Networking Road Map for Cyber Security in 2025

 

🟢 A. Basic Networking Concepts (Foundation Level)

👉 Yahi se shuruaat karni chahiye.

Concept	Kya Seekhna Hai	Kyun Zaroori Hai (Cybersecurity Angle)
1. What is a Network	LAN, WAN, Internet, VPN	Attacks kahaan hote hain ye samajhne ke liye network structure pata hona chahiye.
2. IP Addressing	IPv4/IPv6, Private vs Public IP, Subnet	Attackers IP spoof karte hain, defenders IP blocks lagate hain.
3. MAC Address	Hardware-level address	MAC spoofing ek common attack hai.
4. OSI & TCP/IP Models	7 layers (Physical–Application)	Har attack kisi na kisi layer par hota hai (e.g. Layer 2 = ARP spoofing).
5. Ports & Protocols	TCP/UDP, Common ports (80, 443, 22)	Firewalls aur IDS ports ke basis par detect karte hain.
6. DNS Basics	Domain resolution	DNS spoofing / poisoning attacks se bachne ke liye.
7. ARP & DHCP	IP assignment, IP-MAC mapping	ARP poisoning aur rogue DHCP detection ke liye.
8. Network Devices	Router, Switch, Firewall, Access Point	Devices par attack hone ke chances (router takeover, misconfiguration).
9. Wireshark Basics	Packet capture & analysis	Network forensics aur intrusion detection ke liye.
10. Ping, Traceroute Commands	ICMP working	Network availability aur reconnaissance samajhne ke liye.

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🟡 B. Intermediate Networking Concepts (Security-Focused Level)

Concept	Kya Seekhna Hai	Kyun Zaroori Hai (Cybersecurity Angle)
1. VLAN & Network Segmentation	Separate networks for different departments	Attack surface kam hota hai, lateral movement roka ja sakta hai.
2. Subnetting & CIDR	Efficient IP allocation	Access control aur firewall rules set karne me help karta hai.
3. NAT (Network Address Translation)	Private IPs ko public me convert karna	Hide internal IPs from attackers.
4. Firewalls	Packet filtering, stateful inspection	Network perimetr defense ka base.
5. IDS/IPS (Snort, Suricata)	Attack detection systems	Network intrusion detection.
6. VPN & Encryption (IPSec, SSL)	Secure tunnels	Secure remote access aur data protection.
7. DNS Security (DNSSEC, DoH, DoT)	Secure name resolution	DNS hijacking rokta hai.
8. Proxy & Load Balancer	Web filtering, traffic distribution	Security + performance balance.
9. Network Scanning Tools	Nmap, Angry IP Scanner	Pen-testing aur vulnerability detection.
10. Routing & Switching Concepts	Static vs dynamic routing	Malicious route injection samajhne ke liye.

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🔴 C. Advanced Networking Concepts (Professional Level)

Concept	Kya Seekhna Hai	Kyun Zaroori Hai (Cybersecurity Angle)
1. Network Forensics	Packet capture, log correlation	Incident investigation aur evidence gathering.
2. Network Traffic Analysis (NTA)	Behavior-based monitoring	Anomaly detection & threat hunting.
3. Zero Trust Networking	"Never trust, always verify" model	Modern enterprise security ka foundation.
4. SDN (Software Defined Networking)	Centralized network control	Network security automation.
5. Cloud Networking (AWS VPC, Azure VNets)	Virtual networks	Cloud-based attacks aur defense strategies.
6. Wireless Security (WPA3, Radius)	Wi-Fi encryption & auth	Wireless attacks (Evil Twin, Deauth).
7. IoT & ICS Network Security	Smart devices & SCADA systems	Industrial cybersecurity.
8. Network Hardening	Disable unused ports, secure configs	Reduce attack surface.
9. DDoS Protection	Load balancing, rate limiting, WAF	Critical for public servers.
10. SIEM Integration (e.g., Splunk, ELK)	Log collection & alerting	Detecting attacks in real-time.

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⚙️ Basic Network Commands Every Cybersecurity Beginner Must Know

Command	Platform	Use
ping <IP>	Windows/Linux	Check if host is alive
tracert / traceroute	Windows/Linux	Track packet route
ipconfig / ifconfig	Both	Check local IP & interface
netstat -an	Both	Check open ports & connections
nslookup <domain>	Both	DNS resolution
nmap <target>	Linux/Windows	Scan for open ports/services
arp -a	Both	View ARP table
route print / ip route	Both	Show routing table
tcpdump	Linux	Live packet capture
whois <domain>	Both	Domain registration info

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🧠 Short Summary (For a Beginner Roadmap)

1. Start with:

   • IP, MAC, OSI, Ports, DNS, DHCP

   • Tools: Wireshark, ping, traceroute

2. Then Learn:

   • Subnetting, VLANs, Firewalls, IDS/IPS

   • Tools: Nmap, Snort

3. Then Go Advanced:

   • VPNs, Proxy, Network Forensics, Cloud Networking

   • Tools: Splunk, Security Onion

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📘 Recommended Free Practice Tools

Tool	Use
Cisco Packet Tracer	Network design simulator
Wireshark	Packet analyzer
Nmap / Zenmap	Port scanner
Security Onion	Network monitoring suite
TryHackMe / HackTheBox	Practice cyber labs
VirtualBox / VMware	Make virtual network lab