Heimdal Security Company: 50+ Cyber Security Online Courses You Should Know About [Updated]

When I started working in the cyber security sector, I brought along my knowledge and experience with marketing, PR and startups.

But in order to really make the most of them, I had to learn about cyber security and REALLY get to know the field.

So I designed a mission for myself:

To find the best cyber security course for beginners that was out there!

The thing is, I had no idea how difficult that would be!

You’d think that, with all the millions of results that Google provides for every search, it would be easy to find the starting point I needed! But that’s not exactly the case…

Finding the perfect cyber security training is difficult because of 3 reasons: 

1. Quality courses for beginners are rare!

There are just not enough cyber security courses for beginners out there! When you want to learn in a very organized manner (like I wanted), you need more than articles and shallow information.

2. Technical lingo is difficult to assimilate without context.

If you can’t speak “cybersec”, you’ll have a difficult time getting stuff done.

I felt that from day one when I started out in this field.

So it took me quite some time to find the right course that would offer context and good examples that could make the professional jargon stick.

3. Delivering information without ACTING on it is USELESS!

This is a very common mistake I’ve seen while doing my research.

If the course isn’t designed to make you ACT ON IT, you’ll just browse through the information and be left with close to nothing in the end.

That’s why we had to do homework in school. That’s why I do my best to practice what I preach on this blog.

Because I want you to save you the hassle I went through, I decided to put together the list below.

What you can expect to find in this list of cyber security courses:

• Free or paid cyber security training resources delivered online

• Training options for both beginners and advanced professionals

• General and specific training possibilities, and link to help you search for a particular subject you may be interested in.

I don’t claim I’ve put together an exhaustive list, so I welcome any recommendations and additions you may find useful.

By combining our experiences, I believe we can arrive to a list that can be used along the road and passed along to those who’d like to SAVE TIME and EFFORT while trying to enhance their knowledge.

So let’s see what cyber security training options are out there and what you can complete online!

ONLINE CYBER SECURITY TRAINING FOR BEGINNERS

Do you have the time, but no money to invest in training yet?

I’m sure many of you are in this situation, which is why I’d like to suggest some FREE options when it comes to learning about cyber security:

Cyber Security for Beginners

After giving it much thought and consideration, we decided to take a step towards sharing our experience and knowledge with others seeking applicable advice. We’re not claiming to be experts, but working in the cyber security field certainly gives you access to information which other people may not get to as easily.

So we organized an online course that would help people get the basic of cyber security through actionable advice. To us, the applicability of this course was essential, which is why we condensed the information in 20 step-by-step lessons that will teach you how to secure your online world.

The course is free and it’s delivered via email. You’ll get a new, helpful lesson each 2 days. You can register right away (it’ll only take a minute – literally)!

Cyber Security for Small Business Owners

If you’re a small business owner, we have something created especially for you. This course has two parts: in the first part, you’ll learn the basics of cyber security from a personal standpoint. Once you’ve nailed down the fundamentals, the second part of the course will teach you how to ensure the must-have safeguards for your business. This includes protecting your clients’ data and adapting to the EU Data Protection Regulation, if your business is located in the EU.

This course is developed by the Heimdal Security team in partnership with the London Digital Security Centre (LDSC).

FutureLearn

Introduction to cyber security – I’ve taken this course myself, and it’s probably one of the best out there! The content is well structured, the assignments are easy to do and you’ll really get substantial knowledge from it.

Cyber Security: Safety at Home, Online, in Life also looks very appealing. The course is 3 weeks long and promises to offer a guided, practical introduction into cyber security for personal use.

Udemy

This is a great platform to look for learning resources!

Here are some of the courses you can find on there:

Cyber Security

Cyber Criminals Want Your Information: Stop Them Cold!

Security Awareness Campaigns (Lite)

If you’re looking for something specific, you can filter the courses on Udemy by applying several filters:

• By price

• By language

• By instructional level

• By features.

This way, you’ll get exactly what you need, without losing hours on end browsing through the courses listed on the platform!

udemy cyber security courses

Canvas Network

Try to see if Introduction to Cybersecurity is right for you.

LEAP

Cyber Security 101 and Cyber Security 201 could be a great way to start your career path in the field. The courses are free, of course, and you can learn whenever you can.

If you want to learn more about the LEAP platform, which is not as widely known as other MOOC platforms, I encourage you to do so.

The Daily Security Tip

While this is not a course per se, it’s a fun and easy way to grow your online security know-how. The way it works is you sign up using your email address to get a security tip every day, for a full year, for free. The tips are actionable and include plenty of examples of how to tweak your security and privacy settings online to better protect yourself and your data. And they’re short, so you can spend 2-3 minutes/day doing something to improve your Internet security.

If you have some budget for your training, you can consider the PAID options below:

Udemy

Introduction to Cyber Security and Be Safe – Cyber and Physical Security For Everyone are two courses that make a very good first impression. If you’re looking to invest some money in your future career (maybe) or in your passion for online safety, these are two very good options.

Concise Courses

Interested in diving into a specific area of the information security industry? Maybe this Malware Awareness Training is an option you will find useful.

And if you want to explore more options, Check the other courses offered by Concise!

ONLINE CYBER SECURITY TRAINING FOR ADVANCED PROFESSIONALS

If you didn’t start from scratch, like I did, and you want to become more proficient at certain cyber security specialties, the recommendations bellow might help.

FREE online training courses for cyber security professionals:

ISIS Laboratory

This course was developed from the materials of NYU Poly’s old Penetration Testing and Vulnerability Analysis course.

MIT Open Courseware

Network and Computer Security and Computer Systems Security are both great options to consider for advancing your professional knowledge at no cost.

OpenSecurityTraining.info

These training options include beginner, intermediate and advanced classes and they’re all FREE of charge! Subjects range from Android forensics to secure coding and vulnerability assessment.

Khan Academy

Intro to Cryptography is a great way to learn about code breaking and how cryptographic methods work.

Rapid 7

Metasploit Unleashed is an ethical hacking training course that will help you dip your toes in the waters of penetration testing for free. And you’ll also be able to make a charitable donation for a good cause, should you feel like it.

Cybrary.it

Cyber Security is an amazing resource of free online cyber security courses for professionals of various levels and experiences. You’ll be able to learn about social engineering, computer forensics, ethical hacking and more, just by investing your time and energy.

Internet Security Tips from Top Experts Ebook

Coursera

Coursera offers plenty of options, being one of the biggest MOOC platforms in the world. You can start with any of the courses we picked below, but you should also explore the course list according to your interest. Don’t forget to use the handy filters: categories, language, if it’s eligible for certifications or specializations and if the course is on demand.

Udemy

A good selection of free courses for more advanced cyber security security professionals includes:

Build Your Own Cyber Lab at Home

CCNA Security 2015 Free Video Boot Camp: CCP And More

Cyber Security For Beginners. Avoid Business Data Breaches

Cyber Security: Build a Secure, Resilient Company 

Introduction to Cyber Security 

How to Get a Job in Cyber Security

Georgia Tech College of Computing

Introduction to information security is presented as “a graduate-level introductory course in information security,” so you should be prepared for a structured way to learn a lot about the fundamental elements of information security.

Looking to get more info about this particular program? You can find it right here.

SANS Cyber Access

By taking this course, you’ll be able to explore the three fundamental areas of information security: Operating Systems, Networking and Systems Administration. You’ll consolidate both your skills and knowledge, so you can start whenever you’re ready.

OpenLearn

An introduction to information security requires that you’re quite advanced in your knowledge of cyber security. The course focuses on the importance of cyber security in a business context, while also emphasizing its impact on the organization. Very useful for those who want to grow and reach higher ranks in their company’s cyber security department.

There will be one million cyber security job openings in 2016 – what will do about this opportunity?

If you’re a cyber security professional, you’ll certainly agree with me when I say that:

Investing in your continuous development is ESSENTIAL!

So if you’re already set on spending some money (wisely) on a great training program, I have made a list for you as well:

PAID online training courses for cyber security professionals:

Carnegie Mellon University, Software Engineering Institute, CERT Division

They list 3 major categories of course and you can find them all listed on this page:

• Incident Handling

• Network & Software Security

• Risk Assessment & Insider Threat.

CERT is a major institution when it comes to cyber security training, so you can fully rely on their resources to help you achieve your professional development goals!

SANS Institute

They also offer Online Security Training, so do check it out, because they’re as trustworthy as CERT in the field. You can take the course in various forms, from on-demand to live or through self study, whichever fits your way or learning best.

Coursera

We have to mention them again, because on Coursera you’ll find an entire specialization dedicated to Cybersecurity Fundamentals, which will help you earn the following knowledge and abilities:

• Usable Security

• Software Security

• Cryptography

• Hardware Security

The specialization is created and taught by professors and specialists from the University of Maryland, College Park, and also by industry specialists.

cybersecurity fundamentals coursera

Canvas Network

Information Security and Risk Management: An Overview will help you become more aware of the legal implications of managing cyber security in organizations. Study topics include:

• Information security strategies and individual privacy

• Legal security implications

• Medical health record confidentiality and integrity

• Cutting-edge technologies.

Learning Tree

From “Cyber Security for Management and the Boardroom” to “Cyber Security: Accessibility and Quality“, LearningTree offers a wide range of courses for infosec professionals.

You should take your time to read the course descriptions thoroughly before starting a course and see where they fit in your career path.

Stanford University

You can pick your favorite from various courses offered by this prestigious educational institution:

Software Security Foundations

Network Security

Emerging Threats & Defenses

Mind you that these courses require advanced skills and knowledge to complete.

Security Tube

Security training online courses provides at least two interesting subjects to study:

• USB Forensics

• Android Security and Exploitation and almost a dozen others to consider.

PentesterAcademy

Here you’ll find some very technical and very specific courses, such as:

• Python for Pentesters

• Scripting Wi-Fi Pentesting Tools in Python

• Wi-Fi Security and Pentesting and more.

These courses boast using real-world scenarios which will help you try your hand at situations that you can come across in your professional practice.

The Virus Doctor

Advanced Techniques for Virus Removal is a great course for those involved in the business of computer repairs and assistance. As technology evolves, more people will need help with identifying malware infections and mitigating their impact, so this course could help you improve your business.

Infosec Institute

As the name says, the Infosec Institute focuses on helping cyber security and IT professionals keep the extra-fast pace of the field they work in.

The list of live courses if very appealing, as you can see from the sample below:

• Information Security

• Information Assurance

• IT Audit

• Microsoft

• Cisco

• 8570.1

• CompTIA

• Secure Coding

• Linux

• Project Management

• ITIL.

Conclusion

I really hope that this list of cyber security online courses gives you a good starting point to finding exactly what you need to improve your knowledge and skills!

I could’ve certainly used it when I was doing my research.

Should you have any recommendations, please send them in a comment below and I’ll be happy to add them to the list!

In case you’re also looking for online courses, as well as certification options, I have a resource that you may find useful as well: this list of the Best Information Security Certifications for 2016 put together by Ed Tittel!

And if you’re new to MOOC (massive open online courses), then this article about Coursera, Udacity and edX will help you get a better picture of how you can explore them to your benefit.

Report this Page