My Cybersecurity Journey as a Student : From Curiosity to Finding My Own Way of Learning

  Why Most Beginners Fail in Cybersecurity: Nmap Most beginners think hacking is easy. They install tools, run a few commands, and expect results. But they don’t understand how strong modern security has become. Many beginners jump into YouTube tutorials or TryHackMe labs. They follow steps, get some output, and feel like they’ve achieved something. But the reality is — they don’t understand what is actually happening behind the scenes. I was the same. When I started, I went directly into Burp Suite. I clicked buttons, intercepted requests, and tried things randomly. But I had no clarity. After multiple failures, I realized I was doing it wrong. So I made a plan. I stepped back and started with Nmap. Most beginners use Nmap for a few minutes and then say it’s useless or boring. That’s because they don’t understand it. Nmap is one of the most powerful tools in reconnaissance. It helps identify open ports, running services, and even outdated versions that could lead to vulnerabilitie...

Hi, this is Ganesh Naidu. In 10th grade, I developed a strong interest in cybersecurity. It wasn’t about exploiting systems — it was about understanding them and learning how to secure them: “I can break this, and here’s how you can fix it.” Even during my intermediate (PU), I was waiting for the right chance to explore this field deeply. That opportunity finally came in my first year of engineering (BE), where I started actively exploring cybersecurity. My journey wasn’t structured. I spent around one year exploring —  in my first year of engineering. But honestly, I didn’t start with strong basics. At that time, I used AI tools a lot to try different things. I was doing many tasks, but I didn’t truly understand what was happening behind the scenes. I also tried learning networking in the traditional way, but it felt boring and hard to stay consistent. So instead of forcing myself into a method that didn’t work for me, I changed my approach. I started focusing more on practical le...