I need help with starting Cyber Security

I am student in undergrad rn and my course sure is CS but like i wanna learn things about cyber security properly i cant seem to understand where to start and where to head to for now i have been using claude to make all kind of roadmaps but like its claude if the roadmap it gave me isnt good enough all it will do is say sorry and i wouldve wasted my time so i need help from some real people who are into all of this properly and as for my goal its not really clear because idk what all i can do but i am sure there has to be some foundational things which I need to do and once i am done with those I sure can get a proper goal i have attached the current roadmap i ended up with claude so if anyone can assist me with that it would really be helpful to me
(There might be some corny shit written ignore that its claude being claude 🙁 )

# Structure: Foundations → Exploration → Specialization

(college model: gen-ed requirements, then taster electives, then a major)

# Phase 0 — Terminal & Linux fluency (IN PROGRESS)

* OverTheWire Bandit — anchor for command-line fluency. Currently: Level 8 next.
* Deep notes: `bandit_notes.md`

# Phase 1 — Foundations (required before specializing)

1. **Networking fundamentals** — OSI/TCP-IP model, IP/MAC addressing, ports, DNS, HTTP/S, TCP vs UDP, subnetting basics.
2. **How the web actually works** — requests/responses, cookies/sessions, client vs server split, enough HTML/JS to read (not build).
3. **Security mental models** — CIA triad, threat modeling/attack surface, common vulnerability classes at a glance, and the legal/ethical boundary (authorization, scope, unauthorized-access law, responsible disclosure) — core professional knowledge, not a caveat tacked on.
4. **Python for security** — building on existing Python/pandas: sockets, requests, parsing, writing small tools.
5. **Lab basics** — virtualization (VirtualBox/VMware), snapshotting, building an isolated vulnerable-VM lab safely.

Status: not started yet.

# Phase 2 — Exploration (taster of each field, pick what resonates)

Each module: primer from Claude → pointer to a specific free external resource → mini project → short quiz.

1. Web application security — OWASP Top 10, PortSwigger Web Security Academy.
2. Network / infrastructure pentesting — Nmap, enumeration, intro Metasploit, TryHackMe intro path.
3. Reverse engineering & malware analysis — x86 basics, static/dynamic analysis, Ghidra, beginner crackmes.
4. Hardware / IoT / RF hacking — SDR basics, RFID/NFC, BadUSB, what's actually inside a Flipper Zero. (Likely strong fit given the Arduino track — kept separate from that roadmap, security-angle only.)
5. Cryptography — classical ciphers → hashing vs encryption → breaking weak crypto (CryptoHack).
6. OSINT / recon & social engineering — information gathering, ethical considerations.
7. Digital forensics / incident response — log analysis, disk/memory forensics basics.

Status: not started yet.

# Phase 3 — Specialization

After Phase 2, pick 1–2 fields that resonated most and go deep: structured course/cert path (e.g. eJPT/OSCP-track for pentesting, or building real hardware tools if IoT/RF wins), bigger capstone projects, real CTFs (HTB, CTFtime events).

# Current status

* Phase 0: Bandit, Level 8 next.
* Everything else: not started — awaiting decision on whether to finish Bandit fully first or start Phase 1 (networking) in parallel.