5 Great Kali Linux Books

If you’re new to Kali Linux, or looking to pick up some more skills then there are some great Kali Linux books available. The aim of this page is to show you some of the best Kali Linux books currently available to help you on your journey to become a Kali Linux expert! If you are looking to learn Kali Linux then each Kali Linux book listed here should help!

Kali Linux Books


Kali Linux Wireless Penetration Testing Beginner’s Guide 

Master wireless testing techniques to survey and attack wireless networks with Kali Linux

Cameron Buchanan (Author), Vivek Ramachandran (Author)

As wireless networks become ubiquitous in our lives, wireless penetration testing has become a key skill in the repertoire of the professional penetration tester. This has been highlighted again recently with the discovery of the KRACK attack which enables attackers to potentially break into Wi-Fi networks encrypted with WPA2. The Kali Linux security distribution comes with a myriad of tools used for networking attacks and detecting security loopholes.

Kali Linux Wireless Penetration Testing Beginner’s Guide, Third Edition has been updated to Kali Linux 2017.3 with the latest methodologies, including full coverage of the KRACK attack and how to defend against it. The book presents wireless pentesting from the ground up, introducing all elements of penetration testing with each new technology. You’ll learn various wireless testing methodologies by example, from the basics of wireless routing and encryption through to detailed coverage of hacking methods and attacks such as the Hirte and Caffe Latte.

What you will learn

  • Understand the KRACK attack in full detail
  • Create a wireless lab for your experiments
  • Sniff out wireless packets, hidden networks, and SSIDs
  • Capture and crack WPA-2 keys
  • Sniff probe requests and track users through their SSID history
  • Attack radius authentication systems
  • Sniff wireless traffic and collect interesting data
  • Decrypt encrypted traffic with stolen keys

Who This Book Is For

Kali Linux Wireless Penetration Testing Beginner’s Guide, Third Edition is suitable for anyone who wants to learn more about pentesting and how to understand and defend against the latest wireless network attacks.


Learn Kali Linux 2019

Perform powerful penetration testing using Kali Linux, Metasploit, Nessus, Nmap, and Wireshark

Glen D. Singh

The current rise in hacking and security breaches makes it more important than ever to effectively pentest your environment, ensuring endpoint protection. This book will take you through the latest version of Kali Linux and help you use various tools and techniques to efficiently deal with crucial security aspects.

Through real-world examples, you’ll understand how to set up a lab and later explore core penetration testing concepts. Throughout the course of this book, you’ll get up to speed with gathering sensitive information and even discover different vulnerability assessment tools bundled in Kali Linux 2019. In later chapters, you’ll gain insights into concepts such as social engineering, attacking wireless networks, exploitation of web applications and remote access connections to further build on your pentesting skills. You’ll also focus on techniques such as bypassing controls, attacking the end user and maintaining persistence access through social media. Finally, this pentesting book covers best practices for performing complex penetration testing techniques in a highly secured environment.

By the end of this book, you’ll be able to use Kali Linux to detect vulnerabilities and secure your system by applying penetration testing techniques of varying complexity.

What you will learn

  • Explore the fundamentals of ethical hacking
  • Learn how to install and configure Kali Linux
  • Get up to speed with performing wireless network pentesting
  • Gain insights into passive and active information gathering
  • Understand web application pentesting
  • Decode WEP, WPA, and WPA2 encryptions using a variety of methods, such as the fake authentication attack, the ARP request replay attack, and the dictionary attack

Who this book is for

If you are an IT security professional or a security consultant who wants to get started with penetration testing using Kali Linux 2019.2, then this book is for you. The book will also help if you’re simply looking to learn more about ethical hacking and various security breaches. Although prior knowledge of Kali Linux is not necessary, some understanding of cybersecurity will be useful.


Kali Linux – An Ethical Hacker’s Cookbook

Practical recipes that combine strategies, attacks, and tools for advanced penetration testing

Himanshu Sharma

Many organizations have been affected by recent cyber events. At the current rate of hacking, it has become more important than ever to pentest your environment in order to ensure advanced-level security. This book is packed with practical recipes that will quickly get you started with Kali Linux (version 2018.4 / 2019), in addition to covering the core functionalities.

The book will get you off to a strong start by introducing you to the installation and configuration of Kali Linux, which will help you to perform your tests. You will also learn how to plan attack strategies and perform web application exploitation using tools such as Burp and JexBoss. As you progress, you will get to grips with performing network exploitation using Metasploit, Sparta, and Wireshark. The book will also help you delve into the technique of carrying out wireless and password attacks using tools such as Patator, John the Ripper, and airoscript-ng. Later chapters will draw focus to the wide range of tools that help in forensics investigations and incident response mechanisms. As you wrap up the concluding chapters, you will learn to create an optimum quality pentest report.

By the end of this book, you will be equipped with the knowledge you need to conduct advanced penetration testing, thanks to the book’s crisp and task-oriented recipes.

What you will learn

  • Learn how to install, set up and customize Kali for pentesting on multiple platforms
  • Pentest routers and embedded devices
  • Get insights into fiddling around with software-defined radio
  • Pwn and escalate through a corporate network
  • Write good quality security reports
  • Explore digital forensics and memory analysis with Kali Linux

Who this book is for

If you are an IT security professional, pentester, or security analyst who wants to conduct advanced penetration testing techniques, then this book is for you. Basic knowledge of Kali Linux is assumed.


Learning Kali Linux

Security Testing, Penetration Testing, and Ethical Hacking

Ric Messier

With more than 600 security tools in its arsenal, the Kali Linux distribution can be overwhelming. Experienced and aspiring security professionals alike may find it challenging to select the most appropriate tool for conducting a given test. This practical book covers Kali’s expansive security capabilities and helps you identify the tools you need to conduct a wide range of security tests and penetration tests. You’ll also explore the vulnerabilities that make those tests necessary.

Author Ric Messier takes you through the foundations of Kali Linux and explains methods for conducting tests on networks, web applications, wireless security, password vulnerability, and more. You’ll discover different techniques for extending Kali tools and creating your own toolset.

  • Learn tools for stress testing network stacks and applications
  • Perform network reconnaissance to determine what’s available to attackers
  • Execute penetration tests using automated exploit tools such as Metasploit
  • Use cracking tools to see if passwords meet complexity requirements
  • Test wireless capabilities by injecting frames and cracking passwords
  • Assess web application vulnerabilities with automated or proxy-based tools
  • Create advanced attack techniques by extending Kali tools or developing your own
  • Use Kali Linux to generate reports once testing is complete

Kali Linux Revealed

Mastering the Penetration Testing Distribution

Raphaël Hertzog (Author), Mati Aharoni (Author), Jim O’Gorman  (Author)

Kali Linux has not only become the information security professional’s platform of choice, but evolved into an industrial-grade, and world-class operating system distribution—mature, secure, and enterprise-ready.

Through the decade-long development process, Muts and his team, along with countless volunteers from the hacker community, have taken on the burden of streamlining and organizing our work environment, freeing us from much of the drudgery. They provided a secure and reliable foundation, allowing us to concentrate on securing our digital world.

An amazing community has built up around Kali Linux. Every month, more than 300,000 of us download a version of Kali. We come together in online and real-world training rooms and grind through the sprawling Offensive Security Penetration Testing Labs, pursuing the near-legendary Offensive Security certifications. We come together on the Kali forums, some 40,000 strong, and hundreds of us at a time can be found on the Kali IRC channel. We gather at conferences and attend Kali Dojos to learn from the developers themselves how to best leverage Kali.

However, the Kali team has never released an official Kali Linux manual, until now.

In this book, we’ll focus on the Kali Linux platform itself, and help you understand and maximize Kali from the ground up. The developers will walk you through Kali Linux features and fundamentals, provide a crash course in basic Linux commands and concepts, and then walk you through the most common Kali Linux installation scenarios. You’ll learn how to configure, troubleshoot and secure Kali Linux and then dive into the powerful Debian package manager. Throughout this expansive section, you’ll learn how to install and configure packages, how to update and upgrade your Kali installation, and how to create your own custom packages. Then you’ll learn how to deploy your custom installation across massive enterprise networks. Finally, you’ll be guided through advanced topics such as kernel compilation, custom ISO creation, industrial-strength encryption, and even how to install crypto kill switches to safeguard your sensitive information.

Whether you’re a veteran or an absolute n00b, this is the best place to start with Kali Linux, the security professional’s platform of choice.

Final Thoughts

All the Kali Linux books listed above contain great information on how to use Kali Linux. Some books focus on penetration testing, and wireless penetration testing, while others are more inclined towards digital forensics. Note that you can get a free online copy of the Kali Linux Revealed book directly from Kali – here.

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