UGC NET AND CYBERSECURITY BOTH STUDY PLAN

 

🎯 Overall Strategy

You’ll study:

• 4–5 hours daily

• 2 sessions per day

• Skill + theory balance

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🗓 DAILY STUDY STRUCTURE (Repeatable Weekly Format)

Time	Focus
Morning (2 hrs)	UGC NET
Evening (2–3 hrs)	Cybersecurity

If busy:
Minimum = 3 hrs/day (1.5 + 1.5 split)

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📘 UGC NET (Computer Science) Study Plan

UGC NET has:

• Paper 1 (Teaching & Research Aptitude)

• Paper 2 (Computer Science)

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🧠 UGC NET SYLLABUS BREAKDOWN (Paper 2)

Important Units:

1. Discrete Mathematics

2. Digital Logic

3. Computer Organization

4. Programming & Data Structures

5. Algorithms

6. Theory of Computation

7. Compiler Design

8. Operating Systems

9. Databases

10. Computer Networks

11. Software Engineering

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📅 UGC NET DAILY PLAN (Morning Session – 2 Hours)

🔹 Monday

• 1 hr: Discrete Mathematics

• 1 hr: MCQs practice

🔹 Tuesday

• 1 hr: Data Structures

• 1 hr: Previous Year Questions

🔹 Wednesday

• 1 hr: Theory of Computation

• 1 hr: Notes revision

🔹 Thursday

• 1 hr: Operating Systems

• 1 hr: MCQs

🔹 Friday

• 1 hr: DBMS

• 1 hr: SQL & Normalization practice

🔹 Saturday

• 1 hr: Computer Networks

• 1 hr: PYQs

🔹 Sunday

• Full-length mock (2 hrs)

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📌 How to Study for NET Effectively

1. Solve last 10 years PYQs.

2. Make short notes per unit.

3. Focus on conceptual clarity.

4. Revise every Sunday.

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🔐 CYBERSECURITY DAILY PLAN (Evening Session – 2–3 Hours)

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📅 Cybersecurity Weekly Structure

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🔹 Monday – Networking

• OSI model

• TCP/IP

• Subnetting

• Practice Wireshark

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🔹 Tuesday – Linux

• Commands practice

• File permissions

• User management

• Install tools

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🔹 Wednesday – Web Security

• OWASP Top 10

• SQL Injection theory + lab

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🔹 Thursday – Tools

• Nmap scanning

• Port scanning practice

• Learn flags

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🔹 Friday – Burp Suite

• Intercept requests

• Modify parameters

• Test login pages

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🔹 Saturday – Practical Lab

• TryHackMe / HackTheBox

• 1 room per week

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🔹 Sunday – Project Security

Secure your own projects:

• Add hashing

• Add CSRF tokens

• Validate inputs

• Rate limiting

 

📘 PHASE 5: Advanced Topics (Month 8–12)

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☁️ Cloud Security

• AWS IAM

• Misconfigured S3 buckets

• API security

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🔐 Cryptography

• Hashing (MD5 vs SHA256)

• Symmetric vs Asymmetric encryption

• RSA basics

• TLS handshake

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🔎 Digital Forensics

• Log analysis

• Memory dumps

• Incident response

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🧠 Red Team vs Blue Team

Red Team	Blue Team
Attack	Defend
Find vulnerabilities	Monitor logs
Exploit	Patch

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🏆 Certifications Path

Beginner:

• eJPT

• Security+

Intermediate:

• CEH

Advanced:

• OSCP

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🔥 1-Year Outcome If You Follow This

You will:

• Understand system internals

• Find real vulnerabilities

• Do bug bounty

• Apply security to your own projects

• Become job-ready

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💡 For You Specifically

Since you build:

• Student Management System

• V-Connect

• Shopping App

Start applying:

• Input validation

• Password hashing

• Rate limiting

• Secure file uploads

• Proper authentication flow

This will turn you into a Security-aware Developer, which companies prefer over tool-based hackers.

 

📕 PHASE 4: Real Practice Platforms

Only practice legally:

• TryHackMe

• Hack The Box

• PortSwigger Web Academy

Start with:

• Pre Security Path

• Jr Penetration Tester

 

📙 PHASE 3: Ethical Hacking Tools (Month 5–7)

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🔍 Nmap (Scanning)

nmap -sV target.com

Learn:

• Port scanning

• Service detection

• OS detection

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🐞 Burp Suite

Learn:

• Intercepting requests

• Modifying parameters

• Finding hidden fields

• Testing authentication

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💣 Metasploit

Learn:

• Exploit modules

• Payloads

• Reverse shell

 

📗 PHASE 2: Web Security Core (Month 3–4)

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🔥 OWASP Top 10 (Very Important)

1️⃣ SQL Injection

Vulnerable code:

SELECT * FROM users WHERE username = '$user';

Attack:

' OR '1'='1

Fix:

• Prepared statements

• Parameterized queries

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2️⃣ XSS (Cross-Site Scripting)

Stored XSS:

• Malicious script saved in DB

Reflected XSS:

• Injected via URL

Fix:

• Escape output

• Use Content Security Policy

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3️⃣ CSRF

User logged in → attacker forces request.

Fix:

• CSRF tokens

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4️⃣ Broken Authentication

Fix:

• Strong hashing (bcrypt)

• Secure session handling

🚀 CYBERSECURITY COMPLETE ROADMAP (Beginner → Advanced) 📘 PHASE 1: Foundations (Month 1–2)

 

🚀 CYBERSECURITY COMPLETE ROADMAP (Beginner → Advanced)

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📘 PHASE 1: Foundations (Month 1–2)

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1️⃣ Networking Deep Dive (Core Backbone)

🔹 What You Must Understand

OSI Model (7 Layers)

Layers:

1. Physical

2. Data Link

3. Network

4. Transport

5. Session

6. Presentation

7. Application

👉 Real understanding:

• HTTP works at Application layer

• TCP works at Transport layer

• IP works at Network layer

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TCP vs UDP

TCP	UDP
Reliable	Fast
Connection oriented	Connectionless
Used in HTTPS	Used in streaming

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Important Concepts

• IP Address (IPv4, IPv6)

• Subnetting

• DNS (How google.com becomes IP)

• ARP

• Ports (80, 443, 22, 21, 3306)

• Three-way handshake (SYN → SYN-ACK → ACK)

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Tools Practice

• Wireshark → Capture packets

• ping, traceroute

• netstat

• nslookup

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2️⃣ Linux Mastery (Month 1–2)

Install:

• Kali Linux (VirtualBox)

Learn:

File Structure

• /etc

• /var

• /home

• /bin

• /root

Important Commands

ls
cd
chmod
chown
grep
cat
nano
find
ps
kill
apt install

Permissions

Example:

-rwxr-xr--

Meaning:

• Owner: read write execute

• Group: read execute

• Others: read

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3️⃣ Programming for Security

Since you're a developer, focus on:

Python

• Variables

• Loops

• Functions

• Requests library

• Sockets

Example:

import socket
print(socket.gethostbyname("google.com"))

Cybersecurity journey 💻 Phase 3: Practical Hacking Practice (4–8 Months)

 

💻 Phase 3: Practical Hacking Practice (4–8 Months)

Never hack real websites ❌
Practice legally on platforms:

• TryHackMe

• Hack The Box

• PortSwigger Web Security Academy

Start with beginner rooms.

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🧪 Phase 4: Tools You Must Learn

Tool	Purpose
Nmap	Network scanning
Burp Suite	Web app testing
Metasploit	Exploitation
Wireshark	Packet analysis
John the Ripper	Password cracking
Hydra	Brute force

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🎓 Certifications (Optional but Powerful)

Start with:

• CEH (Certified Ethical Hacker)

• CompTIA Security+

• eJPT (Beginner friendly)

Cybersecurity journey 🛡 Phase 2: Core Cybersecurity Concepts (2–4 Months)

 

🛡 Phase 2: Core Cybersecurity Concepts (2–4 Months)

🔍 1. Types of Cybersecurity

Understand domains:

• Ethical Hacking

• Web Security

• Network Security

• Cloud Security

• Digital Forensics

• SOC Analyst

• Malware Analysis

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🌐 2. Web Application Security (Very Important for You)

Since you build web apps like:

• Student Management System

• V-Connect

• Jinni Shopping App

You should learn how they can be attacked.

Study:

• SQL Injection

• XSS (Cross Site Scripting)

• CSRF

• Authentication bypass

• Session hijacking

Resource:
👉 OWASP Top 10

Cybersecurity journey Phase 1: Build Strong Foundations (0–2 Months)

 

Phase 1: Build Strong Foundations (0–2 Months)

Before jumping into hacking tools, master the basics.

🖥 1. Computer Networking (Very Important)

Learn:

• OSI & TCP/IP model

• IP, Subnetting

• DNS, DHCP

• HTTP / HTTPS

• Ports & Protocols

Tools to explore:

• Wireshark

• Packet Tracer

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🐧 2. Linux Fundamentals

Most cybersecurity tools run on Linux.

Learn:

• File system structure

• Commands (ls, grep, chmod, nano, etc.)

• Users & permissions

• Process management

Install:

• Kali Linux (Virtual Machine using VirtualBox)

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🧠 3. Basic Programming

Since you already work with PHP, Node.js, Firebase — that’s a big advantage.

Focus on:

• Python (for automation & scripting)

• Bash scripting

• Basic understanding of JavaScript vulnerabilities

Day three of theory of computation

 1. Non-deterministic Finite Automata (NFA) 

Unlike a DFA, an NFA allows a machine to explore multiple paths simultaneously. 

• Definition: For a given state and input symbol, an NFA can transition to zero, one, or multiple states.
• Acceptance: A string is accepted if at least one possible path leads to a final state.
• Flexibility: NFAs are generally easier to construct than DFAs because you don't need to define transitions for every possible input or worry about "dead states". 

2. NFA with Epsilon Transitions (

$ϵ$

-NFA) 

An

$ϵ$

-NFA introduces the epsilon (

$ϵ$

) move, which allows the machine to change states without consuming any input symbol. 

• 

  $ϵ$
  -Closure: This is a critical Day Three concept. It is the set of all states reachable from a specific state using only
  

  $ϵ$
  transitions (including the state itself).
• Use Case:
  

  $ϵ$
  -NFAs are highly useful for combining smaller machines (e.g., when implementing the "union" or "star" operations in Regular Expressions). 

3. Equivalence of NFA and DFA (Subset Construction) 

The most important takeaway of Day Three is that NFAs and DFAs are equally powerful; they both recognize the same class of languages (Regular Languages). 

• Conversion: Any NFA can be converted to an equivalent DFA using the Subset Construction (or Powerset Construction) algorithm.
• State Explosion: While an NFA with
  

  $n$
  states is simpler, its equivalent DFA may have up to
  

  $2^n$
  states in the worst case.