Cybersecurity

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Which OS/Distro? (lemmy.world)

submitted 5 months ago* (last edited 5 months ago) by [email protected] to c/[email protected]

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I'm new to the cyber-security/privacy space. I am interested in teaching myself about it, as well as dabbling in OSINT and general linux-type-stuff too. ATM this is all a hobby so while it is not crucial to have everything air-tight, I would like to do my best to follow best practices.

That being said, I am currently using a Mac M1 so my VM capabilities are (AFAIK) limited to the OS's provided by the UTM virtual machine software. For those who are unaware, the OS's they provide can be found here:

https://mac.getutm.app/gallery/

From a security/privacy perspective, which of these OS's would you consider to be the most secure or, able to be the most secure with configuration? At first glance and with my limited knowledge, I want to say Kali, but I feel this may be cliché as it's what your stereotypical-hacker-type would use.

Any guidance would be appreciated.

N.B., ease of use/convenience is not a top priority for me, as I'm using this as a learning experience and I'm open to trying different things and making mistakes along the way.

Thanks!

***EDIT: Thank you to all who provided information. I learned a lot. I've decided to try a few different distros that work with UTM namely, Parrot OS (both home and security editions for different purposes), as well as Kali and Debian.

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[–] [email protected] 3 points 5 months ago

While it's cliche, Kali can be a pretty good starting point, especially if you are looking at cybersecurity. You might even consider something like the TryHackMe module on Linux Fundamentals here:
https://tryhackme.com/module/linux-fundamentals

That can get your feet wet and then you can explore the rest of the site to look at security applications.

As for other distributions, Ubuntu is generally good as a "I want to try Linux and not hate myself" distribution. It will feel reasonably familiar if you have used Windows. And a lot of open source projects and software seems to target Ubuntu.

If you are ok with a learning curve which looks more like a cliff face, Arch Linux is great. It provides a very high degree of customizability and control, but far from holding your hand, it will actively smack it away while you are drowning. On the upshot you will learn as you go, you have no other choice.

If you plan to work in an Enterprise environment you can expect to run into RedHat/CentOS. While not quite as comfy as Ubuntu, it does provide a decent level of not letting you cut your own feet off. Though, you may have issues with some projects and software not being as easily available due to the high level of centralized control.

And lastly, a lot of what you learn in one distribution will be roughly applicable in another. Maybe things will be a bit different, but you will have a general sense of what things will be like. So, don't stress over the choice of a distribution too much. Pick one and go. When you find out you are wrong (because, of course, every choice is wrong to someone), learning the next one won't be anywhere near as hard.