I’m starting an ADS college right now and I’m very interested in information security. Since I was a teenager, I have always dreamed of understanding how a machine and its vulnerabilities work, from data that is not physically stored to understanding how a defense system designed by a group of programmers works. I have a desire to be able to assemble and disassemble these systems. That dream still lives in me, and as time goes on, it continues to be nurtured, but I feel like I still don’t know enough.

Knowing that there is no straight path to this type of learning, I would like to ask the community for tips. What should I study as essential to becoming a good information security programmer or ethical hacker (I don’t know if both are the same thing)?

I hope that someone with experience in programming, development of cyber defense systems, or even with experience in intrusions or intrusion investigations, can guide me.