🛡️ Cybersecurity Tools & Techniques – Overview
Cybersecurity tools and techniques are used to protect systems, networks, and data from cyber threats.
Professionals use a combination of software tools, frameworks, and best practices to detect, prevent, analyze, and respond to attacks.
🔧 1. Cybersecurity Tools
Below are the most commonly used tools across cybersecurity domains:
🕵️ 1️⃣ Network Scanning & Enumeration Tools
Used to discover devices, open ports, services, and vulnerabilities.
- Nmap – Port scanning, OS detection
- Zenmap – GUI for Nmap
- Netcat – Network debugging, banner grabbing
- Advanced IP Scanner
🔬 2️⃣ Vulnerability Assessment Tools
Used to identify weaknesses in systems.
- Nessus
- OpenVAS
- QualysGuard
- Nikto (web server scanner)
💥 3️⃣ Penetration Testing Tools
Used for exploiting vulnerabilities.
- Metasploit Framework
- SQLmap (SQL injection testing)
- BeEF (browser exploitation)
- Hydra (password attacks)
- John the Ripper / Hashcat (password cracking)
🌐 4️⃣ Web Security Tools
Focused on testing web applications.
- Burp Suite
- OWASP ZAP
- Wappalyzer (tech stack identification)
- DirBuster / Dirsearch (directory enumeration)
📡 5️⃣ Wireless Security Tools
Used for Wi-Fi hacking and analysis.
- Aircrack-ng Suite
- Kismet
- WiFi Pineapple
🔍 6️⃣ Packet Sniffing & Analysis Tools
Help analyze network traffic.
- Wireshark
- tcpdump
- Ettercap (MITM attacks)
📊 7️⃣ Monitoring & SIEM Tools
Used for logging, threat detection, and analysis.
- Splunk
- ELK Stack (Elasticsearch, Logstash, Kibana)
- QRadar
- AlienVault / OSSIM
🛡️ 8️⃣ Endpoint Security Tools
Protect individual systems from malware or intrusion.
- Antivirus / EDR (CrowdStrike, SentinelOne, Microsoft Defender)
- Malwarebytes
- Bitdefender
🧩 9️⃣ Cloud Security Tools
For protecting cloud services.
- AWS GuardDuty
- Azure Security Center
- Cloudflare Web Application Firewall
🚨 🔟 Incident Response Tools
Used for forensic analysis and quick response.
- FTK (Forensic Toolkit)
- Autopsy
- Volatility (memory forensics)
- TheHive (incident management)
🛠️ 2. Cybersecurity Techniques
These are the fundamental methods used to secure systems:
🧠 1️⃣ Threat Modeling
Identifying potential attack paths before attackers do.
🔐 2️⃣ Encryption Techniques
Protecting data using:
- AES
- RSA
- SHA hashing
🚧 3️⃣ Access Control Techniques
- Role-Based Access Control (RBAC)
- Multi-Factor Authentication (MFA)
- Least Privilege Principle
🧪 4️⃣ Penetration Testing
Ethical hacking to find vulnerabilities before attackers exploit them.
🎯 5️⃣ Vulnerability Assessment
Systematic scanning to identify weaknesses.
🛑 6️⃣ Network Hardening
- Disable unused ports
- Change default passwords
- Patch management
- Firewall rules
- Secure configurations
🕵️ 7️⃣ Log Analysis
Examining system logs to identify suspicious behavior.
📡 8️⃣ Intrusion Detection & Prevention
- IDS: Detect threats
- IPS: Block threats
📦 9️⃣ Secure Coding Practices
- Input validation
- Avoid SQL injection
- Parameterized queries
- Proper error handling
🔄 🔟 Incident Response
Steps:
- Identification
- Containment
- Eradication
- Recovery
- Lessons learned
💼 Career Skills Built Through These Tools & Techniques
- Penetration Tester
- Ethical Hacker
- SOC Analyst
- Threat Hunter
- Cybersecurity Engineer
- Forensic Analyst
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