Top Cybersecurity Books by Topic

Looking for the best cybersecurity books? This list covers ethical hacking, OSINT, red teaming, malware analysis, and more—organized by topic for easy access.

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Penetration Testing Books

  • Metasploit, 2nd Edition 2nd Edition by David Kennedy (Author), Mati Aharoni (Author), Devon Kearns (Author), Jim O'Gorman (Author), 2025

  • Black Hat Python, 2nd Edition: Python Programming for Hackers and Pentesters, 2021

  • Ethical Hacking: A Hands-on Introduction to Breaking In, 2021

  • Bug Bounty Bootcamp, 2021

  • Real-World Bug Hunting: A Field Guide to Web Hacking, 2021

  • Red Team Development and Operations: A Practical Guide (2021)

  • Red Team Field Manual V2 (2022)

  • Tribe of Hackers Red Team: Tribal Knowledge from the Best in Offensive Cybersecurity (2020)

  • Operator Handbook: Red Team + OSINT + Blue Team Reference (2020)

  • The Pentester Blueprint: Starting a Career as an Ethical Hacker, 2020

  • Hands-on Hacking: Become an Expert at Next-Gen Penetration Testing and Purple Teaming, 2020

  • The Hacker Playbook 3 by Peter Kim, 2018

  • Advanced Penetration Testing by Wil Allsopp, 2017

  • Advanced Penetration Testing for Highly-Secured Environments by Lee Allen, 2016

  • Penetration Testing: A Hands-On Introduction to Hacking by Georgia Weidman, 2014

  • Rtfm: Red Team Field Manual by Ben Clark, 2014

  • Black Hat Python: Python Programming for Hackers and Pentesters by Justin Seitz, 2014

  • Advanced Persistent Threat Hacking: The Art and Science of Hacking Any Organization by Tyler Wrightson, 2014

  • The Basics of Hacking and Penetration Testing by Patrick Engebretson, 2013

  • Professional Penetration Testing by Thomas Wilhelm, 2013

  • Violent Python by TJ O’Connor, 2012

  • Metasploit: The Penetration Tester’s Guide by David Kennedy et al., 2011

  • Bug Hunter’s Diary by Tobias Klein, 2011

  • Unauthorized Access: Physical Penetration Testing For IT Security Teams by Wil Allsopp, 2010

  • The Art of Exploitation by Jon Erickson, 2008

  • Fuzzing: Brute Force Vulnerability Discovery by Michael Sutton et al., 2007

Hackers Handbook Series

  • Car Hacker’s Handbook by Craig Smith, 2016

  • The Mobile Application Hackers Handbook by Dominic Chell et al., 2015

  • The Browser Hackers Handbook by Wade Alcorn et al., 2014

  • Android Hackers Handbook by Joshua J. Drake et al., 2014

  • iOS Hackers Handbook by Charlie Miller et al., 2012

  • The Web Application Hackers Handbook 2 by D. Stuttard, M. Pinto, 2011

  • The Mac Hacker’s Handbook by Charlie Miller & Dino Dai Zovi, 2009

  • The Shellcoders Handbook by Chris Anley et al., 2007

  • The Database Hacker’s Handbook, David Litchfield et al., 2005

Defensive Development

  • Holistic Info-Sec for Web Developers (Fascicle 0)

  • Holistic Info-Sec for Web Developers (Fascicle 1)

Linux & Network Analysis Books

  • Network Basics for Hackers: How Networks Work and How They Break (2023)

  • Linux Basics for Hackers: Getting Started with Networking, Scripting, and Security in Kali (2018)

  • Practical Packet Analysis 3 by Chris Sanders, 2017

  • Wireshark 101: Essential Skills for Network Analysis , 2017

  • Network Forensics: Tracking Hackers through Cyberspace by Sherri Davidoff & Jonathan Ham, 2012

  • Practical Packet Analysis 2 by Chris Sanders, 2011

  • Nmap Network Scanning by Gordon Fyodor Lyon, 2009

  • Practical Packet Analysis by Chris Sanders, 2007

Reverse Engineering Books

  • Gray Hat Hacking: The Ethical Hacker's Handbook, Sixth Edition 6th Edition by HARPER, 2022

  • Practical Reverse Engineering by Bruce Dang et al., 2014

  • The IDA Pro Book, 2nd Edition: The Unofficial Guide to the World's Most Popular Disassembler Second Edition by Chris Eagle, 2011

  • The IDA Pro Book by Chris Eagle, 2011

  • Hacking the Xbox by Andrew Huang, 2003

Malware Analysis Books

  • The Art of Memory Forensics by Michael Hale Ligh et al., 2014

  • Practical Malware Analysis by Michael Sikorski & Andrew Honig, 2012

  • Malware Analyst’s Cookbook and DVD by Michael Hale Ligh et al., 2010

Windows Books

  • Windows Security Internals with PowerShell (2022)

  • Windows Internals, Part 2 (Developer Reference) 7th Edition by Andrea Allievi, Mark Russinovich, Alex Ionescu, David Solomon, 2021

  • Windows Internals by Mark Russinovich et al., 2017

  • Troubleshooting with the Windows Sysinternals Tools by Mark Russinovich & Aaron Margosis, 2016

Social Engineering Books

  • The Social Engineer’s Playbook: A Practical Guide to Pretexting (2015)

  • Social Engineering in IT Security: Tools, Tactics, and Techniques by Sharon Conheady, 2014

  • Unmasking the Social Engineer: The Human Element of Security by Christopher Hadnagy, 2014

  • Ghost in the Wires by Kevin D. Mitnick & William L. Simon, 2011

  • Social Engineering: The Art of Human Hacking by Christopher Hadnagy, 2010

  • No Tech Hacking by Johnny Long & Jack Wiles, 2008

  • The Art of Intrusion by Kevin D. Mitnick & William L. Simon, 2005

  • The Art of Deception by Kevin D. Mitnick & William L. Simon, 2002

OSINT & Privacy Books

Web & API Hacking Books

Scripting & Programming Books

  • Black Hat Bash: Creative Scripting for Hackers and Pentesters (2023)

  • Windows Security Internals with PowerShell (2022)

  • Black Hat Python, 2nd Edition: Python Programming for Hackers and Pentesters, 2021

  • Black Hat Python: Python Programming for Hackers and Pentesters by Justin Seitz, 2014

  • Violent Python by TJ O’Connor, 2012

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