Python is one the most popular programming languages. Python is popular for its easy-to-understand syntax and open-source programming language. It also has many functionalities that can be used in many situations. According to stackoverflow, it has become one of the most used languages in the world over the past few years.
It is a widely used language in security, and it’s a great language to learn if your goal is to work in security. These are some uses of Python in security:
Automation
Python is a great programming language for automating everyday tasks. Computer scripts now control a lot more of the work done by IT administrators in modern IT. Computer scripts are faster, more consistent, and cheaper than hiring employees to do the same thing after hours. Python, powershell, and bash are the most popular languages for creating automation scripts quickly.
Creating Security Instruments
A large part of ethical hacking is the creation of software (exploits), that can be used to hack into networks and websites. This can be done in any programming language, but python is the most commonly used for this purpose. It is a good language for creating new software. Many of the most current exploits were written in Python. A good knowledge of Python can make it easier to read and edit the work of others who have published it online. You can use the work of others to make your own. Common security tools written in Python include keyloggers, mac address changers, backdoors, and port scanners.
Malware Analysis
Malware analysis refers to the process or study of malware in order to determine its functionality, origin, and potential impact. First, a company must determine what malware it is and how it works. Sometimes, you may be able to use static malware tools such as Virustotal. You can upload the malware and the tool will store the information. For newer malware to be detected, you will need to be able to read and understand computer codes. In situations like these, it is important to have a solid understanding of Python and other programming languages such as C++, Javascript, C++, and Javascript. Many governments also pay for malware that is well-written. If you are a government employee, programming in Python and designing malware can also be a lucrative career.
The most important Python libraries for security
Boto3
Boto3 is an Amazon Web Services ( ) Software Development Kit. This SDK lets you create scripts to interact with AWS services like Amazon Simple Storage Service (S3), Amazon Elastic Compute Cloud (EC2) and Amazon Virtual Private Cloud (VPC). Boto3 allows you to start, stop, and cancel servers on demand. You can also schedule updates, and notify your organization when security incidents occur.
Regex
Regex is short for regular expressions. It allows you to search within larger text for patterns. This is useful in many situations and can save you time when searching for information in large text. This could be used to extract IP addresses from log files. A log file can be tedious to go through manually. However, a pre-written script makes it easy for a computer to do this in a matter of minutes.
Pyperclip
Pyperclip allows you to access your Python scripts’ clipboard, giving your programs the ability to copy and paste from and to files. This is useful when working with excel, word, and pdf files.
Faker
Faker can produce fake data that you can use to test your scripts. It can also be used as a way to verify that they are capable of handling different data types without returning errors. It is crucial to make sure that your programs work as you intended. Fakers can create names, addresses and phone numbers as well as emails, urls, and other data.
Python Nmap
Nmap, an open-source port scanner that is widely used in penetration testing, is popular. Port scanning refers to the checking of which ports are open on a computer, and what services are running on those ports. This is done to find vulnerable services that could be used for hacking into the machine. Python Nmap allows you to use it through your scripts, rather than manually opening and using the application. This automates a part of penetration testing. It is not always possible to scan thousands or hundreds of machines manually for some penetration tests. However, this library makes it easy and quick.
Socket
Socket allows you to establish client/server connections. This is useful for security because you can connect to any machine at a particular port with a certain protocol and send data. You can use it with the nmap library to scan ports and send data to, or extract information from, machines. This is necessary if you wish to try to extract data from a hacker’s machine (exfiltration).
Scapy
Scapy is a packet manipulation tool that can be used to decode and forge data packets. You may need to monitor data packets that are being sent over your network. This is a security issue. This can be used to find out if your network has been hacked, to see how susceptible you are to someone listening in on your communications, or to troubleshoot a problem with your network. Scapy can be used to analyze packets and is as powerful as security tools like Wireshark, Wireshark, and tcpdump.
Requests
Programmers can use requests to send HTTP requests within their scripts. HTTP requests are very useful in pen testing because they allow the creation of custom payloads as well as attacks against web applications. Burp Suite is a useful tool for hacking web applications. Similar functionality is available in Requests. Requests is a popular Python library for web-based attacks. It’s used in 89% Python-based attacks.
Final Thoughts
Python can be used as a first language for anyone, especially if you’re interested in a career with cybersecurity. It provides all the functionality you need to perform daily tasks and its syntax is much simpler than languages like C++. If you’re interested in learning more about python, I would suggest starting with automatetheboringstuff.com, this website/book is a great introduction to learning python for automating daily tasks. If you are looking for something that has been approved by large companies/authorities, Google also created a course called IT Automation with Python.
To learn how to write code regularly, you can use Codewars and Topcoder. My experience is that practice is more important than learning programming. I recommend that you focus your efforts on writing code and creating programs that are relevant to security environments. Automating IP addresses can be done by finding failed login events, finding log files with IP addresses, or submitting files, URLS, and IP addresses to Virustotal. The results are recorded in a text file.
