How can you develop Cybersecurity skills on a tight budget?

Start with understanding core principles of computer networks, system administration, and basic coding. Familiarize yourself with common security protocols, encryption methods, and cybersecurity terminologies. Online resources, such as free courses or tutorials, can be invaluable for this foundational learning. In my experience, a solid grasp of the basics not only makes advanced concepts more approachable but also enhances your ability to think critically and solve complex cybersecurity problems.

If you are interested in the Microsoft stack, Microsoft Learn is a great place to pick up knowledge and skills, best of all its free. From beginner to expert. Would also heartily recommend YouTube, Im a fan of John Savill's Technical Training ( @NTFAQGuy )

The biggest tip I can give is BE CURIOUS. I also need to add that, although curiosity is important, so is focus and direction. The reward for being curious is that you can quickly learn the basics of cybersecurity and start delving deeper into the material as you learn new ways of approaching issues. There is literally a mountain of free knowledge on YouTube and various knowledge and training sites available for you to learn from. Having focus will, hopefully, reduce the number and depth of rabbit holes you will undoubtedly fall into.

1. Start with Online Courses for programming and Tutorials: There are many free or affordable online courses available on platforms like Coursera, edX, Udemy, and Khan Academy. Look for courses on basic cybersecurity principles, network security, ethical hacking. 2. YouTube and Educational Websites: YouTube is a treasure trove of free educational content. Channels like HackerSploit, NetworkChuck, and Professor Messer and Cybrary. 3. Open Source Tools: Familiarize yourself with open-source cybersecurity tools like Security Onion, Wazuh, and Kali Linux. 4. VLabs: Use virtual labs like OverTheWire, Hack The Box, or Cyber Aces to practice your skills in a simulated environment.

Numerous cybersecurity enthusiasts and specialists share valuable information on YouTube channels. For insightful content, explore channels such as NullSec, LiveOverflow, and The Cyber Mentor. Podcasts: While commuting or exercising, listening to cybersecurity podcasts is an excellent way to passively learn. Noteworthy options include "Risky Business," "Darknet Diaries," and "Paul's Security Weekly." Web sites and articles: Maintain awareness of emerging threats and industry developments by consistently skimming cybersecurity journals and articles. Krebs on Security, Schneier on Security, and others should be followed. Self-exploration- Along with free resources one must understand that everything cannot be spoon-feed! Research is the key!

I personally used TryHackMe (free version) when starting out in my cyber journey. After that I made my own simple homelab via VirtualBox where I have a Kali Linux VM (red team), Metasploitable (vulnerable), and Windows VM (blue team) which are all free to download. There's EDR, SIEMs, and vulnerability scanners you can add to your blue team VM as well. Play around in Metasploitable via Kali and practice reading the logs and doing vulnerability scans in the Windows VM. You learn best by doing and putting what you've read into practice!

For labs, and practice materials, you can get very far by setting up VMs (or even downloading ready-to-go VMs from various sites). When running whole lab on a laptop stops being practical (e.g. multi-node clusters, Kubernetes, cloud etc.), you can look into online labs with subscription model. If you want to go complete DIY route even for complex labs, you can use online providers (AWS, GCP, Azure, Digital Ocean, Linode etc.) to spin up bunch of VMs with desired machine and network configuration (available features may vary from provider to provider); or maybe a K8s cluster with desired configuration to practice.

If you're interested in DFIR, you can practice for free. There are lots of images of "compromised" systems available online, or you can just image your own system, and start there.

If you're interested in becoming a SOC Analyst / Incident Responder, LetsDefend is one of the best ways to do this. LetsDefend offers practical labs to learn material, then they have a simulated SOC SIEM Environment to practice what you are learning on real machines. You will be able to isolate devices, quarantine emails, check device logs, etc etc. It is one of the best sites for blue team training, & they have a lot of free rooms!

Also check out cyber classes from Texas A&M - TEEX. Majority of them are free, even the F2F ones as they are funded by DHS CISA and FEMA.

Joining online communities can be a great way to learn from others and get advice on developing your cybersecurity skills. Some popular communities include Reddit’s r/cybersecurity and Cybrary’s online community. You can also check Offensive Security’s Flex Program and TryHackMe for hands-on cybersecurity training and labs. Remember, developing cybersecurity skills takes time and effort. But with the right resources and dedication, you can learn the basics and build your skills.

Joining a community of like minded people helps a lot in learning new skills within Cyber Security especially when you dont know what you are looking for. Its easy to get answers when you have a question but to have a question ready for each and everything within Cyber Security is impossible. Join different vendor provided communities or attend conferences or events to build that network. Now a days a lot of open source communities have been setup where people come and talk on different topics. If you dont find any maybe start building one by yourself in your workplace specific to topics and then let it grow by itself. I have done that myself and a lot of times I learn so many new things tried and tested by members of this this community.

Joining a community or building one community for all can be a great idea. You get a chance to connect with a lot of people sharing same interest. One can share information and learn a lot from different individuals. Building a community can surely leverage one’s personal branding as well in the long run. To do so, LinkedIn is one the best platforms which even I personally use, where I share cybersecurity polls, news and other stuff.

Personally I would suggest LinkedIn as a professional development platform. There are several accounts who would share free resources and links time to time. Moreover some of them provide free non-personalized mentoring to some extent. I would have named some of them, but I saw that LinkedIn doesn't allow tagging here and this may have a reason. Just search for them.

Siga profissionais da área, entre em fóruns de Red Team e Blue Team, entre em comunidades em plataformas, no Telegram existem muitas, cadastre-se em news letters, as comunidades s?o amplas, os eventos s?o muitos e como a área está em crescimentos busca de conhecimento e o compartilhamento est?o na mesma batida.

Mentorship is a great way to identify areas that will help you advance your career, develop your leadership skills, increase your confidence and communication, and maintain accountability on the path to achieving your goals. Create a tribe of mentors that come from different backgrounds so you can gain diverse perspectives and exposure to new ways of thinking. Through mentorship, you will learn how grow your professional network and maintain relationships that will last a lifetime.

Finding a mentor in cyber security Field of course will cut it short for the mentee. As he will get best practice from the mentor on how things are works. It also increases the mentee network which will facilitate securing a job. Additionally, the mentee will get the advise regarding the shortest pass for his track which may save time to learn and gain.

A mentor places you on an accelerated path aiming you to achieve your objectives. He shows you guide rails which keeps you on the right trajectory. He shares personalized: Guidance, feedback, support and extends his resources such as his network, framework and templates. Always start finding mentors early. 3-4 mentors can propel you years ahead

Finding a cybersecurity mentor is a cost-effective strategy for skill development. Seek guidance from experienced professionals in local meetups or online forums. A mentor can provide personalized advice, share real-world insights, and offer direction in your learning journey. Their expertise and support can help you navigate the complexities of cybersecurity, providing invaluable insights that might not be easily accessible through formal education alone. Mentorship fosters a collaborative learning environment, accelerating your skill development without the need for expensive courses or training programs.

Securing a mentor can significantly enhance your cybersecurity learning journey. Platforms like MentorCruise, Mentorship Central, and Infosec Mentors provide avenues to connect with experienced mentors. Alternatively, leverage your existing network—colleagues, friends, or instructors—to find someone who can offer personalized guidance, feedback, and support. A mentor can help you navigate challenges, set goals, and advance your cybersecurity skills, even on a tight budget.

Competitions such as Capture the Flag (CTF), represent an excellent way of developing the skills for those who intend to specialize in the technical areas such as Penetration Testing, Malware Analysis, etc. The two main formats of the competitions are jeopardy; which involves solving challenges in order to find a flag, or attack and defence; where there are machines running different operating systems and they should be attacked to reach the same result (in some other setups, the machines should be hardened too in order to prevent them from being attacked). Whatever the format of the competitions; and whether they involve realistic scenarios or not, they teach how to think out of the box and help in learning new techniques and tools.

Participe antes de CTF nas plataformas de treinamento, atinja um bom nível, fa?a cursos e certifica??es e depois sim... siga o caminho de reconhecimento e contribui??o, vejo como o melhor ponto o de compartilhamento do conhecimento a melhor fase da carreira de cyber seguran?a.

La participación en concursos y Capture The Flag (CTF) es una excelente manera de poner a prueba y mejorar tus habilidades en ciberseguridad. Aquí tienes algunas recomendaciones: DefCon Capture The Flag (CTF): La conferencia DefCon, una de las más grandes del mundo en seguridad informática, organiza un CTF desafiante. Participar en el CTF de DefCon es una oportunidad para enfrentarte a problemas complejos y aprender de los mejores. Hack The Box: es una plataforma en línea que ofrece máquinas virtuales y desafíos CTF para que los usuarios resuelvan. Es ideal para mejorar habilidades en pentesting y seguridad.

A perfect example of this for all students or candidates is to stay informed through cybersecurity blogs, following thought leaders, and attending local meetups or webinars, CTFs, local hackathons, areal World based problem solving scenarios, which often offer valuable networking opportunities. You must try to seek out mentorship within the cybersecurity community to guide your learning journey. My friend, always remember that dedication and continuous learning are primary key points in this dynamic field, and with strategic use of free resources, competitions, you can strengthen your cybersecurity skills even on a limited budget.

Engaging in cybersecurity competitions is a cost-effective way to hone your skills. Join Capture The Flag (CTF) challenges on platforms like Hack The Box or participate in cybersecurity contests. These competitions simulate real-world scenarios, requiring problem-solving and hands-on application of security concepts. Competing against peers not only sharpens technical abilities but also builds resilience in facing diverse challenges. The collaborative and competitive nature of these events provides an enriching learning experience without the need for significant financial investment, making them a valuable avenue for skill enhancement in cybersecurity.

Listening to podcasts, reading news articles, and following various social media accounts is such an easy & low-cost way to stay up-to-date in this industry. Consuming this type of media will greatly improve your skills on a wide range of areas, since you can learn directly from the experts themselves.

In the Cyber Security domain, each day comes with something new. From new threats and vulnerabilities, new technologies, to new hacking techniques; which all widen the attack surface. In order to stay abreast of what is really happening, a professional has to keep studying, reading, researching, and following different sources. Online ones such as The Hacker News are very useful in providing daily updates. YouTube channels of renowned professionals such as John Hammond, David Bombal, Jessica Barker and Heath Adams are fantastic in terms covering a variety of topics. Podcasts are also becoming very trendy. Examples include KBKAST and Phillip Wylie Show. Online training, reading books, and following experts on LinkedIn and X are invaluable.

Audio Books, Podcasts and even screen readers have been a game changer for me. I used to save articles, add to my reading wish list, and think about following more cyber news but all that is time consuming with an already busy schedule. Now I listen to books while I drive, Podcast when out for walk or at the gym. I find screen readers don't offer as much multi tasking ability for me but they come in handy when I need to get through material quickly or as I tidy my desk. Once in a while I will also use AIs help and copy and paste an article to an app like Chat GPT and ask for a summary or for the top ten points. Sometimes it turns out the article didn't have the info I needed it but when it does I can go back in for more information.

Cybersecurity is an industry that moves at lightning pace, and keeping a pulse on anything new is as important as keeping your systems up-to-date! There are a ton of resources online to help - find your favourite and always read up on the latest developments and trends. Doing so is vital to staying relevant and effective at any role in this field. Networking (socially!) is also important as there are always things to learn from people that you may not see or hear about elsewhere.

Recently, LinkedIn has not only become a platform for job searches, but has developed into various things, for example, many cybersecurity trends are exposed here, presented by experts, and also many vendors reveal these events in detail.

Unpopular opinion Most of the cybersecurity education is free [on youtube]. Developing skills on a tight budget is totally possible however what's more important is to organize your learnings into a systematic roadmap [ from basic to advanced] and stick to that timeline. Most professional I see are confused, they have a lot of resources /content in hand and they want to read/learn everything in one go. It doesn't work that way and it never will.

A couple of specific tips in the general theme of learning cybersecurity on a budget: 1) Cisco Packet Tracer is free for learning networking fundamentals, which it is essential to know for cyber. You can’t build a house without a foundation. 2) Goodwill. It’s a thrift store chain all over the country. I bought a $120 Arris router for just $7. That’s literally all you need to spend to tinker hands-on with network security configurations—and hands-on is hands down the best way to learn. Remember, certs and college ultimately produce a piece of paper to put on your resume. It’s up to you to maximize these experiences and go above and beyond to learn the actual skills by researching names of specific tools… and then using them yourself at home!

Create a learning group within a team where each member is required to explore more on the area of their interest or the topic required to be covered and let each team member present for one another in turn where all the group members provide feedback and challenge each other for further exploration. Provide equal chances for presentations and facilitate for them to openly discuss their ideas and freely provide critics when required. One also needs to believe that Cybersecurity is a vast topic and covering it alone can be difficult in a very tight budget and teamwork even for learning can mitigate such shortcomings.

My first job I asked for cyber training, travel, tools and my boss approved a $20 book. I was angry. And it was absolutely the right thing for me. He then gave me his time to develop me in ways that I could not have gotten otherwise. Having a tight or no budget while developing your cyber skills is an opportunity not a disadvantage. It will reinforce your why when you work to develop.