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For the complete documentation index, see llms.txt. This page is also available as Markdown.

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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