I’ve tackled my fair share of HackTheBox machines, TryHackMe rooms, PortSwigger Academy, and Pentester Labs. But I came to a pretty big realization: I didn’t have the foundational skills to level up. I was decent at hacking and defending networks, but it never felt like I was truly in the zone as a hacker or a cyber-defender. Networking was my weak spot.

<My Struggles>

• Network Analysis: I had a tough time figuring out what was legitimate traffic and what was malicious when it came to deep packet inspection.

• Bypassing Defenses: I wanted to learn how to sneak past firewalls and other security measures effectively.

• Manual Enumeration: I often leaned too much on tools instead of rolling up my sleeves and manually poking around endpoints which most tools ignore.

So, I took a moment to reflect on how I could beef up my networking skills. I’d played around with creating simple Python port scanners and using the Scapy library, but it just wasn’t cutting it. I didn’t even fully understand why DNS uses port 53 for both TCP and UDP, “Why is that ?” was my thought process.

I decided to dive deep into networking. I debated between Network+ and CCNA. Both are solid, but I realized Network+ gives you a good overview without locking you into one vendor, while CCNA not only teaches you about networks but also shows you how to network. I wanted hands-on experience, not just theory.

Now, I’m more comfortable acquiring offensive and defensive skills through a practical learning approach, and I’m feeling way more comfortable with Linux and networking.

<Moral of the Story>

Recognize your weaknesses, tackle them until they’re no longer an issue, and then keep going with the new set of weaknesses.

The top hackers are always learning, and the best defenders are constantly keeping up with new threats. There’s no excuse not to learn; your weaknesses are just an opportunity for growth.

Peace.