Best Online Cyber Security Course: Certification In 2023

You might be looking for the best online course in cyber security. In this article, I have reviewed and compared top classes with university accreditation and certification.

I think a career in cyber security is a very good choice. Information professionals who have expertise in this subject and who can protect sensitive data are in very high demand.

No industry has escaped digitization. As more and data is becoming digital, the chances of security breach are increasing day by day.

The current workforce gap in U.S. for cybersecurity professionals is nearly 500,000 and the global gap is over 4 million.

Jobs in cybersecurity in the US are expected to grow 31% by 2030.

~ U.S. Bureau of labor statistics

If you want to start your career in cyber security, this article will help you to find the best online class for cyber security.

Best Online Cyber Security Courses Online: Review of Top Certification Classes

1. Best Overall – Cybersecurity for Business Specialization (University of Colorado)
2. Best for Beginners – Cybersecurity Specialization (University of Maryland)
3. Best Intermediate Course – Introduction to Cyber Security Specialization (New York University)
4. Best for Graduation – MicroMasters® Program in Cybersecurity (Rochester Institute of Technology)
5. Best Value for Money – Hack Yourself First: How to go on the Cyber-Offense
6. Best Introductory Course – Introduction to Cybersecurity

Read the detailed review of each course below.

1. Cybersecurity for Business Specialization (University of Colorado) – Coursera

Discover the practical side of computer security. Identify what threatens your business and master how to defend against those threats practically.

Coursera offers this specialization with an accredited certification from the University of Colorado.

This specialization will introduce you to practical computer security by teaching you how you use security in the business world.
This course is for those who want to

• Understand how to defend computer systems and assets from attackers and other threats.
• Understand how threats and attacks are carried out to help better defend their systems.

It can be helpful for senior business leaders to middle management and system administrators, so they can all speak the same language and get a better handle on their organization’s security.

Additionally, the course material may help you pass some industry-leading computer security examinations such as Security+ and CISSP.

What Will You Learn

• Identify risks and learn how to protect systems given real-world system architectures.
• Assess real-world data breaches to determine what threats and exploits caused the data breaches and also what defense mechanisms would have prevented the breaches.
• Exploit a live system to show the risks of insecure web applications using proactive security knowledge.

There are 4 Courses in this Specialization

• Introduction to Cybersecurity for Business
• Cyber Threats and Attack Vectors
• Detecting and Mitigating Cyber Threats and Attacks
• Proactive Computer Security

Features

• University of Colorado Certificate
• Flexible Schedule
• Beginner Level
• No prior experience required.
• 5 months (2 hours/week)
• English

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2. Cybersecurity Specialization (University of Maryland) – Coursera

The Cybersecurity Specialization covers the fundamental concepts underlying the construction of secure systems.

This is another specialization offered by Coursera. You can click here to know more about the Coursera learning platform.

It is covered from the hardware to the software to the human-computer interface, using cryptography to secure interactions.

After completing this, you will develop a security-oriented way of thinking, better understanding how to think about adversaries, and how to build systems that defend against them.

There are 5 Courses in this Specialization

• Usable Security
• Software Security
• Cryptography
• Hardware Security
• Cybersecurity Capstone Project

Note on Capstone Frequency Project (5th course):

Please note that Cybersecurity Capstone Project sessions only run 3-4 times a year, depending on course team availability and learner interest.

Please keep this in mind as you enroll in the Capstone program.

While you will still be able to access certain elements of the course between sessions, you will not be able to submit assignments or be grouped into teams unless you are in an actively running session.

Features

• University of Maryland Certificate
• Flexible Schedule
• Beginner Level
• Some related experience required.
• 8 months (2 hours/week)
• English

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3. Introduction to Cyber Security Specialization (New York University) – Coursera

Introduction to Cyber Security is designed to help learners develop a deeper understanding of modern information and system protection technology and methods.

This is one more specialization with a New York University certificate offered by Coursera.

Students, developers, managers, engineers, and even private citizens will benefit from this learning experience.

Specially customized interviews with industry partners were included to help connect the cyber security concepts to live business experiences.

This specialization aims to help learners develop the habit of properly assessing and improving cyber risk posture in real computing, networking, and software systems.

What Will You Learn

• Summarize the main purpose of cyber security as a discipline
• Summarize the basics of identification and authentication in cyber security
• Explain the pros and cons of security through obscurity
• Develop a lifelong learning plan for potential careers in cyber security

There are 4 Courses in this Specialization

• Introduction to Cyber Attacks
• Cyber Attack Countermeasures
• Real-Time Cyber Threat Detection and Mitigation
• Enterprise and Infrastructure Security

Features

• New York University Certificate
• Flexible Schedule
• Beginner Level
• Familiarity with IT management and concepts required
• 4 months (4 hours/week)
• English

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4. MicroMasters® Program in Cybersecurity (Rochester Institute of Technology) – edX

This program is a series of graduate-level courses from top universities designed to advance your career.

It is on one of the best learning platforms, edX. You can click here to know more about edX learning platform.

You will gain essential knowledge and expertise in network security and forensics.

You will need these for cybersecurity in enterprise environments.

What you will learn

• How to setup and secure basic computer systems and networks
• Information security risk management framework and methodologies
• How to implement network security solutions and detect intrusions
• How to conduct a digital forensics investigation admissible to a court
• To practice cybersecurity skills in real-world scenarios

Courses in this program

• Cybersecurity Fundamentals
• Computer Forensics
• Cybersecurity Risk Management
• Network Security
• Cybersecurity Capstone

Features

• Rochester Institute of Technology Certificate
• Schedule is Instructor-led
• Assignments and exams have specific due dates
• 5 graduate-level courses
• Familiarity with IT management and concepts required
• 10 Months (10-12 hours/week)
• English

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5. Hack Yourself First: How to go on the Cyber-Offense – Pluralsight

This Pluralsight course is about developers building up cyber-offense skills and proactively seeking security vulnerabilities in their websites before an attacker does.

Know more about Pluralsight as a learning platform here.

This course will identify cyber security risks and vulnerabilities by attacking and hacking into your own website.

If you want to learn how to hack and improve the security of their code, this is for you.

What you will learn

• Transport Layer Protection
• Cross-Site Scripting (XSS)
• Secure cookies
• Internal Implementation Disclosure
• Parameter tampering
• SQL Injection & testing for injection risks
• Cross-Site Attacks & anti-forgery tokens

Syllabus

• Introduction
• Transport Layer Protection
• Cross-Site Scripting (XSS)
• Cookies
• Internal Implementation Disclosure
• Parameter Tampering
• SQL Injection
• Cross-Site Attacks
• Account Management

Features

• Pluralsight Certificate
• Flexible Schedule
• Intermediate Level
• Familiarity with web development practices required
• 9 Hour 25 Min
• English

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6. Introduction to Cybersecurity – Udacity

You can learn the skills required to become a security professional with the Introduction to Cybersecurity Nanodegree program.

This program is offered by Udacity. Udacity helps you with real-world projects, project reviews, project feedback from experienced reviewers during the course.

It offers good and improved technical support plus the student community for a better experience.

What you will learn

• How to evaluate, maintain, and monitor the security of computer systems.
• How to assess threats, respond to incidents, and implement security controls to reduce risk and meet security compliance goals.

Syllabus

• Cybersecurity Foundations
• Defending and Securing Systems
• Threats, Vulnerabilities, and Incident Response
• Governance, Risk, and Compliance

Features

• Udacity Certificate
• Flexible Schedule
• Intermediate Level
• Basic knowledge of network connectivity and OS fundamentals required
• 4 months (10 hours/week)
• English

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Conclusion

Cyber security is the one good career option for your life.

If you want to go for it as a permanent path, you better go for a university-accredited course.

But if you just want to learn things about it, you can choose an easy way to go.

Over To You

So which course did you choose to learn?

You can tell that in the comment section. I am waiting for your answers.