Understanding Networks Changed the Way I Learn Cybersecurity

Mateo Benjamin Italiano De Francisca — Thu, 27 Aug 2026 13:40:21 +0000

When I first became interested in cybersecurity, I naturally focused on the exciting part: tools.

Pentesting tools, network analyzers, security distributions, monitoring platforms...

But the more I learned, the more I realized something:

Security tools become much more useful when you understand what they're actually showing you.

And for me, networking has been one of the most important foundations.

From IP addresses to communication

At first, networking can feel like a collection of concepts to memorize:

IP addresses
MAC addresses
Ports
DNS
TCP and UDP
Routing
Subnets

Individually, these concepts aren't particularly difficult.

The interesting part comes when you start connecting them.

For example, opening a website might look simple from the user's perspective:

Browser
↓
DNS Resolution
↓
Destination IP
↓
TCP Connection
↓
TLS
↓
HTTP Request
↓
Server Response

Suddenly, one simple action involves several different technologies working together.

And each step gives us something that can be observed, analyzed and potentially secured.

Normal traffic comes first

One idea has become increasingly important to me:

Before looking for abnormal behavior, you need some understanding of normal behavior.

Imagine looking at network traffic and seeing connections to several IP addresses.

Are they malicious?

Maybe.

Or maybe they're completely normal connections generated by an application.

Without context, traffic is just data.

Understanding protocols and normal communication gives that data meaning.

DNS is a great example

DNS sounds simple:

A domain name is translated into an IP address.

But from a security perspective, DNS becomes much more interesting.

Questions start appearing:

Which domains is a device contacting?
How frequently?
Are the requests expected?
Are there unusual patterns?
What happens when DNS resolution fails?

The protocol hasn't changed.

What changed is the way I'm looking at it.

Tools make more sense afterward

This also changed the way I approach tools such as Wireshark.

Instead of opening a packet capture and thinking:

"There are thousands of packets. Now what?"

I can start asking questions.

What protocol am I interested in?

Which hosts are communicating?

Who initiated the connection?

What DNS queries occurred?

Which ports are being used?

That's a completely different way of working.

The tool isn't providing the understanding.

The fundamentals allow me to understand what the tool is showing me.

Cybersecurity is built on fundamentals

I'm still developing my cybersecurity skills, but one lesson keeps appearing:

There are no shortcuts around the fundamentals.

Linux matters.

Networking matters.

Operating systems matter.

Understanding services matters.

Learning security becomes much more interesting when those pieces start connecting.

That's why, instead of only asking:

"Which cybersecurity tool should I learn next?"

I'm increasingly asking:

"Which fundamental concept should I understand better?"

Tools change.

The fundamentals stay useful.

I'm documenting some of the things I'm learning as I continue studying systems, networking and cybersecurity.

If you're learning cybersecurity too: which networking concept made everything start clicking for you?

— Mateo Benjamín Italiano

Linux Beyond the Classroom: What IT Support Is Teaching Me

Mateo Benjamin Italiano De Francisca — Tue, 25 Aug 2026 12:10:35 +0000

Learning Linux through courses is one thing.

Using it when you actually need to understand why something isn't working is completely different.

I'm Mateo Benjamín Italiano, a Systems Engineering and Cyber Defense student from Argentina. I also work in IT Support, where I've been getting more hands-on experience with Linux and troubleshooting.

One of the biggest things I'm learning is that knowing commands isn't enough.

Commands are not the goal

When I started learning Linux, it was easy to think about it as a collection of commands:

ls
cd
pwd
ip
ping
grep
systemctl

Learning what they do is useful.

But real troubleshooting requires something else: understanding why you're running them.

Instead of asking:

"Which command should I use?"

I'm learning to ask:

"What am I trying to verify?"

That small change makes a huge difference.

Troubleshooting is a process

A problem that looks complicated becomes much easier when you break it down.

For example:

Something isn't working
↓
What exactly is failing?
↓
Can I reproduce the problem?
↓
What information can I collect?
↓
What changed?
↓
Test a hypothesis
↓
Verify the solution

The command comes after the question.

Linux is also teaching me networking

Working with Linux has also made concepts like IP addresses, interfaces, DNS, routes, services and ports much more tangible.

Things that can feel abstract while studying become easier to understand when you actually have to troubleshoot them.

And this is one of the reasons I'm increasingly interested in cybersecurity as well.

Before analyzing attacks, logs or suspicious network activity, having solid fundamentals in operating systems and networking matters.

Breaking things is part of learning

I also started using Linux in my own learning environment so I can experiment without being afraid of making mistakes.

Install something.

Configure it.

Break it.

Figure out why it broke.

Fix it.

Document what happened.

For me, that cycle has been much more valuable than simply memorizing commands.

What I'm focusing on now

I'm still learning, but my current goal is to strengthen the fundamentals:

Linux
Networking
Troubleshooting
System administration
Cybersecurity fundamentals

I'll be using DEV to document some of the things I learn along the way — especially when a concept finally goes from "I studied this" to "now I understand why this works."

If you're learning Linux too, what concept took you the longest to really understand?

Thanks for reading! 👋

— Mateo Benjamín Italiano

DEV Community: Mateo Benjamin Italiano De Francisca

Understanding Networks Changed the Way I Learn Cybersecurity

Linux Beyond the Classroom: What IT Support Is Teaching Me