15 Ethical Hacking Books for 2024 [Beginners to Advanced]

Technology is rapidly growing and has plenty to offer. There are countless software tools and applications that we all use in our daily lives. Moreover, even industries and organizations rely on technology for their operations, better performance, and increased revenue. The only concern in technological advancements is intruder attacks to corrupt the network or data theft. Thus, there is a need to identify these risks and take counter-measures to avoid them entirely. 

Ethical Hacking Books are a great resource to learn about these threats. Ethical hacking is one such field that helps identify the potential threats and suggests ways to fail the attempt of intruders.

What is Ethical Hacking?

The technique of breaking into networks or computer systems to search for threats or vulnerabilities that a hostile attacker might uncover and use to steal data, inflict financial loss, or cause another major harm is known as penetration testing. It is also referred to as ethical hacking.

Ethical hackers are allowed to use the same methods and resources as harmful hackers to improve security and defend systems from attacks by malicious users, but only with permission from the relevant authority.

The Certified Ethical Hacker, or CEH, credential is available to anyone interested in becoming an ethical hacker. The International Council of EC-Council is the organization that issued this certification (E-Commerce Consultants). You can opt for classes for Cyber Security to gain expertise in ethical hacking.

15 Best Ethical Hacking Books [Beginner to Advanced]

Here, we have listed the best ethical hacking books for beginners from 2024 to advanced.

1. Hacking: The Art of Exploitation - by Jon Erickson

Source: Amazon

• Year of release and version: 2003, first edition
• Good Reads Rating:  4.35/5
• Publisher Info:  No Starch Press
• This book is for Beginners/Advanced:  This book is suitable for both beginners and advanced readers.

"Hacking: The Art of Exploitation" by Jon Erickson is a comprehensive guide that delves into the world of hacking and computer security. It provides readers with practical knowledge and hands-on techniques to understand vulnerabilities, exploit systems, and strengthen their understanding of how computers and networks can be manipulated and secured.

Highlights:

This comprehensive book will teach you a little about programming, exploitation, networking, shellcode, countermeasures, and cryptology. Others include_

• Comprehensive coverage of hacking techniques, including programming, network protocols, and exploit development. 
• Hands-on approach with practical examples and exercises. 
• Explores software vulnerabilities and reverse engineering. 
• Provides insights into ethical hacking and penetration testing. 
• Offers valuable knowledge for understanding and defending against cyber threats.
• Emphasizes the art and creativity behind hacking techniques. 
• Helps readers develop a deep understanding of how systems can be compromised. 
• Includes real-world examples and case studies.

2. Penetration Testing: A Hands-On Introduction to Hacking - by Georgia Weidman

Source: Amazon

• Year of release and version: 2014, first edition 
• Good Reads Rating:  4.26/5 
• Publisher Info:  No Starch Press 
• This book is for Beginners/Advanced:  Beginners. 

"Penetration Testing: A Hands-On Introduction to Hacking" by Georgia Weidman is a comprehensive guide that provides a practical introduction to the world of ethical hacking and penetration testing. The book covers essential topics such as reconnaissance, scanning, exploitation, and post-exploitation techniques. It includes real-world scenarios and hands-on exercises to help readers develop the necessary skills to identify and secure vulnerabilities in computer systems. 

Highlights:  

You'll learn how to crack passwords, breach online application security, brute-force wireless networks using wordlists, defeat antivirus software, and take control of a virtual machine to compromise the network. Here are a few more -

• Comprehensive guide to penetration testing, covering various concepts and techniques.
• Hands-on approach with practical exercises for real-world learning.
• Step-by-step instructions for conducting penetration tests.
• Real-world examples and case studies for practical understanding.
• Focus on ethical hacking and responsible approaches.
• Updated content to stay current with industry trends.
• Career opportunities in cybersecurity and ethical hacking

3. Hands-On Ethical Hacking & Network Defense - By James Corley, Kent Backman, & Michael Simpson

Source: Amazon

• Year of release and version: 2016, Third edition
• Good Reads Rating:  4.06/5
• Publisher Info:  Cengage learning
• This book is for Beginners/Advanced:  Beginners and Intermediate

This is a great fundamental book for new hackers, particularly freshmen with no prior knowledge of networking, security, hacking, etc. The author thoroughly explains the main underlying principles while using clear, basic language.

Highlights:

• It is simple to read and doesn't delve too far into implementations or technical specifics.
• After each chapter, there are numerous case studies and questions.
• Numerous terms and concepts are introduced in the book, and if you want to learn more about any of them, you can use other resources or books to enrich your knowledge.

4. The Basics of Hacking & Penetration Testing - Patrick Engebretson

Source: Amazon

• Year of release and version: 2013, Second edition
• Good Reads Rating:  3.81/5
• Publisher Info:  Syngress
• This book is for Beginners/Advanced:  Beginners

This is one of the best ethical hacking and penetration testing guides, including several different programs, like Backtrack and Kall Linux, Nmap, the Social-Engineer Toolkit, Netcat, and many others.

Highlights:

• You must read this book if you don't know where to start with ethical hacking.
• Instead of just discussing what is being done, the author pays close attention to detail and explains why something is being done in a certain manner.
• The author stays with the fundamentals and doesn't overburden you with complex ideas or excessive technical information.

5. Exploiting Software: How to Break Code by Greg Hoglund and Gary R. McGraw

Source: Amazon

• Year of release and version: 2004, First edition
• Good Reads Rating:  4.18/5
• Publisher Info:  Addison-Wesley Professional
• This book is for Beginners/Advanced:  Advanced

The book is extremely technical and is written in an informed and instructive manner. It is intended for people who are somewhat familiar with reverse engineering and exploitation but wish to delve deeply into researching black hat methods for taking advantage of software flaws.

Highlights:

• You'll discover how to create your cracking software (the book assumes you have a basic understanding of x86 processor).
• Stack overflow, string format overflow, URL encoding, and other attack types are covered in great detail in numerous chapters, along with solutions using examples from C++ and Java.

6. The Tangled Web by Michal Zalewski

Source: Amazon

• Year of release and version: 2011, First edition
• Good Reads Rating:  4.23/5
• Publisher Info: No Starch Press
• This book is for Beginners/Advanced:  Advanced

This complete and comprehensive handbook is also presented in an interesting and captivating style. You can identify with many of the events described in the book as a reader because we all use the internet for different purposes. It is a sobering realization of how susceptible our data is and what vulnerabilities allow for the widespread attack. It is indeed one of the best ethical hacking books to learn hacking from scratch.

Highlights:

• Security engineering cheat sheets are included in each chapter and provide quick fixes for the most frequent issues.
• Uses contemporary security measures to safeguard the network and its users, covering a wide range of fundamental and sophisticated functions like URL parsing, creating mashups, and embedding gadgets.

7. Black Hat Python: Python Programming for Hackers and Pentesters - by Justin Seitz

Source: Amazon

• Year of release and version: 2014, First edition
• Good Reads Rating:  4.1/5
• Publisher Info: No Starch Press
• This book is for Beginners/Advanced:  Advanced

For individuals who have some programming knowledge but no hacking experience, this book is fantastic. Python is simple to learn. Therefore, you can master both languages simultaneously using this book. Most of the book's attention is on using Python 2 to create powerful hacking tools.

Highlights: 

• The author provides several intriguing tips and techniques for basic Python hacking.
• The book encourages you to expand on the established methods to produce your own escapades and experiment with the ideas.
• The book also discusses GitHub and how to create a Trojan that is Git-Hub aware.

8. Gray Hat Hacking: The Ethical Hacker's Handbook, Fifth Edition 5th Edition -by Allen Harper, Daniel Regalado, & Ryan Linn

Source: Amazon

• Year of release and version: 2018, Fifth edition
• Good Reads Rating:  No rating
• Publisher Info: McGraw Hill
• This book is for Beginners/Advanced:  Advanced

The book goes through all the fundamentals before moving on to some more advanced ideas. Therefore, this book will be helpful to you whether or not you are a fresher. This book is nicely written and entertaining, with a tidy, uncluttered style.

9. Advanced Penetration Testing: Hacking the world's most Secure Networks - by Will Allsopp

Source: Amazon

• Year of release and version: 2017, Second edition
• Good Reads Rating:  4.22
• Publisher Info: John Wiley & Sons
• This book is for Beginners/Advanced:  Advanced

It is one of the best Pentesting books that discuss several challenging situations and how to deal with them. This is for professionals who wish to undertake pen-testing on extremely secure networks and think like professional hackers. The book contains numerous examples that make use of C, Java, JavaScript, VBA, Windows Scripting Host, Flash, etc.

Highlights: 

• A very interesting book that is similar to reading a storybook but with scientific content.
• Very relevant situations serve as a real eye-opener to how exposed we are online.
• Despite being complex, the book guides you through the process of writing bespoke code and explains the value of pen-testing tools.

10. The Web Application Hacker's Handbook: Finding and Exploiting Security Flaws - by Dafydd Stuttard, Marcus Pinto

Source: Amazon

• Year of release and version: 2011, Second edition
• Good Reads Rating:  4.2
• Publisher Info: John Wiley & Sons
• This book is for Beginners/Advanced:  Advanced

This is one of the most well-known and successful hacking books. It employs a productive methodology. The book provides in-depth information about website security and is useful as a reference. The author makes every effort to get you to think rather than just spoon-feeding you information. There are many real-world examples and excellent practices in the book.

Highlights:

• There are parts that guide you through writing your own code and provide C++, ASP.Net, and Java examples.
• The author recommends the usage of their own product, Burp Suite while introducing readers to a variety of other technologies.
• Both beginning and intermediate readers should pick up this book.

11. Hacking: Computer Hacking, Security Testing, Penetration Testing, and Basic Security – by Gary Hall

Source: Amazon

This book covers the fundamental concepts and intricate techniques related to the hacking field. The language the author has used is simple and easily understandable. It means aspiring hackers at beginner, intermediate, and advanced levels can use it without a doubt! It is a recommended certified ethical hacker book pdf which even the professional trainers suggest referring to. 

Highlights:

• It is apt for a hacker at every level of expertise.
• Language is crisp and easy to understand, making it fruitful for everyone, irrespective of their level of understanding.
• It covers all the hacking aspects, security, penetration testing, network security, and more.

12. Learn Ethical Hacking from Scratch

Source: Amazon

• Year of release and version: 31st July 2018
• Good Reads Rating: 4.8
• Publisher Info: Packt Publishing 
• This book is for Beginners/Advanced: Yes

Learn Ethical Hacking from Scratch: Your stepping stone to ethical testing: This ethical hacking book talks about the basis of ethical hacking, how to practice hacking safely and legally, and how to install and interact with Kali Linux and the Linux terminal. You will also explore topics such as network hacking, where you will see how to test the security of wired and wireless networks. By including Ethical Hacking Books in your learning resources, you will further deepen your understanding of these concepts.

You will also know about the topics such as how to crack the password for any Wi-Fi network, how to gain access to remote computer systems using client-side and server-side attacks etc. The attacks that are covered are based on practical techniques that work against real systems.

Highlights:

• Understand ethical hacking and the various fields and types of hackers.
• Set up a penetration testing lab to practice safe and legal hacking.
• Explore Linux basics, including commands and terminal interaction.
• Access password-protected networks and monitor connected clients.
• Use server and client-side attacks to hack and control remote computers.
• Control a hacked system remotely and leverage it to hack other systems.
• Discover, exploit, and prevent multiple web application vulnerabilities, such as XSS and SQL injections.

13. Hacking: Computer Hacking Beginners Guide

Source: Amazon

• Year of release and version: 19th December 2016
• Good Reads Rating: 4.0
• Publisher Info: CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform
• This book is for Beginners/Advanced: Yes

This ethical hacking book revolves around the steps and strategies for mastering ethical hacking. It tells you about how the black hat hackers work to profit from exploiting those technologies to steal personal information, whereas the white hat hackers that are helping the government and business agencies to combat the constant attacks on their networks and web pages.

You will know all the basis of computer hacking, strategies being involved and discovering the advantages of being an ethical hacker.

Highlights:

• Understand how you can protect yourself from most common hacking attacks.
• Learn how to prevent your system from being compromised.
• Learn the skills on how to hack and how to do a counter-hack.
• Know the techniques and tools that are used by both criminal and ethical hackers.
• How to identify an attack in a system that you are trying to protect.
• How to minimize any damage in your system or stop an ongoing attack.

14. The Hardware Hacker

Source: Amazon

• Year of release and version: 17th March 2017
• Good Reads Rating: 4.7
• Publisher Info: No Starch Press; 1st edition 
• This book is for Beginners/Advanced: Yes

This ethical hacking book is based on Andrew "bunnie" Huang, one of the world's most esteemed hackers, who has shaped the fields of hacking and hardware. In this Hardware Hacker, Huang shares his experiences in manufacturing and open hardware, creating an illuminating and compelling career retrospective.

The book begins with Huang’s journey to the staggering electronics markets in Shenzhen, where booths were filled with electronic items such as capacitors, memory chips, voltmeters, and more.

This book covers everything from creating a Bill of Materials to choosing the factory to best fit his needs etc.

Highlights:

• You will explore the dark side of IoT 
• How to tinker with hardware components to create something new
• Positive impact of Hacking although it would be strange but there are some positive aspects as well.
• Supply chain risks associated with IoT.
• The manufacturing and a comprehensive take on the issues associated with open source hardware.

15. Hands-on Hacking

Source: Amazon

• Year of release and version: 16th September 2020
• Good Reads Rating: 4.7
• Publisher Info: Wiley; 1st edition
• This book is for Beginners/Advanced: Yes

This advanced hacking book revolves around the offensive hacking techniques, where it teaches readers to see through the eyes of their adversary and apply hacking techniques to better understand real-world risks to computer networks and data, making it one of the best books for ethical hacking.

The author’s experience in the field hacking into computer networks and training others in the art of cyber-attacks.

There are topics on breaching a company from the external network perimeter, hacking internal enterprise systems and web application vulnerabilities. The students will understand through the steps necessary to breach an organization to improve its security.

Highlights:

• This explains the tools, tactics and procedures used by ethical hackers and criminal hackers.
• What is the hacker’s perspective when focused on the computer infrastructure of a target company.
• Know the hacking techniques to better understand the real-world risks to computer networks.
• Understand the author’s experience with hacking into computer networks and training on the art of cyber-attacks.
• Learn theoretical and practical aspects of hacking.
• How to hack into the operating systems of Linux, Unix and Microsoft Windows.

Best Ethical Hacking Books Comparison 

It can be difficult to get started in the field of ethical hacking. One of the finest ways to get the knowledge you need is to read books on the subject.

These books are a great place to start learning more about ethical hacking if you want to.

Book Title	Author Name	Latest Edition	Publisher	Ratings
1. Hacking - the art of exploitation	Jon Erickson	2nd Edition	No starch press	4.6
2. The Basics of Hacking & Penetration Testing	Patrick Engebretson	2nd Edition	Syngress	4.5
3. The Hacker Playbook 2	Peter Kim	1st Edition	Independently published	4.7
4. Penetration Testing	Georgia Weidman	1st Edition	No starch press	4.5
5. The Web Application Hacker’s Handbook	Dafydd Stuttard	2nd Edition	Wiley	4.3
6. Hacking	Gary Hall	1st Edition	Independently published	3.8
7. Computer Hacking Beginners Guide	Alan T. Norman	1st Edition	Independently published	4.1
8. Hackers & Painters	Paul Graham	1st Edition	0’Reilly	4.5

Tips to Choose the Proper Book for Ethical Hacking

Choosing the best book to learn hacking for beginners can be really challenging. You must select a book that is pertinent to the certifications you want to get. When selecting the best book to learn hacking from scratch, keep the following points in mind:

1. Get the most recent version 

Because of the nature of hacking, the area is constantly evolving. Thus, you need to make sure your knowledge is up to date.

2. Choose a book that has exercises 

The best CEH books include practical activities and lab work to improve the educational process. So, choose a book with lots of practical exercises.

3. Research the authors 

Professional hackers have produced books to share their expertise and experience. They have actual hacking experience, which gives them a distinct advantage.

4. Pick a format that suits your needs 

Some books are shorter than others and often function as references. Professional hackers and security experts can benefit from such books, but you might want a more thorough manual. So, pick a book that works for you.

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Ethical Hacking Courses

Ethical hacking techniques assist organizations in determining the weaknesses of their networks and systems and in developing remedies to protect against data breaches. The best Ethical Hacking course provides students with essential skills for conducting successful penetration tests and determining how vulnerable organizations are to hackers.

Heath Adams, also known as The Cyber Mentor, is a famous author of the Ethical Hacking Courses.

Other excellent programmes include: 

• Heath Adams' The Practical Ethical Hacking Course.
• Brent Eskridge's Linux 101
• Heath Adams' Windows Privilege Escalation
• Heath Adams's Linux Privilege Escalation

Conclusion

This article lists some of the best ethical hacking books for beginners. These books will offer the groundwork you need to become a great ethical hacker, whether you're just starting or looking to advance your skills. Also, you can also enhance your cybersecurity career in the same way by enrolling in KnowledgeHut’s Cyber Security classes. Start your ethical hacking career now.