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Cybersecurity Skills for Beginners

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Cybersecurity Skills for Beginners: The Complete Skill-Building Guide

Part of the HADESS Career Resources — This guide covers every skill area you need to build. Explore our deep-dives on CompTIA Security+ preparation, Python for cybersecurity, and SIEM tools below.

By HADESS Team | February 28, 2026 | Updated: February 28, 2026 | 20 min read

Cybersecurity skills for beginners can feel like an impossibly long list. Every job posting asks for a dozen tools you have never heard of, three certifications you do not have, and “3-5 years of experience” for an entry-level role. The reality is less overwhelming than it looks. There is a core set of skills that every security professional needs regardless of specialization, and beyond that, what you learn depends on where you want to go.

This guide breaks down what those skills actually are, how they map to different career tracks, which certifications validate them, and how to build a study plan that gets you from zero to employable. We wrote it for people who are either starting from scratch or who have adjacent technical skills and want to transition into security specifically.

Table of Contents

The Cybersecurity Skill Landscape in 2026

The skill landscape has shifted over the past few years. Cloud security skills have moved from “nice to have” to “baseline requirement” for most roles. Automation skills — particularly Python scripting — have become expected rather than differentiating. AI and machine learning awareness is showing up in job postings with increasing frequency, not because everyone needs to build ML models, but because security tools increasingly incorporate AI and practitioners need to understand what those tools are doing under the hood.

At the same time, fundamentals have not changed. Networking knowledge is still the bedrock. Understanding how operating systems work still matters more than knowing any specific tool. The ability to think methodically through a problem still separates effective practitioners from people who just run tools without understanding the output.

What has changed is the path through these skills. Five years ago, you could spend two years working help desk, get a Security+ cert, and walk into a SOC analyst role. That path still works, but competition is stiffer. People who break in fastest are the ones who can demonstrate practical skills alongside theoretical knowledge. That means labs, projects, and documentation — not just exam scores.

The HADESS career assessment can help you identify exactly where your current skill level sits relative to your target role, so you can focus on actual gaps instead of guessing.

Technical Skills vs Soft Skills

This is not a fluffy distinction. Both categories are real requirements that affect your ability to get hired and succeed in the role.

Technical Skills

These are the hard skills you can demonstrate in a lab or on an exam. They include:

  • Networking protocols and architecture
  • Operating system administration (Windows and Linux)
  • Scripting and automation (Python, Bash, PowerShell)
  • Security tool operation (SIEM, EDR, vulnerability scanners, firewalls)
  • Cloud platform configuration and security
  • Threat analysis and incident investigation
  • Cryptographic concepts and implementation
  • Web application security testing

Technical skills are what most people focus on, and for good reason — they are the most measurable and the most directly applicable to the work.

Soft Skills

These are the skills that determine whether you can actually do the job effectively in an organization, as opposed to just in a lab:

  • Written communication: You will write reports, runbooks, policies, and incident documentation. If you cannot communicate findings clearly, your technical skills lose most of their value. This is especially true for penetration testers and GRC analysts, where deliverables are primarily written.
  • Verbal communication: You will present to managers, explain risks to non-technical stakeholders, and coordinate with other teams during incidents. The ability to translate technical findings into business impact is one of the most valuable skills in the field.
  • Analytical thinking: Security work is pattern recognition and hypothesis testing. Can you look at a set of logs and form a theory about what happened? Can you evaluate whether a security control actually addresses the risk it is supposed to?
  • Time management and prioritization: SOC analysts get dozens of alerts per shift. GRC analysts manage multiple audit timelines. Incident responders handle chaos. Knowing what to work on first and when to stop investigating a dead end is a practical skill that takes time to develop.
  • Collaboration: Security is a team sport. You work with IT operations, development teams, legal, compliance, and executive leadership. People who cannot work cross-functionally will hit a ceiling quickly.

Do not skip soft skills because they feel less “technical.” Every hiring manager we know has stories of brilliant technical candidates who could not write a coherent report or explain their findings in an interview.

Core Skills Every Practitioner Needs

Regardless of which track you choose, you need these. Think of them as the foundation that everything else builds on.

Networking Fundamentals

You cannot secure what you do not understand. Networking is the substrate that everything runs on, and the majority of attacks traverse networks. You need to know:

  • TCP/IP stack: How data moves from application layer down to physical layer and back. Understand TCP handshakes, UDP, ICMP, and how protocols interact.
  • DNS: How name resolution works, what DNS records exist (A, AAAA, MX, CNAME, TXT, NS), and why DNS is both foundational infrastructure and a common attack vector (DNS tunneling, domain hijacking, cache poisoning).
  • HTTP/HTTPS: Request and response structure, methods (GET, POST, PUT, DELETE), status codes, headers, cookies, TLS handshakes. Most applications run over HTTP, and most application attacks target HTTP.
  • Subnetting and routing: How networks are segmented, how traffic routes between segments, what NAT does, what VLANs are, and why network segmentation matters for security.
  • Common protocols: SSH, FTP/SFTP, SMTP, SNMP, RDP, SMB. Know what they do, what ports they use, and what security implications each has.

The HADESS network security skills guide covers this in full detail.

Linux Fundamentals

Most security tools run on Linux. Most servers run Linux. Most cloud infrastructure runs Linux. You need to be comfortable with:

  • Command-line navigation and file management
  • User and permission management (chmod, chown, sudo, /etc/passwd, /etc/shadow)
  • Process management (ps, top, kill, systemctl)
  • Log analysis (journalctl, /var/log/, grep, awk, sed)
  • Package management (apt, yum/dnf)
  • Basic shell scripting (Bash)
  • Network utilities (netstat/ss, nmap, tcpdump, curl, wget)

You do not need to be a Linux system administrator, but you need to be comfortable enough that a Linux terminal does not slow you down.

Python for Security

Python has become the de facto language for cybersecurity. Not because it is the best language (it is not for many tasks), but because it is readable, has massive library support, and lets you automate things quickly. You need enough Python to:

  • Parse log files and CSVs
  • Make API calls to security tools
  • Write simple network scanners or port scanners
  • Automate repetitive tasks (bulk DNS lookups, hash checking, IOC extraction)
  • Modify existing open-source security tools

You do not need to write production-quality software. You need to write scripts that work. Our Python for cybersecurity deep-dive covers exactly what to learn and in what order.

Cloud Basics

If you do not know the difference between IaaS, PaaS, and SaaS, or what an IAM policy does, fix that now. Cloud infrastructure is the default for most organizations, and cloud security is woven into nearly every role:

  • Understand the shared responsibility model (what the cloud provider secures vs. what you secure)
  • Know the major services in at least one platform (AWS EC2, S3, IAM, VPC, CloudTrail as a starting point)
  • Understand identity and access management in cloud contexts
  • Know basic cloud networking (VPCs, security groups, NACLs)
  • Understand how logs and monitoring work in cloud environments

For deeper cloud security skills, see our cloud security skills guide.

Offensive Security Skills

If you are aiming for penetration testing, red teaming, or vulnerability research, these are the skills that matter:

Reconnaissance and OSINT

Before you attack anything, you need to understand what you are looking at. Reconnaissance skills include:

  • Passive information gathering (DNS records, WHOIS, certificate transparency logs, public code repositories)
  • Active scanning (Nmap, service enumeration, version detection)
  • Web application enumeration (directory brute-forcing, subdomain enumeration, technology fingerprinting)
  • OSINT techniques for social engineering assessments

Web Application Testing

Most penetration tests include web applications, and web app bugs are among the most common findings. You need to understand:

  • The OWASP Top 10 — not just the list, but how each vulnerability class works mechanically
  • Manual testing techniques (Burp Suite, browser developer tools)
  • Authentication and session management testing
  • Server-side request forgery, injection attacks, cross-site scripting, insecure deserialization
  • API security testing (REST, GraphQL)

Network Exploitation

For infrastructure penetration testing:

  • Service exploitation (understanding CVEs and how to apply them)
  • Password attacks (spraying, brute force, credential stuffing)
  • Post-exploitation (privilege escalation on Windows and Linux)
  • Lateral movement techniques
  • Active Directory attacks (Kerberoasting, AS-REP roasting, Pass-the-Hash)

Report Writing

This gets overlooked, but it should not. A penetration test is only as useful as its report. You need to write findings that include clear descriptions of vulnerabilities, evidence of exploitation, risk ratings, and actionable remediation guidance. If the client cannot understand your report, the engagement failed.

The difference between a junior and senior pen tester is often not technical skill — it is the quality of the written deliverable.

Defensive Security Skills

If you are aiming for SOC operations, incident response, or security engineering, these are your priorities:

SIEM and Log Analysis

Security Information and Event Management platforms are the central nervous system of a SOC. You need to know:

  • How SIEMs work (log ingestion, normalization, correlation, alerting)
  • At least one SIEM platform in depth (Splunk, Microsoft Sentinel, Elastic Security, or QRadar)
  • Query languages for the platform you choose (SPL for Splunk, KQL for Sentinel)
  • How to write detection rules and correlation rules
  • How to tune alerts to reduce false positives

Our SIEM tools guide covers the major platforms and how to build proficiency.

Endpoint Detection and Response (EDR)

EDR tools provide visibility into what is happening on individual endpoints. You need to understand:

  • How EDR agents collect telemetry
  • How to investigate alerts from EDR platforms (CrowdStrike Falcon, SentinelOne, Microsoft Defender for Endpoint)
  • Behavioral detection vs. signature-based detection
  • How to use EDR data for threat hunting

Incident Response Procedures

When something bad happens, there is a process. You should understand:

  • The incident response lifecycle (preparation, identification, containment, eradication, recovery, lessons learned), as defined by NIST SP 800-61
  • Evidence preservation and chain of custody
  • Communication protocols during incidents
  • Basic forensic techniques (disk imaging, memory capture, timeline analysis)

Threat Intelligence Operations

Understanding the threat landscape makes every other defensive skill more effective:

  • MITRE ATT&CK framework — what it is, how to use it for detection mapping
  • Indicator of compromise (IOC) management
  • Threat feed integration and evaluation
  • Adversary tracking and campaign analysis

Read our threat intelligence skills deep-dive for a full breakdown.

Cloud and Container Security Skills

Cloud and containers deserve their own section because they have become the default deployment model and carry unique security considerations.

Cloud Security Posture

  • Cloud security architecture (multi-account strategies, landing zones)
  • IAM policy design and review (least privilege in practice, not just theory)
  • Cloud security services (AWS GuardDuty, Security Hub, Azure Defender, GCP Security Command Center)
  • Infrastructure-as-Code security (Terraform scanning, CloudFormation validation)
  • Cloud incident response (how it differs from on-premises IR)

Container and Kubernetes Security

  • Container image security (scanning, minimal base images, multi-stage builds)
  • Container runtime security (seccomp, AppArmor, read-only filesystems)
  • Kubernetes security fundamentals (RBAC, network policies, Pod Security Standards)
  • Supply chain security for containers (image signing, provenance)
  • Service mesh security (mTLS with Istio or Linkerd)

Zero Trust Architecture

Zero trust is not a product you buy — it is a design philosophy. Understanding it means knowing:

  • The principles: never trust, always verify; assume breach; least-privilege access
  • Implementation patterns: micro-segmentation, continuous authentication, device posture assessment
  • How zero trust maps to cloud-native architectures
  • Real-world limitations and implementation challenges

Our zero trust security guide covers practical implementation patterns.

GRC and Compliance Skills

If you are pursuing governance, risk, and compliance, the skill set looks different from technical security roles but is equally demanding:

Risk Assessment and Management

  • Quantitative vs. qualitative risk assessment
  • Risk frameworks (NIST RMF, ISO 31000, FAIR)
  • Risk register management
  • Third-party/vendor risk assessment
  • Risk appetite and risk tolerance communication

Compliance Frameworks

You do not need to memorize every control, but you need working knowledge of the major frameworks:

  • SOC 2: Trust Service Criteria, Type I vs. Type II, evidence collection
  • ISO 27001: ISMS requirements, Annex A controls, certification process
  • NIST CSF: Framework core (Identify, Protect, Detect, Respond, Recover), implementation tiers
  • PCI-DSS: Requirements for handling payment card data
  • GDPR: Data protection principles, data subject rights, breach notification
  • HIPAA: PHI protection requirements, Security Rule, Breach Notification Rule

The SANS Reading Room is an excellent free resource for deep-diving into specific compliance and security topics.

Policy and Documentation

GRC professionals produce a lot of written artifacts:

  • Security policies (acceptable use, access control, incident response, data classification)
  • Standards and procedures (how policies get implemented)
  • Risk assessments and treatment plans
  • Audit reports and gap analyses
  • Board-level security reports

Writing clearly and precisely is not optional in GRC — it is the core of the job.

Certification Overview: Which Ones Actually Matter

Certifications matter because they are a standardized signal. They tell employers you have demonstrated knowledge in a specific area. But not all certifications carry equal weight, and the order you pursue them matters.

Entry-Level (0-2 Years Experience)

CompTIA Security+ (SY0-701)
The industry standard starting point. It covers a broad range of security topics at a foundational level. Most entry-level job postings mention it. It is vendor-neutral and globally recognized. Budget 2-3 months of study time.

Our CompTIA Security+ preparation guide covers study strategies, resources, and common mistakes.

CompTIA CySA+
The logical next step for people going into SOC/defense roles. It covers security analytics, threat detection, and incident response at a deeper level than Security+.

eJPT (eLearnSecurity Junior Penetration Tester)
The best entry-level practical penetration testing certification. It is exam-based but hands-on — you demonstrate skills in a live lab environment rather than just answering multiple-choice questions.

Mid-Level (2-5 Years Experience)

CEH vs. OSCP
CEH (Certified Ethical Hacker) is widely recognized but has lost some industry respect because its exam is multiple-choice and does not test practical skills. OSCP (Offensive Security Certified Professional) is a 24-hour hands-on exam that requires you to compromise machines in a live environment. Among practitioners, OSCP carries significantly more weight. Our CEH vs OSCP comparison breaks down the differences.

GCIH (GIAC Certified Incident Handler)
Strong certification for incident response professionals. SANS certifications are expensive but well-regarded.

AWS Security Specialty / AZ-500
Cloud-specific security certifications from the two largest cloud providers. If you work in cloud security, these demonstrate platform-specific expertise.

Senior-Level (5+ Years Experience)

CISSP (Certified Information Systems Security Professional)
The most widely recognized security management certification. It covers eight domains of security knowledge at a broad level. It is often a requirement for security leadership roles. It requires five years of professional experience in at least two domains, though an associate-level option exists for people who pass the exam without the experience requirement.

Read our full CISSP preparation guide for study strategies and domain breakdowns.

CCSP (Certified Cloud Security Professional)
The ISC2 cloud-focused certification. Less common than CISSP but increasingly requested for cloud security architecture and leadership roles.

CISM (Certified Information Security Manager)
Focused on security management and governance. Popular among people pursuing CISO or security director roles.

OSCP / OSEP / OSED
The Offensive Security certification chain for people deep in the penetration testing and red team track. OSEP covers advanced evasion techniques. OSED covers exploit development.

Certification Strategy

Do not collect certifications randomly. Pick a track, earn the entry-level cert for that track, get a job, then earn the mid-level cert while working. Certifications are most valuable when combined with practical experience. Someone with Security+ and 18 months of SOC experience is more hirable than someone with five certifications and no work experience.

Use the HADESS certificate roadmap to see the recommended certification order for your specific career track.

Building Your Study Plan

A study plan without structure is just a reading list. Here is how to build one that actually works:

Define Your Target Role

Be specific. “I want to work in cybersecurity” is not a target. “I want to be a SOC Analyst Tier 1 at an MSSP within 8 months” is a target. The specificity lets you work backward from the requirements.

Audit Your Current Skills

List what you already know. If you have IT experience, you probably have networking and operating system fundamentals partially covered. If you have development experience, scripting and web application knowledge are already in your toolkit. Do not start from zero if you are not at zero.

Map the Gap

Compare your current skills to the requirements of your target role. The gap is your study plan. Prioritize skills that appear in the most job postings for your target role.

Allocate Time Realistically

If you work full-time, 10-15 hours per week of focused study is realistic. At that pace, a certification takes 2-4 months depending on its scope. Build in rest weeks. Burnout ends more study plans than difficulty does.

Balance Theory and Practice

For every hour of reading or watching lectures, spend at least an hour in a lab. Hands-on practice cements knowledge in a way that passive learning cannot. Set up VMs, build a home lab, work through CTF challenges, and configure security tools.

Track Progress

Use a system. Spreadsheet, Notion page, paper notebook — whatever works. Track what you have studied, what you have practiced, and what still needs work. Review weekly and adjust.

A six-month study plan structure might look like this:

  • Month 1-2: Networking fundamentals + Linux basics + start Security+ study
  • Month 3: Complete Security+ certification + begin hands-on labs
  • Month 4: Specialize — start learning your track-specific tools and skills
  • Month 5: Build projects + document them + begin track-specific cert study
  • Month 6: Complete track cert + polish portfolio + begin applying

Our cybersecurity learning path guide provides detailed study plan templates for each career track.

Using the HADESS Skills Catalog

The HADESS platform includes a catalog of 80+ cybersecurity skills organized by domain. Here is how to use it effectively:

Browse by Domain: Skills are organized into categories — offensive security, defensive security, cloud security, network security, programming, DevOps, and more. Start by browsing the domain that matches your target track.

Skill Pages: Each skill page explains what the skill is, why it matters, which career roles require it, and where to find learning resources. Use these pages to understand the breadth and depth expected for each skill.

Career Skills Mapping: The career skills page maps skills to specific roles. If you know your target role, this page tells you exactly which skills to prioritize.

Roadmap Tools: Use the roadmap selector to get a personalized learning path based on your current level and target role.

Track Your Progress: The HADESS workspace lets you mark skills as learned, in-progress, or not-started, giving you a clear view of where you stand relative to your goals.

Related Deep-Dives

These cluster guides go deeper into specific skills and certifications covered in this pillar:

Start Your Journey

Browse 80+ Skills on HADESS
Explore the full cybersecurity skills catalog. Each skill page includes descriptions, career mapping, and learning resources. Whether you are just starting or ready to specialize, the skills catalog shows you what to learn next.

Browse the skills catalog

See Your Certification Roadmap
Not sure which certifications to pursue, or in what order? The HADESS certificate roadmap tool maps certs to your career track and experience level, giving you a clear progression path.

View your certification roadmap

Frequently Asked Questions

What are the most important cybersecurity skills for entry-level roles?

Networking fundamentals, basic Linux administration, security concepts (what Security+ covers), and one SIEM platform. If you know TCP/IP, can navigate a Linux terminal, understand common attack types, and can operate a SIEM at a basic level, you meet the technical bar for most SOC Analyst Tier 1 roles. Add basic Python scripting and you are ahead of most entry-level applicants.

Do I need to learn programming to work in cybersecurity?

For most roles, yes — at least basic scripting. Python and Bash are the most universally useful. You do not need to be a software engineer, but you need to automate repetitive tasks, parse data, and understand code well enough to read it. For penetration testing and DevSecOps, deeper programming skills give you a significant advantage. For GRC, programming is less directly required but still useful for data analysis.

How long does it take to learn cybersecurity skills from scratch?

If you are studying 10-15 hours per week, expect 4-6 months to build a solid foundation (networking, Linux, Security+ certification, basic lab work). Add another 2-4 months to develop track-specific skills to an employable level. Total timeline for a career switcher to land their first security role is typically 6-12 months of focused effort. Your starting point matters — IT professionals with existing technical skills can often compress this to 4-6 months.

Should I learn offensive or defensive skills first?

Start with defensive/foundational skills unless you are absolutely certain you want to be a penetration tester. Understanding how defense works gives you context for offense, and defensive roles (SOC analyst) have more entry-level openings than offensive roles (junior pen tester). Many successful pen testers started in SOC or sysadmin roles and pivoted to offense after building their foundational knowledge.

Which cybersecurity certification should I get first?

CompTIA Security+ for almost everyone. It is the most recognized entry-level cert, it covers broad foundational knowledge, and it meets DoD 8570 requirements. The one exception: if you are already working in IT and specifically want to do penetration testing, the eJPT provides a more directly relevant hands-on credential. But Security+ is still the safer general choice.

How do I stay current with cybersecurity skills?

Follow security news sources (Krebs on Security, The Record, Dark Reading). Read vulnerability disclosures and incident reports. Participate in CTF competitions. Take one new certification every 1-2 years. Attend conferences (DEF CON, BSides, Black Hat talks are freely available online). The field moves fast, but if you are genuinely interested in the work, keeping up does not feel like homework.

Are cloud security skills worth learning as a beginner?

Yes. Cloud infrastructure is the default deployment model for most organizations. Even entry-level roles increasingly require basic cloud awareness. You do not need deep cloud expertise to start, but understanding what AWS IAM does, what a VPC is, and how cloud logging works will make you a stronger candidate. Start with one platform (AWS is the most common), learn the security-relevant services, and build from there.

What tools should a beginner learn first?

For defensive roles: Wireshark (packet analysis), Nmap (network scanning), a SIEM platform (start with the free tier of Splunk or Elastic Security), and a virtualization platform (VirtualBox or VMware). For offensive roles: Nmap, Burp Suite Community Edition, Metasploit, and Kali Linux (which bundles most offensive tools). For both: Python, a terminal emulator you are comfortable with, and a good note-taking system.

— HADESS Team consists of cybersecurity practitioners, hiring managers, and career strategists who have collectively spent 50+ years in the field. We write from experience, not theory.

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