al3x@wannaCYbeR(security)~$ echo "Issue \x02"

Greetings, fellow cyber rookies, and welcome to the second issue of wannaCYbeR(security), a weekly newsletter dedicated to those who are just starting in cybersecurity. Read on and feel free to share any feedback you might have.

USEFUL NEWS

Russia, Ukraine, and the global cyberwar

It’s all over the news and very much discussed in cybersecurity circles. The main question is: how is the “digital war” that goes along with geopolitical moves going to play out? We are all familiar with the economic interests at stake and the main actors involved. What we don’t know yet is in what ways the U.S., Ukraine, and other countries will be impacted be by the "cyberwar."

CISA (Cybersecurity Infrastructure and Security Agency) published a new resource called “Shields Up” warning companies about cyber threats, especially targeting “critical infrastructure” – think power plants, food producers, water treatment plants, public transportation, etc.

“Notably, the Russian government has used cyber as a key component of their force projection over the last decade, including previously in Ukraine in the 2015 timeframe. The Russian government understands that disabling or destroying critical infrastructure—including power and communications—can augment pressure on a country’s government, military, and population and accelerate their acceding to Russian objectives.”

Unsurprisingly, Bleeping Computer is reporting about Ukrainian military agencies and state-owned banks being hit by Distributed Denial of Service (DDoS) attacks. At the same time, The Washington Post mentions that “Russian government hackers” would have “likely broadly penetrated Ukrainian military, energy, and other critical computer networks to collect intelligence and position themselves potentially to disrupt those systems should Russia launch a military assault on Ukraine, according to newly declassified U.S. intelligence.”

Speaking of critical infrastructure, episode #400 of The H4unt3d Hacker podcast is a particularly relevant piece of content to listen to at this moment. Mike “The H4unt3d Hacker” Jones speaks with Luther “Chips” Harris about the current threats to power grids, water treatment plants, and other critical infrastructures. They also discuss the connections between geopolitics and cybersecurity, and the challenges of operating with outdated industrial technologies.

Updates, Updates, Updates

• VMware has released updates for several critical vulnerabilities affecting ESXi, Workstation, Fusion, Cloud Foundation, and NSX Data Center for vSphere. Read details of the CVEs on Bleeping Computer.
• In case you missed it, on Monday Google released updates for multiple vulnerabilities found in Chrome browser. One of them is a “zero-day” bug, meaning that the vendor has just learned about the flaw, and it’s reportedly being exploited in the wild. More on this on The Hacker News.
• Offensive Security has updated Kali Linux to version 2022.1. In the updates are included new tools, accessibility features, and new visual elements. Read all about it on Bleeping Computer.?

Meme of the Week: Bug Hunter

Special - Mini-Guide: Cybersecurity is such a massive field! As a beginner, where do I start?

That's a great question and one that I see quite often asked on LinkedIn, Discord servers, and in other virtual conversation spaces. I'm also a rookie and I know how overwhelming it can be to have so many topics I know nothing about and I want to learn everything about. The answer is highly dependent on what you already know and what your goals are. Here are some ideas and questions that helped me get started on my cyber journey:

• Cover the Foundations: do you know how a computer works? How does a network work? How does the internet work? What protocols are common? Get a solid foundation on the basics. You could take an introductory course in Computer Science or browse study materials for certifications like CompTIA A+ and Network+.
• Operating Systems: are you familiar with Windows, MacOS, and Linux? In cybersecurity, you will likely have to deal with all these and more, so you want to learn the basics of all of them.
• Programming Mindset & Scripting Practice: do you know any programming language? Have you ever used a command-line interface (CLI)? Being at ease with using the terminal in Linux is fundamental for any practical task, and familiarity with at least one programming language is a tremendous help when it comes to understanding how exploits work.
• Theory and Practice: don't just read and learn things in a vacuum. Try to pick courses and platforms that allow you to apply your knowledge in practical scenarios. Ultimately, that's how you'll be able to translate your learnings into tasks and good practices.
• Don't get lost, but don't get bored either: with the enormous quantity of content available and the variety of topics, it's easy to get overwhelmed and a bit lost, especially if you are as curious as I am and wish you learned that new cool thing already. I usually try to take a maximum of three different "classes" at a time: this allows me to have some variety between theory and practice, as well as stay fresh on different topics, but still maintain some structure in my learning and avoid jumping from one thing to the other without a direction. At the moment, for example, I'm practicing easy boxes on TryHackMe, learning about Active Directory through TCM Security's PET course, and digging deeper in both theory and practice of networks on David Bombal's CCNA fundamentals course. This is optimal for how my brain works and for how I tend to learn, but you should adapt it to your needs and learning style.
• Keep yourself excited and motivated: since cybersecurity is so vast, it can feel like progress is hard to achieve. But, in reality, every little step and reward counts towards the bigger milestones. To help keep me focused and motivated, at the end of each day (or of each box or learning session,) I write down three things that I feel like I absorbed in particular and how those will help me get where I want to be in my learning journey.

TryHackMe: Gallery writeup

Over the past weekend, I solved the challenges in the Gallery room on TryHackMe and decided to make my first writeup out of it, especially because I was able to learn a few new tricks for netcat shell stabilization. Try out the room and take a look at my write-up!

Fun Stuff: Physical Penetration Test with Zach Hill

What exactly is a physical penetration test and how does it work? Zach Hill from TCM Security recently went on an engagement and recounts his exciting experience, as well as the lessons learned.

Bonus Meme: The Power of SUDO

That's all for this week. If you enjoyed the newsletter, please feel free to share it with your connections. Do you know of a great piece of content I should include? Don’t be shy, reach out!

P.S. In case you were wondering, I don't receive any compensation or sponsorship for the content I share. I do it just because I love to nerd out with other people on topics of common interest.