CKCE is a global, open‑source framework for structuring cybersecurity knowledge, learning paths, and career development. It is not a collection of exploits or real data; it is a blueprint that enables thousands of contributors to collaboratively build a comprehensive, domain‑driven encyclopedia of defensive cybersecurity.
The ecosystem serves three primary functions:
- Structured learning system – Organised by difficulty and domain, from beginner to research.
- Career roadmap engine – Maps domains, skills, and projects to real‑world job roles.
- Contribution‑based knowledge graph – A modular, extensible graph of concepts, resources, and case studies.
All content added by contributors must be education‑focused, and follow the governance rules defined in this repository.
| Directory | Purpose | Key files |
|---|---|---|
/domains |
14 core cybersecurity domains, each with difficulty levels and contribution guidelines. | /domains/Network-Security/README.md (example) |
/career-system |
Career definitions, skill graphs, and domain‑to‑job mappings. | CAREER_OVERVIEW.md, JOB_MAPPING.md |
/projects-hub |
Rules for submitting project ideas and skeletons (no code). | PROJECT_STRUCTURE.md |
/tools-hub |
Defensive tool descriptions, categories, and contribution rules. | TOOL_CONTRIBUTION_GUIDE.md |
/ctf-hub |
Framework for Capture The Flag write‑ups (defensive, educational). | CTF_STRUCTURE.md |
/case-studies |
Guidelines for real‑world incident analysis (no sensitive data). | CASE_STUDY_GUIDE.md |
/knowledge-base |
High‑level domain scopes and cross‑domain relationships. | NETWORK_SECURITY.md |
/learning-paths |
Step‑by‑step curricula for specific roles and skill levels. | SOC_PATH.md, CLOUD_SECURITY_PATH.md |
/resources-system |
Categorisation of books, websites, platforms, and career resources. | BOOKS_GUIDE.md, DOMAIN_RESOURCES_GUIDE.md |
/community-system |
Contribution workflow, code of conduct, review process, and governance. | CONTRIBUTING.md, GOVERNANCE.md |
/templates |
Strict formatting templates for all contributions. | PROJECT_TEMPLATE.md |
CKCE is a framework only – no actual projects, tools, or write‑ups are included in this skeleton. Contributors will add content later, following the rules defined in each directory.
- Defensive first – No attack implementations, malware, or offensive exploit code.
- Structured – Every addition must respect the folder hierarchy and use provided templates.
- Reviewed – Pull requests are reviewed by domain maintainers.
- No duplication – Content must be original or properly referenced.
To start contributing, please read:
/community-system/CONTRIBUTING.md/community-system/CODE_OF_CONDUCT.md- The domain‑specific
CONTRIBUTING.mdinside the domain you wish to help (e.g.,/domains/Network-Security/CONTRIBUTING.md).
CKCE strictly supports defensive cybersecurity education, blue team practices, and ethical research. Any content that promotes illegal activities, active exploitation, or real‑world harm is forbidden. All case studies must anonymise sensitive data and be used solely for learning.
| I want to… | Go here |
|---|---|
| Understand the 14 cybersecurity domains | /domains |
| See how domains map to job roles | /career-system/JOB_MAPPING.md |
| Follow a guided curriculum | /learning-paths |
| Propose a project skeleton | /projects-hub |
| Describe a defensive tool | /tools-hub |
| Write a CTF write‑up (educational) | /ctf-hub |
| Analyse a real incident (anonymised) | /case-studies |
| Understand a domain’s scope | /knowledge-base |
| Find books, courses, or labs | /resources-system |
| Learn the contribution workflow | /community-system/CONTRIBUTING.md |
| Use a template for a new contribution | /templates |
- Phase 1 (current) – Framework skeleton, governance, templates. ✅
- Phase 2 – Community onboarding, initial domain content (theory, definitions).
- Phase 3 – Resource and book catalogues, career progression examples.
- Phase 4 – Project and tool skeletons, CTF write‑up collection.
- Phase 5 – Automated knowledge graph visualisation and skill dependency mapping.
This repository – the documentation framework, structure definitions, and governance rules – is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0) license.
See the LICENSE file for details.
All contributed content (future additions) will be subject to the same license unless explicitly agreed otherwise by the maintainers.
Maintained by the CKCE open‑source community.
Questions? Open an issue in the Issues tab (template available in /community-system/ISSUE_TEMPLATE.md).