There are two viable entry vectors into information security. Offense and defense. Both require the same foundation. Both diverge sharply once the foundation is in place. Pick one based on how you think, not on which sounds more interesting in a job description. The foundation is non-negotiable. You need to understand how a computer actually executes code. Not abstractly. Specifically. The CPU fetches an instruction from memory at the address held in the instruction pointer. It decodes the opcode. It executes against registers and memory. It updates flags. It advances. Every exploit primitive - every detection - collapses back to this loop. If you cannot describe what happens when a function returns and the saved RIP is overwritten, you are not ready for either path. Read Intel's Software Developer's Manual Volume 1. Read it again when you understand 30% of it. You need operating system internals at the same level. Process address space layout. Virtual memory and page tables.…