03. Data Types

Introduction

Data types are the foundation of Python. In cybersecurity, they help us store, process, and manipulate information like:

• IP addresses & ports (strings, integers, tuples)

• Credentials & payloads (strings, dictionaries, bytes)

• Network logs & results (lists, sets, dicts)

• Encryption, packet data, session info (bytes, booleans, None)

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Core Data Types in Python (with Cybersecurity Examples)

1. Strings (str)

• Store text → usernames, payloads, log entries, URLs.

payload = "' OR 1=1 --"
print("SQL Injection Payload:", payload)

Usage: SQLi payloads, URLs, wordlists, log analysis.

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2. Integers (int)

• Store whole numbers → ports, counts, retries.

port = 22
print("Scanning port:", port)

Usage: Port scanning, failed login counters.

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3. Floats (float)

• Store decimal values → delays, timings.

ping_time = 0.534
print("Response time:", ping_time, "sec")

Usage: Latency in ping sweeps, timing attacks.

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4. Booleans (bool)

• True/False values → conditions.

is_alive = True
if is_alive:
    print("Target is up!")

Usage: Service status (open/closed), login success/failure.

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5. Lists (list)

• Ordered, changeable collections → multiple IPs, payloads.

targets = ["192.168.1.1", "192.168.1.2"]
for ip in targets:
    print("Scanning:", ip)

Usage: Target lists, usernames, passwords.

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6. Tuples (tuple)

• Ordered, immutable collections → fixed data like IP-port pairs.

target = ("192.168.1.5", 443)
print("IP:", target[0], "Port:", target[1])

Usage: Host-port mapping.

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7. Sets (set)

• Unordered, unique values → no duplicates.

ips = {"192.168.1.1", "192.168.1.1", "192.168.1.2"}
print("Unique IPs:", ips)

Usage: Unique IPs in logs, deduplication in scans.

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8. Dictionaries (dict)

• Key-value pairs → configs, credentials, structured results.

creds = {"username": "admin", "password": "toor"}
print("User:", creds["username"])

Usage: Login credentials, HTTP headers, scan reports.

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9. Bytes (bytes)

• Store raw binary data → packets, hashes, encrypted content.

data = b"GET / HTTP/1.1\r\nHost: example.com\r\n\r\n"
print("Raw Request:", data)

Usage:

• Crafting packets with Scapy

• Handling hashes (MD5/SHA256)

• Working with encrypted data

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10. NoneType (None)

• Represents no value / null.

session = None
if session is None:
    print("No active session.")

Usage: No session, no connection, placeholder for empty values.

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Data Type Conversions

Cybersecurity scripts often need conversions (e.g., from strings to integers).

ip_str = "192.168.1.1" port_str = "80" port = int(port_str)   
# 03. Data Types

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Cybersecurity Mini Example (Mixed Types)

target = {
    "ip": "192.168.1.10",       # string
    "ports": [22, 80, 443],     # list of ints
    "status": True,             # bool
    "response_time": 0.21,      # float
    "banner": b"SSH-2.0-OpenSSH", # bytes
    "session": None             # None
}
print(target)

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Quick Reference Table

Data Type	Example	Cybersecurity Usage
String	"admin", "http://example.com"	Payloads, URLs, logs, wordlists
Integer	80, 443	Port numbers, counters
Float	0.532	Response times, delays
Boolean	True, False	Service status, login checks
List	["192.168.1.1", "192.168.1.2"]	Target lists, wordlists
Tuple	("192.168.1.10", 22)	Host-port mapping
Set	{"192.168.1.1", "192.168.1.2"}	Unique IPs, deduplication
Dict	{"user":"admin","pass":"1234"}	Credentials, headers, reports
Bytes	b"SSH-2.0-OpenSSH"	Packets, hashes, encryption
None	None	No session, null value

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Practice Section — Cybersecurity Exercises

Strings

• Create a variable with a SQL injection payload and print it.
• Extract the domain name from "http://example.com/login".

Integers

• Store port numbers in variables and print them.
• Write a loop that prints ports from 20 to 25.

Floats

• Simulate a ping sweep storing different response times as floats.
• Print if latency is > 1.0 sec = "High Latency", else "OK".

Booleans

• Write a script that checks if a given port is 22. If yes, print "SSH detected".

Lists

• Store a list of IP addresses and iterate over them.
• Write a script that checks if "192.168.1.5" exists in the list.

Tuples

• Store an IP and port pair in a tuple. Print both.
• Try modifying the tuple → notice it’s immutable.

Sets

• Store IPs with duplicates in a set. Print the unique IPs.
• Combine two sets of IPs using union().

Dictionaries

• Store credentials in a dictionary and print the username.
• Store open ports of an IP in a dictionary → {"192.168.1.1": [22, 80]}.

Bytes

• Convert the string "Hello" into bytes and print it.

print("Hello".encode())

• Create a fake HTTP request in bytes and print it.

NoneType

• Create a variable session = None.
• Check if session is None and print "No active session".

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Tip: Try combining datatypes. Example:

scan_result = {
    "ip": "192.168.1.5",
    "ports": [22, 80],
    "status": True,
    "banner": b"SSH-2.0-OpenSSH",
    "latency": 0.34,
    "session": None
}
print(scan_result)

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Takeaway:
Each Python data type has a direct role in cybersecurity scripting → from handling payloads and credentials to crafting packets and analyzing logs.

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