Kali linux: A brief introduction

When it comes to the career in cyber security, one of the things that you should definitely know about are the softwares and tools to ensure your data is safe. Kali Linux is important for cybersecurity professionals, particularly for professional penetration testers.

You must be wondering what this Kali linux is? Well it’s simple! Kali Linux is a Debian-based linux distribution that is meticulously built for penetration testing and digital forensics. The main feature of Kali Linux is that it comes with the pre-installed security tool suite which can be used for various cyber security purposes, including penetration testing and exploitation.It is very important to the cyber security profession  and cyber security industry as it contains hundreds of  tools and  it is free to download. 

Now let’s go through a brief history of Kali Linux.

History of Kali Linux

Mati Aharoni and Deavon Kearns are the core developers of Kali Linux. They developed Kali Linux as a replacement for the Back Track distribution. Back Track distribution was a powerful platform that provided tools for successful penetration testing and it was based on Knoppix Linux.  Kali Linux was released in the year 2013 by the Organisation Offensive Security, which offers cyber security training and certification.

Kali Linux role in cyber security

One of the greatest features of Kali Linux is that it has pre-installed tools which can be used for a huge number of cyber security-related activities. There are more than 600 tools available for penetration testing and other cyber security purposes. Kali Distro is continuously updated and improved by offensive security. 

Why use kali Linux?

There are huge numbers of reasons as to why one must use Kali Linux. Below given are a couple of them:

• Always have been and will be free.
• It comes with over 600 different penetration testing and security analytic tools.
• Follows widely appreciated open source model. It has an advantage that their development tree is publicly viewable on git and all the codes are available for your purposes.
• Although the penetration tools are written in english, it has been made sure that Kali Linux includes multilingual support. This allows more users to operate in their native language and locate tools that they need for their jobs. 

Kali Linux Virtual Private Server (VPS)

While you run the penetration test, you need strong and fast virtual servers to ensure your code and tools are being used to their full potential. This is where Kali Linux VPS hosting comes into the picture. It provides cloud-based pentesting solutions for pentesters, professionals and students. 

Ending Thoughts

Kali Linux while it’s not overly complicated, it isn’t exactly for beginners. Take your time as you work through the tools and try to learn at least one new thing about it every day. If you are new to the world of Linux, consider starting with another Linux system like Ubuntu to get an idea of what you are getting into. 

Never use the tools in Kali Linux against any system which are not authorised to access. Remember that all the tools you need are free. Learning cybersecurity is an investment of your time and effort.