Valentine G. Nachi, Donald A. Tevault | Linux Shell Scripting for Hackers. Automate and scale your hacking process with bash scripting (2026) [PDF, EPUB] [EN]

Book Description
Linux shell scripting is a foundational skill for ethical hackers and penetration testers who want to automate repetitive tasks and build powerful command-line tools. This practical guide shows you how to use bash scripting for cybersecurity automation, helping you streamline reconnaissance, exploitation, and post-exploitation workflows on Linux systems.

You’ll progress from advanced bash techniques to real-world penetration testing applications, learning how to automate reconnaissance processes, parse logs, extract indicators, and develop custom exploitation utilities. Using tools such as awk, sed, grep, and regular expressions, you’ll manipulate data efficiently and craft scripts that solve real security challenges.

A dedicated section on network scripting demonstrates how to build scripts that interact with remote systems, perform scanning tasks, and gather actionable information. You’ll also explore system hardening automation and learn best practices for writing secure, modular, and maintainable shell scripts.

By the end of this book, you’ll have the confidence to integrate Linux shell scripting into your ethical hacking toolkit, scale your penetration testing workflow, and build reusable security tools tailored to real-world cybersecurity scenarios.

What you will learn
Develop scripts and tools tailored for ethical hacking and penetration testing
Leverage powerful tools such as awk, sed, and grep for data manipulation and log parsing
Design scripts for system hardening
Integrate scripting into your cybersecurity workflows for maximum efficiency
Discover best practices for writing secure, maintainable, and modular scripts
Apply scripting knowledge through real-world case studies and hands-on exercises
Who this book is for
If you’re a cybersecurity enthusiast or ethical hacker who wants to learn more about building hacking tools, this book is for you. A basic understanding of ethical hacking, GNU/Linux, and bash scripting concepts will be helpful to get the most out of this book. The book is also ideal for seasoned pentesters and sysadmins looking to optimize operations.

Table of Contents
Why bash Scripting for Hackers?
Hacking Lab Setup with Kali Linux
Input, Output, and File Manipulation
Reconnaissance and Scanning with Nmap
Automating Web Application Attacks
Password Cracking Techniques
Understanding Privilege Escalation and Persistence
Automate Penetration Testing with Metasploit
Wi-Fi Hacking with Kismet and Wifite
Auditing and Hardening Linux with Shell Scripts
Automated Report Generation and Visualization
End-to-End Penetration Testing Projects