Serious question for programming professionals / enthusiasts, PLEASE ?

Question

You see, I am a life sciences student in University. I am reasonably proficient in C and that is about it.

Now, my question is that if someone aims to work in Intelligence or Forensics, and wants to have a reasonable amount of proficiency in hacking into "enemy" computers (or sites), or cracking codes, or, even in general, wants to be a good hacker, what advise would you give to such a person ? You see, I understand that nothing matches the training of individuals in such high - stakes professions. But at the same time, I am sure you would agree that a sound foundation will greatly enhance an applicant's profile, right ?

What computer languages should he focus on, and where does he go from there ?

Do you see the point I am trying to make ? Suppose a "kid" came to you and said that he wanted to become a good hacker and that he was willing to learn anything that might facilitate the realization of his goal, HOW WOULD YOU GUIDE HIM ?

I am seeking mature insights here please.

Thank you so very much for your time and effort.

God Bless you and your loved ones.

Answer 1

If you know how something works then you'll know how to exploit it once you exploit it

So get your own server and learn how to use it

have the physical box there put linux on it and get a domain and learn how post stuff an you'll learn by doing

--Edit--

dont click on Hansika R's answer hes a spammer and i've seen his answer on other questions

Answer 2

The programming language is not very important. It is a tool that can be used to build other tools. What is needed in the way of knowledge is a thorough background in the analytic skills and knowlege of algorithms and math to create or destroy the highly specialized programs you speak of.

Answer 3

Hacking isn't a single body of knowledge. Hacking is tinkering with systems to understand how they work and alter their behavior to work differently.

What you describe is cracking -- intrusions into a computer system for malicious purposes.

Cracking is not a single body of knowledge. How one goes about cracking a system depends on the nature of the system he is trying to exploit, the goal he has for the exploit (obtaining some data, defacing a Web site, getting to root, damaging the network or servers, etc.) and his desire to avoid detection.

You'd probably be best off, at this stage, checking out one of the Hacking Exposed books.

http://www.amazon.com/phrase/Hacking-Exp...

Answer 4

Go to a local college and take a systems programming course. In it you will learn assembly and the basics of how an OS and the software environment work together. Knowing this you will have a better idea of what exploits are actually doing and also how you would go about searching for them. In the systems course at my school we specifically had to create buffer overflow exploits, which is one of the most commonly seen forms.