The Era of Linux, Cybersecurity and Early Achievements

My interest in Cybersecurity actually started through my phone (Samsung Galaxy Y) back in 2014-15, alongside custom ROMs. At this point, I was already deep-diving into computers and learning advanced networking concepts (like the OSI model, subnetting, CIDR, etc.). So, I thought of trying some pentesting apps available on Android, like FaceNiff, dSploit, zANTI, etc. Since my custom ROM-equipped device already had root access, getting them to work wasn't that hard for me. But that's how it all began.

Later, around 2015–16, I decided to try Linux, and the very first distribution I used was BackTrack Linux on VMware, which later evolved into Kali Linux (not specifically for cybersecurity, but simply because I wanted to explore Linux). I eventually live-booted Kali Linux, and that live session soon turned into a persistent setup xD. After that, I tried Ubuntu and installed it alongside Windows 8.1 on my laptop. I started ricing it and created my first setup using GNOME Tweaks. Later, I also tried installing Arch Linux in VirtualBox and managed to get it running successfully. But eventually, I went back to Kali Linux and began learning pentesting using its tools and custom scripts I found on GitHub.

Around the year 2016, I became part of multiple Linux and cybersecurity communities on Facebook and WhatsApp (yeah, not on Discord and Telegram). I got the opportunity to talk to many experienced people in the community and learn with them. I also learned to code in Java and Python during that time. Since I was an introverted person and wasn't interested in talking with my classmates, I used to chat with the online friends I made through the community (I still do, lol). I learned with them, started bug bounty work, earned some money, and also received a certificate of appreciation from Intel for reporting a security vulnerability on their website. I also started doing some CTFs on HackTheBox at that time, and I was really doing well in this field. Even so, my parents were really not happy because I wasn't focusing on my studies, especially since it was my 10th-grade board exams. Neither the teachers in school were happy, because I used to barely interact with my classmates or take part in class activities unless it involved grading.