Note Taking in Cybersecurity
Managing Cybersecurity Topics and Projects
Like many of us, I’m trying to get into cybersecurity. After nearly 20 years of classroom education and continuing education, I’ve learned a lot about note-taking, studying, and retention. This article will cover paper versus digital notes, what to look for in a note-taking app, app organization, and note structure.
Before we begin, check out my cybersecurity journey:
Paper versus Digital:
Paper Pros:
- Customizable
- Better retention
- No distractions
- Cheap
Paper Cons:
- Need to have the notebook(s)
- Unrecoverable
- Time consuming
Digital Pros:
- Free software
- Easily access old notes
- Backups
- Add outside resources
- Easy to share
Digital Cons:
- Purchase device
- Lower retention
- Battery life
Pick the one right for you!
Note-taking App Parameters:
- Sync across multiple devices What if something happens to that device or notebook? Ideally, I would like to have the content saved in the cloud service I use for other content rather than relying on another company too.
- Option to export as Markdown file We want our notes to be reliable. I’ve lost too many notes to companies going under or incompatible versions to not use a file type that’s been around for decades. I wouldn’t recommend using a .docx file as the version might be incompatible later. A .pdf file is the only other file I would consider but it’s not as easily editable as .md.
- Code blocks Even if you don’t know how to code, commands are a crucial element to cybersecurity. Having the content broken up helps make the code stick out and allows the formatting to carry over to other
- Don’t require tons of folders If you research some note-taking apps, some of them require nested folders. Our brains don’t work like this! Nesting folders
- Offline access Often times I’ll make connections or come up with ideas on a walk or the bus. I don’t want to have to write down the idea in another app then transfer it over, way too much friction!
- Customization without going overboard Lots of little details deterred me from using other apps. Taking notes shouldn’t require a setup every time or more than a few clicks to get where you want.
After trying different recommended methods of note-taking, many of them are too complicated or don’t meet my parameters. Write out yours then dive into an exploration of note-taking apps! Before downloading or signing up for any, watch some YouTube videos.
We want this to be as frictionless as possible. If there’s too much friction, we won’t use the notes.
Topic Structure:
In all of my notes, I only have three nested folders, all of which have lots of content. If I were to leave them as files in Cyber Space, then it would create too much friction to look for them or find other topics. I don’t recommend going over board on this but it you study a lot of topics in cybersecurity but focus heavily on some, nest a folder in there!
All the content I access the most is located at the top and named to make sure they’re at the top.
Note Structure & Content:
Almost all of my Medium articles and Obsidian notes follow the same structure. We want the same desired outcome for both — a noob should be able to understand the topic. We’re all on a journey, we’ll forget things. Using the following structure makes it easy for us to refer back to and understand.
Check out these articles to see how it was followed:
Just because the following works for me, doesn’t mean it’ll work for you. I’d recommend taking these tips and adapting them to your system.
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