Update, October 2026: Newer editions of two books below are available: the ISC2 CISSP Official Study Guide, 10th edition (Wiley, June 2024), and Principles of Information Security, 7th edition (Cengage, 2021). The Web Application Hacker’s Handbook will not get a third edition; PortSwigger maintains the free Web Security Academy instead.
People refrain from reading either it is for pleasure or for professional and academic progression.
If you are an information/cyber security professional who wants to stay ahead in his game, you should embrace reading instead. And what better way to do it other than diving into the best information security books from top authors and professionals in the field?
What do you expect?
Will knowledge come raining down on your head?
You will get into labs practicing skills and techniques without having base knowledge on the matter?
Or will your existing knowledge suffice in the days to come when technology changes, practices are different, new security standards come out and you are suddenly left behind?
You need to keep reading, whether it is articles, books, or news, you just need to.
Information/Cybersecurity Security books to read
Here is my top book selection which you should invest in and make yourself even more valuable to your customers and employer.
The selection covers areas from general information security concepts and principles, to penetration testing, red and blue teaming, information security risk assessment, and security management.
- CISSP Study Guide It doesn’t matter if you are practicing to sit the exam. You will learn a lot about security operations, risk management, security assessments, and more topics, which are essential for running infosec in any organization.
Read through the CISSP study guide, and you will learn a lot about information security, “an inch deep and a mile wide”.
The link here is to the 2021 study guide and practice tests bundle. The current study guide is the 10th edition (Wiley, June 2024, ISBN 978-1-394-25469-9), based on the 2024 CISSP exam outline; use it if you are preparing for the exam.
RTFM is a “must-have” for penetration testers and red teamers. It contains most of the information you will need to conduct a pentest. The book covers unix/linux, windows, networking and wireless, tips and tricks, tool syntaxes, web and databases, and programming.
A very useful addition to your penetration testing toolkit.
BTFM is the best companion for the RTFM. It is more targeted at incident responders rather than penetration testers but can also cover areas for network and system administrators and engineers. You will get effective information for solving common daily problems
Information security is not only about the technical perspective of information asset protection. This book provides a broad overview of the entire field.
Principles of Information Security covers current practices with examples that explore the impact of emerging technologies, such as the Internet of Things, cloud computing, and DevOps. The current edition is the 7th (Cengage, 2021, ISBN 978-0-357-50643-1); the link and widget here show the older 6th edition.
Hacking: The art of exploitation is one of the most complete books on hacking techniques. It will take you from basic methods to more advanced techniques with clear and detailed explanations.
This book was the standard reference of its kind for many years. It offers techniques and strategies for protecting and attacking web applications.
The book will help you think more methodically and be more creative when testing the security of web applications.
The 2nd edition (2011) is the last. PortSwigger decided against a third edition and maintains the free Web Security Academy as its successor, which is the better starting point today.
A must-read for the information security professional involved in risk assessments. A very well-organized book with practical information that will also help you pass the CRISC exam.
Correction, 26 October 2026: this article described the 6th edition of Principles of Information Security as presenting the latest practices; the 7th edition (Cengage, 2021) had already replaced it when this article was published.