null is one of the most active, open security communities since 2010. One of the main objectives for null is spreading information security awareness. Keeping that aim in mind, null has started null Study Groups.

About null Study Groups

null Study Group is a place where like-minded people get together and learn about different domains of security like web, cloud, etc.

Past & Present

The study group concept was first conceptualized and tested at null bhopal (by @anantshri) at local level and based on those results it was decided that the effort should be taken at a bigger level and this is where we did our first round of study groups at null level in last 6 months.

In the past six months (Feb 2021 - August 2021) - we completed two study groups - web security and cloud security.

How the study groups function?

Study groups are community-driven programs where people with similar interests are grouped together with mentors for six months in study groups, where they design a structure to learn about security topics.

Mentors are industry experts, who are doing substantial work in their respective fields. Study group moderators find such individuals for the groups, who are willing to devote their time to this and help out the newcomers with their knowledge and experience.

We try to create a framework where people can learn easily. So, the participants along with mentors design a structure that they need to accomplish in the period of six months. Ideally, everyone meets in a bi-weekly call, where initially the mentor helps the participants get a head start on how to approach a certain topic then after two weeks participants ask questions, share whatever they have learnt during the period of two weeks.

Though the study groups have participants and mentors, but this not a hand holding kind of thing, the individual needs to be self-motivated and determined and ready to put in efforts on their own.

We strictly adhere to a few pointers, that helps in keeping the quality of knowledge that is being passed in these groups, which are -

• Basic decency with communication with others in the group.
• Be consistent and show your involvement in the group. NO PASSIVE LEARNING.
  More details can be found here.

During the period of six months, the study group's participants present their learning in the form of blog posts, labs, talks, etc. and moreover the people who are together in a group, build great connections among themselves by working together in the group and helping each other out.

What now?

We are back with the second iteration of the study groups with a lot more learning and networking opportunities. This time we are trying to kick off study groups in 9 different security domains, namely

• Web Security
• Cloud Security
• Infrastructure Security
• DevSecOps
• IoT Security
• Malware Analysis

with some new rules in place, to improve the quality of the study groups.

Read the detailed document here - https://drive.google.com/file/d/1nkCm_ucLrG2_tH2hn-uZvnHJgQjUSAJp/view

Call for Participation

Form Link open till **2nd October, 2021** - https://forms.gle/AdeyKm8YXZSPu9Wh8

For any suggestions or queries - Hit Me Up @0xcardinal

Thank You!