What are the top 10 online cyber security courses?
Learn Critical Skills With A Course In Cyber Security
Organizations ranging from governments to corporate giants are revamping their cybersecurity practices around the world in an age of heightened cyber threats. The reality of risks in cyberspace has emerged as a key trend in the last five years, with hacks occurring in almost all sectors of the global economy.
Small companies and businesses have been rudely awakened to the fact that hackers do not consider them too small to hack. On the other hand, frequent hacks of global behemoths like Apple, Microsoft and Google have indicated that no one is truly safe in cyberspace anymore. The hackers have proliferated, their tools have become better with time, and their boldness has only increased to match.
Perhaps the most stunning hacks, however, have been those of governments around the world. Hackers have targeted governments from everywhere, including the U.S. government, the Iranian government, the Russian government, the U.K government, and countless others. These hacks have, at times, exposed seriously sensitive state secrets and aired the country’s’ dirty laundry out in the public eye.
If ever there was a time to invest in cybersecurity, this is certainly the time. Businesses, individuals and state actors will want to invest in workers’ cybersecurity skills to be able to compete in today’s world.
1. Intro To Information Security By Georgia Tech
Georgia Tech is one of America’s renowned public research universities. The institution has built a storied career in technology education and innovation since its inception in 1885. Located in Atlanta, Georgia, the university is part of the University System of Georgia. Ranked 7th in the U.S. amongst public national universities, the university gets a top billing for its engineering and technology programs.
The Intro to Information Security course is a beginner-friendly cybersecurity course that the university has designed as a basic introduction to cybersecurity. While it caters to those with no prior experience in cyber-security, the course does require prior exposure to programming, since it takes a hands-on approach to the subject of cybersecurity. The course will teach students technical skills in providing and evaluating cybersecurity in information systems. Systems covered in the course include operating systems, networked systems, protocols and others.
Georgia Tech has packed the course with lots of valuable information, and procured a team of leading industry professionals to design and teach the course. The course is self-paced and can be taken for free from Udacity. Upon completing the course, you will understand cybersecurity at a practical level. In addition, you will understand the role of cybersecurity in business risk, public policy and the social issues that surround the cybersecurity field.
2. Cybersecurity Fundamentals by Rochester Institute of Technology
The Cybersecurity Fundamentals course by the Rochester Institute of Technology is a state of the art introduction to the field of cybersecurity. The course enables students to master the foundations of cybersecurity, beginning from first principles. You will learn how to identify threats, methods for eliminating threats, combatting digital espionage and how to secure networks against attacks.
The course goes into significant depth to equip you with up to date information in order to contribute in a career role in cybersecurity. Learners will become acquainted with the various branches of cyber security, including topics like algorithms and cryptography. In addition, students will learn how networks work, how to administer cyberspace systems as well as malware and forensics.
Given the comprehensive grasp of the course, students need full eight weeks to complete the course. Though it costs $150 to pay for a certificate, students can also opt to attend the course entirely free. This is especially helpful to those taking the course for personal interest and who perhaps have no need of a certificate as such.
3 Introduction to Cyber Security By FutureLearn
FutureLearn’s introductory cybersecurity course is a great way to enter the field. It targets beginners who are cognizant of the ever-growing role of online services in everyday life. The critical skills in cyber security that you will learn will allow you to safeguard your digital activities. The course emphasizes how closely tied our lives are to online technology, whether we are shopping, working or playing. You will therefore learn how to identify threats in cyberspace and how to eliminate cyber threats. The course lasts 8 weeks, and demands 3 hours per week. Even for those with limited time on their hands, this will be a light schedule. You can take the course for free, or upgrade it for $84.
4 Penetration Testing and Ethical Hacking by Cybrary
This free course by Cybrary is for those who want to make a career out of cybersecurity and hacking. The course will teach you how to attack networks using the same methods that an attacker would employ. From this education arise the lessons and methods of protecting the system from attacks.
The duration of the course is between 13.5 hours and 20 hours. The difficuilty level is medium and it goes into considerable depth on important cyber security topics. The course will cover subjects like system hacking, phases of penetration testing, trojans, viruses and worms, denial of service as well as the hacking of web servers.
5 Software Security by University of Maryland
For an introduction to the fundamentals of software security, you will want to take this Software Security course by the University of Maryland, College Park. Available online through Coursera, the course covers the software vulnerabilities that attacks can exploit. These include SQL injection, session hijacking as well as buffer overflows.
The course will present techniques for defending against or mitigating a variety of software attacks. You will learn advanced testing techniques as well as procedures for the analysis of programs.
To be able to dive in successfully, you will want to have prior programming experience with a programming language such as C++ or Java.
6 The Complete Cyber Security & Hacking Course by EH Academy
EH Academy presents this comprehensive course on cyber security and hacking. You will learn techniques such as cryptography, reverse engineering, intelligence gathering as well as the writing of exploits.
The course covers multiple aspects of ethical hacking. Its emphasis on vulnerabilities and how to find them, as well as Network infrastructures, makes it ideal for those who want to pursue careers in cyber security.
7 Information Security: Context and Introduction by University of London
This course by University of London will introduce you to the topics and context surrounding information security. The introductory material includes cryptography, network security and security management. You will learn key information that will develop your skills and enable you to study more advanced topics in cyber security.
For those with an interest in pursuing careers in the field, this course will present different career paths and show you how to go about pursuing them.
8 Python for Security Professionals by Cybrary
To take this important cyber security course successfully, prior experience with computer programming will be helpful. If you have not coded, however, this course presents a practical, but challenging introduction to the topic.
The focus right away is on subjects with cyber security applications. You will learn basic to advanced Python. Some of the code you will work on, includes a packet analyzer, networking in Python, Python data structures as well as post exploitation hacking.
This course will improve your technical skills in cyber security and the control of the software at a hands on level. You will learn how the software works and how to make cyber security software for your own purposes.
9 The Bible of Hacking by EH Academy
EH Academy’s Bible of Hacking courses teaches you ethical hacking, enabling you to pursue a career as a cyber security analyst. In the challenging field of cyber security, professionals are judged on the basis of their technical skills and ability to combat the most virulent threats.
This course will teach you the processes that a hacker would use to exploit cyber systems. You will also learn how to conduct penetration tests as well as numerous important aspects of hacking. The skills you learn will enable you to pursue a certificate in ethical hacking.
10 Advanced Penetration Testing by Cybrary
The premier resource for mastering cyber security, Cybrary delivers a top notch course in this advanced course on penetration testing. In this course, you will learn how to attack websites using techniques like SQL injection, cross-site scripting, as well as local and remote file inclusion. The course lasts between 14.5 hours and 20 hours.
Different modules cover advanced material that you may have been introduced to before in your cybersecurity journey. These include exploiting development, Python programming for cyber security, smartphone penetration testing and traffic capture. This course will give you a thorough grounding in some of the most advanced techniques for cyber attacks and testing.
Gain The Skills For A Career In Cyber Security
Your options today for learning cyber security range from the fast and easy to the challenging. While beginners will want to start with a basic course such as Introduction to Cyber Security by FutureLearn, those with more experience can aim higher. The course on Python for Security Professionals, or Advanced Penetration Testing, will help the professional advance a career in cyber security. With these courses, you will be well on your way to develop your skills in cyber security.
