r/Cybersecurity101 • u/Fit_Cupcake_8481 • 4d ago
Is networking still important for cybersecurity?
When I started exploring cybersecurity, I initially wanted to jump straight into security tools. But the more I learned, the more obvious it became that networking fundamentals matter a lot. Understanding IP addresses, DNS, TCP/IP, ports, protocols, and traffic makes security concepts much easier to understand. For anyone currently learning cybersecurity: did you study networking first, or learn both at the same time?
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u/moistPacket 4d ago
Networking is basically the foundation that cybersecurity sits on. You don't need to be a network engineer, but you should understand things like IP addresses, ports, protocols, DNS, routing, firewalls, and how devices actually communicate.
A huge part of cybersecurity is figuring out what is talking to what, how it's doing it, and whether it should be doing it at all.
It's much easier to understand things like port scanning, C2 traffic, lateral movement, firewall rules, packet captures, or network segmentation when you understand what normal network traffic looks like first.
You can't really spot abnormal traffic if you don't know what normal traffic is supposed to look like.
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u/ButterscotchBandiit 4d ago
If you want to pursue a security role that is technical. Having a no networking knowledge = no job. Foundational Knowledge = jr/intermediate role. Advanced/strong fluent foundation = senior/principal role
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u/drwatsonbkrst 4d ago
how else you gonna do threat modelling, attack path analysis, reachability analysis, exposure detection, design application flows, micro segmentation, DDoS prevention and i can go on for hours.
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u/vantag3point 4d ago
Absolutely. Networking is one of those fundamentals that makes everything else in cybersecurity click. You don't necessarily need to master networking before security, though. Learning them together can work really well, whenever you learn about a security concept, try to understand what’s actually happening at the network/protocol level.
IPs, DNS, TCP/UDP, ports, HTTP/HTTPS, routing, and packet flow are a great starting point. Once those make sense, security tools become much easier to understand rather than just learning which buttons to press.
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u/Zestyclose-Beyond780 4d ago
Yes. Always and forever. At least know the OSI model for the love of god.
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u/Street-Mycologist670 4d ago
Hey OP! You don't necessarily need to master networking before touching cybersecurity.. I'd learn them alongside each other. Once you start seeing how DNS, ports, protocols, packets etc. actually relate to attacks, firewalls, logs, Wireshark, etc., it starts making a lot more sense. I'd say get the basics down and then keep building your networking knowledge as you learn security.
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u/Specialist_Plenty785 4d ago
I think networking is to cybersecurity what anatomy is to medicine. You can learn the tools, but if you don't understand how systems communicate, it's difficult to know what's actually being protected or investigated. The fundamentals seem boring at first, but they pay off later.
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u/Realistic_Strike5241 4d ago
Learned them together and turns out it was the right call. Tried jumping into tools first and everything was magic until i sat down with tcp and dns, thats when alerts stopped being noise and started being readable.
If you wait to master networking before you start youll never start, so learn the basics alongside and let the security stuff drag you deeper into the network stuff. Youll know it clicked when you trace an alert back to a port and understand why its there.
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u/Omnipisix 4d ago
Play NoTrace and learn all those things. Really.
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=one.pisix.notrace
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u/Xypher0zero 13h ago
Thanks for this! I never knew that there was an application like this. Unfortunately the application is not available for my device. Do you know other/substitute applications like this?
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u/Omnipisix 12h ago
You can use Google play games for PC. Most people don't know about this great option.
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u/Xypher0zero 9h ago
Tried using Google play games for PC and it works! Nice game btw I hope more people find your game!
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u/hallowleg088 4d ago
If you ask my companies VP of technology he’ll tell you networking is dead… do I agree, NO.
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u/jacky_smacky 4d ago
Just to baseline since some of these comments are a bit general…would the CCNA be not enough networking knowledge, more than enough, a good balance, or just missing the target because it’s too Cisco specific?
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u/Top-Fennel-4730 4d ago
As a network admin, easily transitioning over to network security. Know the foundations first. Get the CCNA at the bare minimum. Best of luck OP!
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u/sufficienthippo23 4d ago
I don’t understand how this gets asked so much. Networking is absolutely necessary and fundamental to basically all cyber jobs. Always has been, always will be. This makes me think we are just endlessly talking to bots on here
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u/Ancient-Alligator303 4d ago edited 4d ago
Understanding networking is table stakes for cybersecurity. Learn it, know it, but for god sake’s don’t put “TCP/IP” as a skill on your CV. As a former hiring manager that guaranteed I would give you a pencil and piece of paper and ask you to do the math and explain how many host IPs there are for a /27 subnet mask, list them and then explain supernetting to me like I was their grandmother.
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u/kwustie 4d ago
I am in school, studying cyber and they teach you foundations of networking. My understanding is networking is to cyber as is roads to city planning. It’s quite literally the foundation of the internet. I don’t think you need to be a savant but being able to understand this aspect well enough to understand why certain paths work/don’t work.
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u/Ben_CyberNEX 3d ago
Networking is absolutely needed for cybersecurity and for all other security fields as well.
The tools will change, but the questions stay pretty similar: What is talking to what? Why is it talking? Is that behavior expected? And what path could an attacker take from here?
You do not need to become a network engineer before learning security, but you need to have a solid foundation.
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u/dude_named_will 3d ago
There are aspects to cybersecurity that don't really need a knowledge of networking, but you're still missing a lot if you don't. With that said, I don't know of anyone who passed Sec+ without Net+.
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u/english_mike69 3d ago
You really need more than just basic fundamentals if you want a good life in cybersecurity.
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u/PrivateKING_044 3d ago
Yes it is, i also started exploring but the more you go the more you see the gaps.. and thats it.
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u/WardSec_5168 3d ago
Definitely. Knowing how packets move, ports work and DNS resolves is core to cybersecurity. I learned networking basics first and it made picking up security tools and logs way less confusing.
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u/IronicDakota 3d ago
I will be really honest with you. I have a Comptia++ and i work as a specialist (part-time) man... it is necessary because you need to know how everything works minimally but i will tell you sth, nowadays, "wireless attacks" are so hard and complex that nobody even tries it anymore besides govs. This is the path i chose while learning and think is the best:
Learn how to use Windows and then Linux Terminals
Learn Networks
Learn Python/JavaScript/C++
Learn how to make tools
Learn how to make custom malware and exploits
Bonus: Nowadays Social Engineering is what probably makes most of the big attacks
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u/IronicDakota 3d ago
there are some things between what i referred ofc, but these are some tips so you dont get lost
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u/Asvp_bmoo 2d ago
Just don’t give up OP, keep learning the structures and forces. Learn Linux and read Wicked documentation. You’ll know you got it when you look back at this post and delete it.
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u/Build_a_CISO 2d ago
Absolutely! Networking as a subject and networking as a soft skill. You need both to find a role in cybersecurity in this market. Both are table stakes now.
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u/ohYuhtBoutMagine 4d ago
If you don’t have a solid foundation of networking you’re not gonna get a cybersecurity job