
VeraCrypt	Encrypted storage
Proton Mail	Email service
Signal	Encrypted messaging

🎓 Certification Bodies

Organization	Training / Certification Examples
OffSec	Security training and certifications
EC-Council	CEH, CHFI
GIAC	GPEN, GWAPT, GCIH
CompTIA	Security+, PenTest+, CySA+
(ISC)²	CISSP

👥 Notable Security Researchers

Kevin Mitnick (1963–2023) · Bruce Schneier · Dan Kaminsky (1979–2021) · HD Moore · Tavis Ormandy · Marcus Hutchins · Brian Krebs · Troy Hunt · Katie Moussouris · Parisa Tabriz · The Grugq · and countless others

---

📚 Complete Bibliography

I. Foundational & General Hacking

1. Hacking: The Art of Exploitation (2nd Ed.) - Jon Erickson · No Starch Press · 2008 · ISBN 978-1593271442
2. The Basics of Hacking and Penetration Testing (2nd Ed.) - Patrick Engebretson · Syngress · 2013 · ISBN 978-0124116443
3. Gray Hat Hacking: The Ethical Hacker's Handbook (5th Ed.) - Allen Harper et al. · McGraw-Hill · 2018 · ISBN 978-1260108415
4. The Hacker's Underground Handbook - David Melnichuk · Self-published · 2008
5. Hacking: Computer Hacking Beginners Guide - Alan T. Norman · Self-published
6. The Code Book - Simon Singh · Anchor Books · 1999 · ISBN 978-0385495325
7. Steal This Computer Book 4.0 - Wallace Wang · No Starch Press · 2006 · ISBN 978-1593271053
8. Cybersecurity - Attack and Defense Strategies - Yuri Diogenes, Erdal Ozkaya · Packt · 2018 · ISBN 978-1788837074
9. The NICE Cyber Security Framework - Izzat Alsmadi · Springer · 2019 · ISBN 978-3030023591
10. Ethical Hacking MindMap - Educational material
11. Introduction to Ethical Hacking - Chinni Diwakar · Educational material

II. Penetration Testing & Operations

1. Penetration Testing: A Hands-On Introduction to Hacking - Georgia Weidman · No Starch Press · 2014 · ISBN 978-1593275648
2. The Hacker Playbook 3: Red Team Edition - Peter Kim · Secure Planet · 2018 · ISBN 978-1980901754
3. Advanced Penetration Testing - Wil Allsopp · Wiley · 2017 · ISBN 978-1119367680
4. Google Hacking for Penetration Testers, Vol. 2 - Johnny Long et al. · Syngress · 2007 · ISBN 978-1597491761
5. Real-World Bug Hunting - Peter Yaworski · No Starch Press · 2019 · ISBN 978-1593278618
6. Quick Start Guide to Penetration Testing - Sagar Rahalkar · Apress · 2019 · ISBN 978-1484242698
7. Offensive Security OSCP Exam with AD Preparation - Michael Mancao · Educational material · 2022
8. OSCP Like Vulns Machines - Joas Antonio · Educational material
9. Pentest in Office365 and Security - Joas Antonio · Educational material
10. Exploiting Misconfigurations (CSP Bypass) - Jamy Casteel · GIAC/SANS Gold Paper · 2021

III. Defense & Team Strategies

1. RTFM: Red Team Field Manual - Ben Clark · CreateSpace · 2014 · ISBN 978-1494295509
2. Blue Team Field Manual (BTFM) - Alan J. White, Ben Clark · CreateSpace · 2017 · ISBN 978-1541216044
3. Purple Team Field Manual (PTFM) - Tim Bryant · Self-published · 2020
4. Jump-start Your SOC Analyst Career - Tyler Wall, Jarrett Rodrick · Apress · 2021 · ISBN 978-1484269039

IV. Operating Systems, Tools & Frameworks

1. Kali Linux Revealed - Raphaël Hertzog, Jim O'Gorman, Mati Aharoni · Offsec Press · 2017 · ISBN 978-0-9976402-0-2
2. Mastering Kali Linux for Advanced Penetration Testing - Robert W. Beggs · Packt · 2014 · ISBN 978-1782169735
3. Linux Basics for Hackers - OccupyTheWeb · No Starch Press · 2019 · ISBN 978-1593278557
4. Metasploit: The Penetration Tester's Guide (2nd Ed.) - David Kennedy et al. · No Starch Press · 2023 · ISBN 978-1718501237
5. Metasploit Penetration Testing Cookbook - Abhinav Singh · Packt · 2012 · ISBN 978-1849517409
6. Nmap 6: Network Exploration and Security Auditing Cookbook - Paulino Calderón Pale · Packt · 2012 · ISBN 978-1849517447
7. Reconnaissance: Nmap and NSE Practical Guide - INVETECK GLOBAL · Educational material
8. Hacking Android - Kotipalli, Imran · Packt · 2016 · ISBN 978-1785883149
9. Developing Burp Suite Extensions - Luca Carettoni · DOYENSEC · Conference presentation
10. Linux for Beginners - Noah Herrmann · Self-published · 2021
11. How Linux Works (3rd Ed.) - Brian Ward · No Starch Press · 2021 · ISBN 978-1718500254
12. Linux Command Line and Shell Scripting Bible (3rd Ed.) - Blum, Bresnahan · Wiley · 2015 · ISBN 978-1118983843
13. Shell Scripting: Expert Recipes - Steve Parker · Wrox
14. Ultimate Linux Projects - Future PLC (Linux Format) · 2022

V. Web & Network Security

1. The Web Application Hacker's Handbook (2nd Ed.) - Stuttard, Pinto · Wiley · 2011 · ISBN 978-1118026472
2. Web Application Security for Dummies - Mike Shema · Wiley · 2011 · ISBN 978-1119994879
3. Network Security Assessment (3rd Ed.) - Chris McNab · O'Reilly · 2016 · ISBN 978-1491910955
4. The Shellcoder's Handbook (2nd Ed.) - Anley, Heasman, Lindner, Richarte · Wiley · 2007 · ISBN 978-0470080238
5. Web Scraping with Python (2nd Ed.) - Ryan Mitchell · O'Reilly
6. SAST Scanners Cheat Sheet - WeHackPurple / @SheHacksPurple · Educational material
7. Session Hijacking - Educational material
8. SQL Injection - Comprehensive Guide - Educational material
9. Learn SQL Using Squid Game - @codechips (Cody) · Educational material

VI. Wireless & Mobile Hacking

1. WiFi Hacking for Beginners - James Wells · Self-published
2. Kali Linux Wireless Pentesting and Security for Beginners - Hardeep Singh · 2017
3. WiFi: Hack Proof Your Wireless Network - Barnes, Bautts, Lloyd et al. · Syngress
4. Hacking HLR, HSS and MME Core Network Elements - Philippe Langlois · Black Hat USA 2014
5. Hacking LTE Public Warning Systems - Weiguang Li · HAXPO Conference

VII. Reverse Engineering & Exploit Development

1. Practical Reverse Engineering - Dang, Gazet, Bachaalany · Wiley · 2014 · ISBN 978-1118787311
2. Mastering Reverse Engineering - Reginald Wong · Packt · 2018 · ISBN 978-1788832918
3. Reverse Engineering for Beginners - Dennis Yurichev · Creative Commons · 2016
4. Reverse Engineering for Beginners (Lite) - Dennis Yurichev · Creative Commons

VIII. Programming & Data Science For Security

1. Black Hat Python - Justin Seitz · No Starch Press · 2014 · ISBN 978-1593275907
2. Violent Python - TJ O'Connor · Syngress · 2012 · ISBN 978-1597499576
3. Understanding Network Hacks: Attack and Defense with Python - Bastian Ballmann · Springer · 2015 · ISBN 978-3662444368
4. Hacking with Python: The Ultimate Beginner's Guide - Steve Tale · Self-published · 2017
5. Perl Programming for Beginners - Nathan Metzler · Lightbulb Publishing
6. Malware Data Science - Joshua Saxe, Hillary Sanders · No Starch Press · 2018 · ISBN 978-1593278595
7. Machine Learning Mastery with Python - Jason Brownlee · Machine Learning Mastery · 2016
8. Deep Learning with Python - Jason Brownlee · Machine Learning Mastery · 2016
9. Long Short-Term Memory Networks with Python - Jason Brownlee · Machine Learning Mastery · 2017
10. Machine Learning with Python for Everyone - Mark E. Fenner · Addison-Wesley

IX. Social Engineering & Forensics

1. Social Engineering: The Science of Human Hacking - Christopher Hadnagy · Wiley · 2018 · ISBN 978-1119433385
2. The Art of Invisibility - Kevin Mitnick · Little, Brown & Company · 2017 · ISBN 978-0316380492
3. Digital Forensics Explained (2nd Ed.) - Greg Gogolin · CRC Press · 2018 · ISBN 978-1138491029
4. How to Hide Data in Audio Files (Steganography) - Ismael Nelson S. · Educational material

X. Dark Web & Lab Guides

1. Dark Web: Exploring and Data Mining the Dark Side of the Web - Hsinchun Chen · Springer · 2012 · ISBN 978-1461415565
2. Inside the Dark Web - Arun Adhikari · DARKNET
3. Footprinting and Reconnaissance LAB - Chinni Diwakar · Educational material
4. Sniffers LAB - Network Traffic Analysis & MITM - Chinni Diwakar · Educational material
5. DOS LAB - Denial of Service Attack Techniques - Chinni Diwakar · Educational material
6. Metasploit Framework Guide - Chinni Diwakar · Educational material
7. System Hacking LAB - Chinni Diwakar · Educational material

---

⚖️ Legal Disclaimer

❌ NEVER	✅ ALWAYS
Test without written authorization	Obtain written permission before any test
Use tools on systems you don't own	Act within the scope of your engagement
Share exploit code irresponsibly	Follow responsible disclosure practices
Violate local, state, or federal law	Comply with all applicable laws and regulations

Unauthorized access to computer systems is a federal crime under the CFAA and equivalent laws worldwide. This repository is for educational purposes and authorized security testing only.

Authorized Use Cases

• Professional penetration testing with signed client authorization
• Security research in isolated lab environments you own
• CTF (Capture the Flag) competitions
• Homelab and educational practice on your own systems
• Defensive security tooling and monitoring

See the full LEGAL.md for complete terms.

---

🏆 What Makes This Guide Different

Feature	Detail
📚 70+ professional books synthesized	Complete coverage from recognized industry experts
🏢 90+ PNWC internal docs	Real operational experience - not just theory
🎯 10+ attack case studies	Root cause, TTPs, IOCs, and defensive lessons analyzed
⚙️ Operational playbook collection	Procedures for assessment, incident response, and team exercises
🛠️ Security script collection	Source examples to review and validate in the intended environment
📡 20+ hardware devices	IoT and embedded security from real-world toolkit
🔍 400+ OSINT tools	Organized by category with usage methodology
🤖 AI security workflows	Self-hosted LLM integration for security operations
🎓 Cert-aligned content	OSCP · CEH · GPEN · CySA+ · CISSP mapped
🔁 Cross-domain coverage	Offense + Defense + Operations + Forensics + Data Engineering

---

📬 Contributing & Contact

This is a personal operational knowledge base, but the security community thrives on shared knowledge.

• PNWC Website: pnwcomputers.com
• Email: [email protected]
• GitHub: github.com/Pnwcomputers

Want to help the community?

• Contribute to the open-source tools referenced here
• Write and publish your own security research
• Mentor newcomers entering the field
• Practice responsible disclosure on vulnerabilities you find
• Purchase the original books to support the authors

---

Use it wisely. Use it ethically. Use it legally.
Learn → Practice → Contribute back to the community. 🚀

---

Last Updated: November 2, 2026 · Maintained by PNW Computers · Vancouver, WA

Related Files

Guide	Description
Data Engineering	Data infrastructure and learning roadmap
Secure Data Pipelines	TLS, SSH, Git, parsing, enrichment, Kafka, and Ansible
START_HERE.md	Quick navigation guide to all sections
ENHANCED_MASTER_GUIDE.md	Enhanced deep-dive guide
SPECIALIZED_TOPICS_GUIDE.md	Third guide in the series
Press Freedom and Source Protection	Journalist device, source confidentiality and retention / duress planning
LEGAL.md	Legal disclaimer and terms of use
Diagram and Image Asset Index	Existing figures and 19 new diagrams across SIEM, DFIR, OSINT, cloud, mobile, compliance, RF, and more
Visual Coverage Review	Repository-wide image inventory, integration results, verification limits and future needs
CHANGELOG.md	Repository change history