The Best Hacking Books in 2020 – Beginner to Advanced
Out of popular request, it is time to put together a list of the Best Hacking Books in 2020.
Hacking: The Art of Exploitation, 2nd Edition
by Jon Erickson
Level: Intermediate
You will probably have a hard time finding a Hacker / Cybersecurity specialist who would not recommend this book. Hacking: The Art of Exploitation is a true classic when it comes to Hacking Books. The only downside is, it was updated in 2008 for the last time. The good news is, most of its content is still relevant and valuable today. This book helps you to build a solid foundation of theory and technique, that will translate very well to modern hacking tools.
This book has it all, you will learn a bit of Programming, Exploitation, Networking, Shellcode, Countermeasures, and Cryptology. Frankly speaking, I still recommend this book today.
Be aware tho, that this book is geared more towards advanced users. I would not recommend picking up this book as a first book. You should be familiar or have a basic idea of Assembly before starting this book.
Penetration Testing: A Hands-On Introduction to Hacking
by Georgia Weidman
Level: Beginner friendly!
This book was written by a security expert, researcher, and trainer Georgia Weidman. Penetration Testing: A Hands-On Introduction to Hacking teaches the fundamental skills that every penetration tester needs. You will build a virtual lab with Kali Linux and a couple of vulnerable virtual machines and you will run through multiple scenarios in this environment. Tools like Wireshark, Nmap and Burp Suite are being used in this book, amongst many others.
You will learn how to crack passwords, how to hack wireless networks by brute-forcing with the use of wordlists, you will learn a bit of web application security, you’ll learn about the Metasploit framework, how to bypass antivirus software and how to take control of a virtual machine to compromise the network. This book, much like the Hacker’s Playbook 3, is a good first read for people interested in learning Cyber Security.
Some people really love the explanation skills of Georgia and swear by it, some people I know personally also used it as a preparation for the OSCP test. This book has a lot of step-by-step going on in it, so very easy to understand even for beginners.
Kali Linux Revealed: Mastering the Penetration Testing Distribution
by Raphael Hertzog & Jim O’ Gorman
Level: Beginner-Advanced
First things first, this is not one of the Ethical Hacking Books that teach you penetration testing. This is a book that teaches you Kali Linux. Kali Linux, formerly known as Backtrack, is the by far most popular penetration testing distribution out there. Therefore, it just makes sense for you to learn it. Although I do not recommend Kali Linux for beginners, if you do decide to go for Kali Linux anyway, I highly recommend reading Kali Linux Revealed.
Honorable Mention: Hacking mit Metasploit
by Michael Messner
Level: Beginner-Advanced
Language: German
Now unfortunately for everyone not speaking German, Hacking mit Metasploit isn’t for you, except you can translate it. I want to mention it here, because it is hands down, the best book on Metasploit that I have ever read. The author, Michael Messner, is a developer with the Metasploit team and continuously contributes to the project.
He has in-depth knowledge in the Metasploit framework and has a great way of teaching you all the things you need to know about Metasploit.
I want to mention it there for everyone who is capable of speaking German, and I wish that there will be an English release of the book one day for all of you to enjoy.
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