Around con time, I’m frequently asked ‘how to become a computer hacker’. Since it’s a delightfully non-specific question, I have decided to illustrate my response for posterity:

The most critical things when getting into infosec are the right attitude, curiosity, and interest, a solid foundation of technical knowledge, and the motivation to take advantage of the amazing resources that our peers have made available. Unfortunately, a lot of people forget the early steps and delve straight into hacking tool guides, without first covering the basics and developing a deep interest in understanding how to manipulate computers. This is what really divides the bad, from the good, from the great.