Go H*ck Yourself: A Simple Introduction to Cyber Attacks and Defense

Go H*ck Yourself is an eye-opening, hands-on introduction to the world of hacking, from an award-winning cybersecurity coach. As you perform common attacks against yourself, you’ll be shocked by how easy they are to carry out—and realize just how vulnerable most people really are. You’ll be guided through setting up a virtual hacking lab so you can safely try out attacks without putting yourself or others at risk. Then step-by-step instructions will walk you through executing every major type of attack, including physical access hacks, Google hacking and reconnaissance, social engineering and phishing, malware, password cracking, web hacking, and phone hacking. You’ll even hack a virtual car! You’ll experience each hack from the point of view of both the attacker and the target. Most importantly, every hack is grounded in real-life examples and paired with practical cyber defense tips, so you’ll understand how to guard against the hacks you perform. You’ll learn:

• How to practice hacking within a safe, virtual environment
• How to use popular hacking tools the way real hackers do, like Kali Linux, Metasploit, and John the Ripper
• How to infect devices with malware, steal and crack passwords, phish for sensitive information, and more
• How to use hacking skills for good, such as to access files on an old laptop when you can’t remember the password
• Valuable strategies for protecting yourself from cyber attacks

You can’t truly understand cyber threats or defend against them until you’ve experienced them firsthand. By hacking yourself before the bad guys do, you’ll gain the knowledge you need to keep you and your loved ones safe.

About the Author

Dr. Bryson Payne is an award-winning cyber coach, professor, author, TEDx speaker, and the founding Director of the Center for Cyber Operations Education at the University of North Georgia. He has taught aspiring coders and cyber professionals at UNG since 1998, including coaching UNG’s #1-in-the-nation NSA Codebreaker Challenge cyber operations team. He served on the coaching staff for the national team representing the US at the 2021 International Cybersecurity Challenge. He enjoys working with K-12 schools worldwide to promote computer science and cybersecurity education, and is the author of Teach Your Kids to Code and Learn Java the Easy Way (both No Starch Press).