As some of you may already know, I despise skids and sadly there are a plethora of them on nairaland. If you don't want to be one, then you need to understand code is an essential skill of an hacker/infosec professional, but there are so many languages to choose from. What language should you learn? As a coder, I thought I'd answer that question, or at least give some perspective.

The tl;dr is JavaScript. Whatever other language you learn, you'll also need to learn JavaScript. It's the language of browsers, Word macros, JSON, NodeJS server side, scripting on the command-line, and Electron apps. You'll also need to a bit of bash and/or PowerShell scripting skills, SQL for database queries, and regex for extracting data from text files. Other languages are important as well, Python is very popular for example. Actively avoid C++ and PHP as they are obsolete.

Also tl;dr: whatever language you decide to learn, also learn how to use an IDE with visual debugging, rather than just a text editor. That probably means Visual Code from Microsoft. Also, whatever language you learn, stash your code at GitHub.

Let's talk in general terms. Here are some types of languages.

Unavoidable: As mentioned above, familiarity with JavaScript, bash/Powershell, and SQL are unavoidable. If you are avoiding them, you are doing something wrong.
Small scripts: You need to learn at least one language for writing quick-and-dirty command-line scripts to automate tasks or process data. As a tool using animal, this is your basic tool. You are a monkey, this is the stick you use to knock down the banana. Good choices are JavaScript, Python, and Ruby. Some domain-specific languages can also work, like PHP and Lua. Those skilled in bash/PowerShell can do a surprising amount of "programming" tasks in those languages. Old timers use things like PERL or TCL. Sometimes the choice of which language to learn depends upon the vast libraries that come with the languages, especially Python and JavaScript libraries.
Development languages: Those scripting languages have grown up into real programming languages, but for the most part, "software development" means languages designed for that task like C, C++, Java, C#, Rust, Go, or Swift.
Domain-specific languages: The language Lua is built into nmap, snort, Wireshark, and many games. Ruby is the language of Metasploit. Further afield, you may end up learning languages like R or Matlab. PHP is incredibly important for web development. Mobile apps may need Java, C#, Kotlin, Swift, or Objective-C.


Conclusion

As I mentioned above, familiarity with JavaScript, bash/PowerShell, and SQL is unavoidable. So start with those. JavaScript in particular has become a lingua franca, able to do, and do well, almost anything you need a language to do these days, so it's worth getting into the finder details JavaScript.

However, there's no One Language to Rule them all. There's good reasons to learn most languages in this list. For some tasks, the support for a certain language is so good it's just best to learn that language to solve that task. With the academic focus on Python, you'll find well-written libraries that solve important tasks for you. If you want to work with a language that other people know, that you can ask questions about, then Python is a great choice.

The exceptions to this are C++ and PHP. They are so obsolete that you should avoid learning them, unless you plan on dealing with legacy.

Awesome write-up.

But my advice to anyone trying to enter the field is not to try tackling all this languages at once. Just pick them up as you need them.

Najdorf:
Awesome write-up.

But my advice to anyone trying to enter the field is not to try tackling all this languages at once. Just pick them up as you need them.

True talk.

As you progress in your career, when any language comes up, learn it.

If not, leave it.

If you don't know where to start, always start with the default language of your favorite operating system:

Bash/python for Linux and mac

Vb/powershell for windows

Najdorf:
Awesome write-up.

But my advice to anyone trying to enter the field is not to try tackling all this languages at once. Just pick them up as you need them.

Tackling all the languages at once ≥ suicide

EvilSec:

Tackling all the languages at once ≥ suicide

Bros, remember me?
I recently started my journey on cyber security and I have to say it's overwhelming but still I forge on.
You said when I am ready I should let you know for possible mentorship. So here I am.

JayJayGee:

Bros, remember me?
I recently started my journey on cyber security and I have to say it's overwhelming but still I forge on.
You said when I am ready I should let you know for possible mentorship. So here I am.

Oh! That's cool. Ask me questions if you've got any and I'll answer them.

EvilSec:

Oh! That's cool. Ask me questions if you've got any and I'll answer them.

Okay, I have a question now.
In my cybersecurity course I recently learnt how to identify and analyse malwares also how to install and remove malwares. Also I saw myself picking serious interest in malwares. So I'm asking how do I go about creating or learning to create my own malwares, exploit scripts and all of that so I can be an effective red teamer for my cyber security unit?

JayJayGee:

Okay, I have a question now.
In my cybersecurity course I recently learnt how to identify and analyse malwares also how to install and remove malwares. Also I saw myself picking serious interest in malwares. So I'm asking how do I go about creating or learning to create my own malwares, exploit scripts and all of that so I can be an effective red teamer for my cyber security unit?

Checkout these courses:
- https://academyhacker.com/p/complete-ethical-hacking-series-malware-development
- https://www.udemy.com/course/complete-ethical-hacking-series-malware-development
Bonus - Grab these books to learn more about malware analysis:
- https://www.amazon.com/Practical-Malware-Analysis-Hands-Dissecting/dp/1593272901
- https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0470613033

Those two are regarded as a common entry point /decent start to dive into that realm.

EvilSec:


Checkout these courses:
- https://academyhacker.com/p/complete-ethical-hacking-series-malware-development
- https://www.udemy.com/course/complete-ethical-hacking-series-malware-development
Bonus - Grab these books to learn more about malware analysis:
- https://www.amazon.com/Practical-Malware-Analysis-Hands-Dissecting/dp/1593272901
- https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0470613033

Those two are regarded as a common entry point /decent start to dive into that realm.

thanks a lot. I appreciate

@EvilSec
Bro how can I get in touch with you?

boycasio:
@EvilSec
Bro how can I get in touch with you?

Is it about something important? I get a lot of email requests but only prioritize important ones.

EvilSec:

Is it about something important? I get a lot of email requests but only prioritize important ones.

Yes bro is super important

@EvilSec
Pls resend your mail, I lost access to my previous mail on NL, I’ve changed my mail to my current email. Pls resend your mail.

@EvilSec
What about me?
I wanted discussing something Important