In today’s article, we will discuss the best 20 Hacking Books, hence, if you want to learn to hack properly, and are a beginner, then you must have to follow the books that we have mentioned below.
All these books will help you to learn all the basic concepts of hacking, and not only that even there are many books that can help you to determine the unique idea of hacking.
Cybersecurity books real treasures for the security community who wish to learn the sophisticated cyber-attacks and deep skills in specific areas in cyberspace.
As we all know very well that nowadays, hacking resources have been spread all over the world, especially among the youth.
Thus it becomes famous on the web, and therefore, it’s more helpful to read books. We can say that learning hacking, especially for beginners, these books are the most useful and it’s the best way to learn it.
Hacking can be either ethical or unethical, as it has both advantages and disadvantages.
Unethical hackers are also known as black hat hackers who generally exploit the vulnerability for personal gain.
In contrast, an ethical hacker helps different organizations and businesses by finding the weakness in their system before the wicked hacker does it.
Hence, we have provided you with the best 20 network hacking books, which will help you to learn the whole hacking resource.
There’s a saying that a book is the best gift that you can have. So, go through these 20 besting free hacking books in 2023, which will help you to learn all the necessary and main concepts of hacking.
So, now without wasting much time let’s get started and explore all the books one by one to know about hacking.
With these hacking books, you can explore the ethical ways to penetrate the target and how to defend your systems.
Also Read: Top 100 Free Kali Linux Hacking Tools & Tutorials
| 20 Best Free Hacking Books | Key Features |
| Web Application Hacker’s Handbook | Defend web applications Most advanced technology |
| RTFM: Red Team Field Manual | Specific information Fundamentals of command scripts |
| The Hackers Playbook 2 | Unique style of teaching penetration testing Intensify opportunities |
| Advanced Penetration Testing | Most efficient and refined Multidisciplinary strategy |
| Practical Malware Analysis: The Hands-on Guide | Malware inside a window system Excellent choice for you |
| Ghost in the Wires | Network Intelligence Most advanced hacking techniques Manage existing achievements |
| The Basics of Hacking and Penetration Testing | Ethical hack from start to end Better knowledge of attacking security |
| Hacking: The Art of Exploitation, 2nd Edition | Strong enough to hack Catch your attention |
| Computer Hacking Beginners Guide | Proper ethical hacking Conduct counter-hacks Identify an attack |
| Hacking: A Beginners Guide To Your First Computer Hack | General hacking attacks Comprises different procedures |
| CISSP All-In-One Exam Guide | IT security certification and education Complete up-to-date source |
| Nmap Network Scanning | Free and open-source service Nmap feature and security |
| Hash Crack: Password Cracking Manual | Own secure and useful hacking tools Recognize sandboxing Creative process control Significant vulnerabilities much quicker |
| Black Hat Python: Python Programming for Hackers and Pentesters | Crack passwords and further protection Ideal requirement |
| Social Engineering: The Art of Human Hacking | Implicated in human hacking |
| Kali Linux Revealed: Mastering the Penetration Testing Distribution | High-class running system administration seasoned Enterprise-attentive |
| Web Hacking 101 | Illustrates simple web vulnerabilities |
| Gray Hat Hacking: The Ethical Hacker’s Handbook | Exceptionally technical Shellcode writing Vulnerability exploitation |
| Blue Team Handbook: Incident Response Edition | Cybersecurity event responders Incident acknowledgment process |
| Mastering Metasploit | Step-by-step tutorial Increase penetration testing skills In-depth knowledge |
20 Best Free Hacking Books 2023
- Web Application Hacker’s Handbook
- RTFM: Red Team Field Manual
- The Hackers Playbook 2
- Advanced Penetration Testing
- Practical Malware Analysis: The Hands-on Guide
- Ghost in the Wires
- The Basics of Hacking and Penetration Testing
- Hacking: The Art of Exploitation, 2nd Edition
- Computer Hacking Beginners Guide
- Hacking: A Beginners Guide To Your First Computer Hack
- CISSP All-In-One Exam Guide
- Nmap Network Scanning
- Hash Crack: Password Cracking Manual
- Black Hat Python: Python Programming for Hackers and Pentesters
- Social Engineering: The Art of Human Hacking
- Kali Linux Revealed: Mastering the Penetration Testing Distribution
- Web Hacking 101
- Gray Hat Hacking: The Ethical Hacker’s Handbook
- Blue Team Handbook: Incident Response Edition
- Mastering Metasploit
1. The Web Application Hacker’s Handbook: Finding and Exploiting Security Flaws
The web application hacker’s handbook is authored by the originator of Portswigger, the organization behind the successful penetration testing tool named Burp Suite.
This book tells you about the basics of the internet, including how to find the most unprotected areas of an application and eventually to find vulnerabilities inside a web application.
This hacking book guides you through all the information step-by-step starting from how to strike and then how to defend web applications.
Moreover, it also includes the most advanced technology composed to protect web applications from several attacks.
This book includes 21 chapters as a whole, and the majority of it is devoted to describing web technologies and how to utilize them, and it also represents the instruments and techniques which can be used to crush any web application.
2. RTFM: Red Team Field Manual
First, we have RTFM (Red Team Field Manual), which is one of the famous hacking books, as Ben Clark wrote this book.
Hence this book state that it is an informative composition that contains specific information on the fundamentals of command scripts, application software, and operating systems, and a description of devices that are needed to create a profession in ethical hacking.
It consists of 96 pages, and it costs $10.00.
3. The Hackers Playbook 2
Next, we have the Hacker Playbook a longtime security expert, this book gives you a step-by-step pattern for penetration testing.
It provides lots of hands-on functional hacking tutorials.
Moreover, the author of this book practices a unique style of teaching penetration testing, and not only that even discusses the main obstacles as well.
Apart from all these things, also there are several roadblocks that many newcomers face during penetration testing, so it’s excellent for all the newbies.
This book illustrates how to tackle different types of networks, how to intensify opportunities and sidestep the antivirus software utilizing hands-on illustrations.
4. Advanced Penetration Testing: Hacking the world’s most Secure Networks
Next, we have advanced penetration testing on our list, and this book is one of the most efficient and refined in the hacking book world.
This book walks ahead of Kali Linux and Metasploit, and it grants you high-level pen testing for high-security networks.
Advanced Penetration Testing: Hacking the World’s Most Secure Networks delivers hacking knowledge far beyond Kali Linux and Metasploit to implement a more compact attack simultaneously.
It has some unique feature methods which have not been explained in any certification prep or included by any standard protective scanners.
This book combines social engineering, programming, and vulnerability achievements into a multidisciplinary strategy for targeting and endangering high-security situations.
5. Practical Malware Analysis: The Hands-on Guide to Dissecting Malicious Software
Now we have the Practical Malware Analysis, it is one of the most famous hacking books which Michael Sikorski and Andrew Honig wrote.
Basically, this book describes how a person on their own can investigate and find the malware inside a window system.
This whole book is written from a beginner’s prospect so that it can be helpful for them in multidisciplinary strategy.
There’s nothing more to say about this book, but if you are a beginner in this hacking field, then this book will be an excellent choice for you.
6. Hacking: The Art of Exploitation, 2nd Edition
We can surely say that this book is one of the essential hacking books of all time, and if you are a freshman and comprises everything from programming to computer design through network intelligence and the most advanced hacking techniques, then this book should be best for you.
This book doesn’t only explain, how to manage existing achievements, but, it also demonstrates how hackers utilize programs and come up with new original exploits. This book is a LiveCD that presents you with a Linux atmosphere without modifying your current OS setup.
Moreover, you can also watch simultaneously the book’s illustrations, debug code, overflow buffers, exploiting cryptographic flaws, and not only that even it also explains to you how to create your new exploits as well.
7. The Basics of Hacking and Penetration Testing
After that, we have the basics of hacking and penetration testing this book presents you with the steps that you need to learn for completing a penetration test or operate an ethical hack from start to end without any earlier hacking experience, so it’s intended basically for the thoroughgoing beginners.
With the help of this book, you will learn how to correctly use and understand the results of modern-day appliances such as Backtrack and Kali Linux, Google reconnaissance, MetaGooFil, Metasploit, the Social Engineering Toolkit (SET), and many more.
This book presents you with clean and straightforward solutions with step-by-step examples for handling a penetration test or hacking.
Thus by reading this book, you will obtain a better knowledge of attacking security, which will help you throughout your career as a pentester.
8. Ghost in the Wires: My Adventures as the World’s Most Wanted Hacker
Now we have added the ghost in wires, this book not only makes you a better hacker, but it also works as an influence on those who strive to get into this profession.
Kevin Mitnick has written this book and he is one of the most equivocal hackers/social strokers in today’s history.
He entered computers and several networks at the world’s largest companies and was strong enough to hack into phone switches, computer systems, and cellular networks.
Moreover, this book includes everything that Mitnick has done, starting from the time he began cutting until the time he was eventually apprehended by the feds and a little after that.
Basically, we can say that this book is going to catch your attention, is humorous, and overall it is an excellent book to read.
9. Computer Hacking Beginners Guide: How to Hack Wireless Network
This is another book on our list, and Alan T. Norman has written this book. It is the complete hacking book for those who are just acquiring knowledge in proper ethical hacking.
In this book, users will learn every detail that they need to know in the series to get into the strategic world of computer hacking.
Through this book, readers will be able to learn correctly how hacking works to defend themselves from frequent hacking attacks.
Moreover, readers will learn how to hack as well as conduct counter-hacks to stay a step ahead of illegal hackers.
Through this book, Norman concentrates on tools and techniques that are utilized by both ethical and criminal hackers.
These tools and methods will give all readers an understanding of how learning security can be achieved, how to identify an attack in a system, and how to minimize the destruction caused by an attack on a network or stop an already ongoing attack.
However, you will also learn about the various types of hackers and hacking intrusions as well.
10. Hacking: A Beginners Guide To Your First Computer Hack
The Hacking: A Beginners Guide To Your First Computer Hack book will guide you on how you can defend yourself from most general hacking attacks simply by understanding how hacking works.
Thus, in sequence to check your system from being arbitrated, you require to stay a step forward from any unlawful hacker.
Moreover, you can do this by studying how to hack and how to do a counter-hack on your opponent.
This book comprises different procedures and tools that are used by both unethical and ethical hackers, as all the information that you will encounter here will explain to you how information security can be negotiated and how you can recognize an attack in a system that you are proposing to guard.
You will also learn how to depreciate the damages in your system, or even you can stop an ongoing attack.
11. CISSP All-In-One Exam Guide
Next, we have CISSP, this book comprises comprehensive, up-to-date editing, which leads to CISSP practice resources from the number one name in IT security certification and education.
Shon Harris has written the latest version of this book, and he has fully updated and released the Certified Information Systems Security Expert exam, which complete up-to-date source.
It includes all the 10 CISSP exam domains, which are produced by the International Information Systems Security Certification Consortium (ISC2).
This definitive exam model emphasizes reading intentions at the commencement of each chapter, exam tips, exercise questions, and in-depth descriptions.
Thus if you are preparing for the CISSP hacking exams, then this book is a great choice.
12. Nmap Network Scanning: The Official Nmap Project Guide to Network Discovery and Security Scanning
We have another fantastic book on our list which is the Nmap network scanning which is the authoritative director or a guide book to the Nmap Security Scanner.
It is a free and open-source service used by millions of users who do penetration testing over the whole world, covering network discovery, management, and security auditing.
Generally, this book commences with port scanning basics, therefore it fits beginners.
However, apart from all these things, it also lights into detail low-level packet crafting techniques that are used by high-level hackers.
Thus it has something in it for every level of security and networking specialists. It comprises a recommendation guide that documents every Nmap feature and security.
Still, the book also explains how to apply them to immediately solving real-world tasks such as subverting firewalls and interference detection systems, optimizing Nmap performance, and automating everyday networking tasks with a proper Nmap Scripting Engine.
13. Black Hat Python: Python Programming for Hackers and Pentesters
Black hat python is the hacker’s first choice when it comes to hacking, as every hacker usually turns to conventional hacking tools such as Burp Suite to find their different vulnerabilities.
Although hackers also build their own secure and useful hacking tools on the bug frequently, thus python is the style of choice because it’s easy to use and handy and you can build a proof of ideas in minutes with almost a few lines of code.
In this book, the newest book from Justin Seitz, you’ll examine the more sinister side of Python’s abilities.
It will guide you on how to address network sniffers, manipulate packets, infect virtual machines, create private trojans, and many more.
Moreover, this book tells the readers how they can create a trojan command-and-control utilizing GitHub, how to recognize sandboxing and automate simple malware tasks, like keylogging and screenshotting, and also to increase Windows opportunities with creative process control.
It has a fantastic feature that guides you on how to continue the successful Burp Suite web-hacking tool, so, that you can build and design your plugins, and not only that even you can also distance yourself to assist you in finding possibly productive and significant vulnerabilities much quicker.
14. Hash Crack: Password Cracking Manual
This book generally tells you about the password-breaking manual; this is an ideal requirement for those who want to know how to break or crack passwords.
It comprises a collection of primary and high-level techniques that penetration testers and network security experts can use to assess the security of an association from a password position.
Moreover, The manual holds the most popular password-cracking and investigation tools and central password-cracking techniques.
It also includes all the tables, commands, and online sources that you’re going to require to crack passwords and further protection against password attacks.
15. Social Engineering: The Art of Human Hacking
Next, we have social engineering, which has been written by Christopher Hadnagy in 2010.
This book includes different techniques that have been implicated in human hacking as obtaining someone to disclose their password.
This book generally contains several ways that will teach you about identity theft, fraud, and processes in which a person is deceived.
16. Kali Linux Revealed: Mastering the Penetration Testing Distribution
Kali Linux is one of the famous books for hacking which has really enhanced the learning security professional’s platform of their choice.
Moreover, it also developed into an industrial-grade, and high-class running system administration seasoned, reliable, and enterprise-attentive.
With the help of this book, you can easily decade-long construction process, simultaneously with innumerable volunteers from different hacker communities.
Thus it has taken on the responsibility of streamlining and making our work conditions attack-free, therefore saving us from much of the hard work.
It also granted a secure and stable foundation, enabling us to focus on defending our digital world.
17. Web Hacking 101
Next, we have another excellent book, which was written by HackerOne Co-Founders Michiel Prins and Jobert Abma.
Thus Web Hacking 101 is regarding the ethical investigation of software for different security problems, but we can say that learning to hack isn’t perpetually carefree.
As with few limitations, subsisting books are overly professional, only assign a particular chapter to website vulnerabilities, or don’t add up any real-world cases.
Therefore this book is a bit different, as it Uses openly exposed weaknesses.
Thus Web Hacking 101 illustrates simple web vulnerabilities, and it shows you how to begin finding vulnerabilities and assembling gratuities.
18. Gray Hat Hacking: The Ethical Hacker’s Handbook
After web hacking 101, we have gray hat hacking. This book has two parts, the gray hat hacking is the first part of the book and it begins by introducing essential laws so that as a pentester, you can understand everything without getting any problems.
With the law, as we know, there is a thin line when we talk about hacking websites. Whereas the second part is exceptionally technical, and comprises topics varying from network scanning, and fingerprinting to shellcode writing, and vulnerability exploitation.
Moreover, this book includes a copy of ventures, addressing different fundamentals such as buffer overflows, heap overflows, and format string overflows.
It also goes into every detail throughout lesser-known vulnerability exposure techniques, for example, “fuzzing,” reversed engineering, and discusses some commercial tools which are beneficial to pen-testers such as Core Impact and Canvas.
19. Blue Team Handbook: Incident Response Edition
Now we have the blue team handbook, this book is another reference model like the Red Team manual that we have discussed above and is printed for cybersecurity event responders, security engineers, and InfoSec pros alike.
This book has covered the main topic, which includes the incident acknowledgment process, how attackers operate, standard tools for conflict response, a proper method for network analysis, common indicators of understanding, Windows and Linux analysis processes, and many other sharp reference topics.
We can say that this has been loaded with practical techniques from the creators’ extensive careers in handling conflicts.
So whatever job you do, for example, it’s writing up your case notes, investigating potentially unusual traffic, or watching over a misbehaving server.
This book will help you, and it will teach you some modern techniques on the way.
20. Mastering Metasploit
At last, we have Mastering Metasploit, this book comprises a complete and comprehensive, step-by-step tutorial example that will take you through the essential features of the Metasploit framework.
Moreover, if you are a penetration tester, or you do security engineering, or we can say that someone who is attending to increase their penetration testing skills and experience with Metasploit, then this book is excellent for you.
The readers will get a basic knowledge of using Metasploit after reading this book.
Even they are also demanded to have an understanding of exploitation and an in-depth knowledge of object-oriented different programming languages.
Hacking Books – Conclusion
So with the help of this post, we have tried to give you essential knowledge about the books for network hacking.
We have mentioned the top 20 network hacking books that are helpful for you if you are a beginner in this field, or you want better skills in penetration testing and many more.
As we have tried to cover all the books which may help a hacker from all sides.
However, reading only books will not make you a hacker because to get proper experience in this field, you have to practice it practically.
Therefore after reading these books, you will have a basic concept and idea of hacking, and after that, you can easily apply it.
These books are related to ethical hacking, so analyze and figure out which one is suitable for you and place an order to get it delivered.
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