Top 7 Cybersecurity Courses & Certifications [For Working Professionals]

In the modern-day virtual world, network and data security are important for any organization. Most of today’s corporate giants such as Microsoft, IBM, and many more, spent a fortune maintaining a highly skilled team of professionals to protect their sensitive data from peeping eyes and readily accept innovative minds to keep up with the changing times.

Furthermore, there are even several service providers that these multi-national conglomerates and small and medium-scale businesses reach out to increase their confidence and maintain their system’s integrity. Some even refer to specialists in case of more twisted problems. The more skilled you are, the more respected you become in this field, and the more chances you have to climb up the corporate ladder.

This generates a massive number of opportunities to boost your career and dive into the realm of Cybersecurity.

To help you in this venture, there are a plethora of best online cybersecurity courses such as post-graduate certification and diploma specialization courses to lay out a solid foundation of concepts and improve your understanding of the problems.

Taught by world-class faculty from top universities and industry experts with several years of experience in a row, the courses are tailored to keep you at the top of your game. The online lectures, combined with case studies and projects, provide hands-on exposure at your convenience.

On top of it all, you get more competitive through participation in hackathons and other such events that give you a crystal clear idea of real-world applications and improve your networking skills and help you make contact with industry leaders and like-minded peers. All this generates a massive chance for you to advance more in your career and step into a whole new corporate world realm.

Top Cyber Security Courses

1. PG Certification in Cyber Security by IIIT Bangalore on upGrad

This is one of the lengthy courses covering every aspect of the field, such as application security, data secrecy, cryptography, and network security, making you a specialist with a rounded education. The program spans over 12 months with a commitment of 10-12 hours on average per week.

Being tailored for working professionals, the course covers several important programming languages and tools of the trade. Also included in the bundle are several hands-on case studies and projects, including a significant capstone project for you to work on.

You also get personalized mentoring and doubt solving sessions with India’s leading Cyber Security faculty and industry leaders to clear out all the concepts and ideas, as well as a forum for general discussion with peers. Along with networking opportunities with a whole new community of cybersecurity enthusiasts, it’s a chance for you to master Cyber Security and make industry connections.

Along with all the instruction and mentoring, the course also prepares you for company interviews through resume reviews and building that desirable profile. You get mock interviews and company-specific preparation to keep you at the top of your game and endure the interview pressure.

On top of it all, you get access to curated resources according to the company as a finishing touch to make you ready to rock your interviews. With such a learning package and experience at a rate this affordable, it is one of the best online cybersecurity courses.

2. Cybersecurity by the University of Essex on upGrad

Well, if wanna go a step further and learn the tricks of the trade from the industry leaders on the global stage, you might want to opt for these courses. Courses not only include the technical details but also entails several other important topics such as management, teamwork, risk assessment, and decision-making skills, which many skip in the race to gain technical competency for the technical aspects, you buildup skills of expert-level such as GIT, Python, Hadoop, Spark, and many more.

If you want to leave nothing behind and cover all aspects of the topic, the MSc program might be the best fit for you.

The courses available are of different duration of 8 months, 12 months, and 16 months with different specializations for your convenience. Although the courses are on the expensive side, you get what you paid for. Combined with all the practice and theoretical knowledge, you turn out to be a learned professional, capable of handling the problems faced. Having prepared this thoroughly, why not get ready for some friendly competition?

Hackathons and projects to the rescue. A hands-on learning experience and networking opportunities don’t just boost your confidence and command attention but also help reinforce the core concepts.

Also Read: Career Scope of Cyber Security

3. IBM Cybersecurity Analyst Professional Course

Take it from the long-standing multi-national conglomerate. It’s one of the best and well-rounded courses on the market. Taught by industry professionals with several years of experience in a row, you develop knowledge and understanding of cybersecurity analyst tools’ workings, including data protection, endpoint protection, SIEM, and systems and network fundamentals.

The duration of the course is not fixed. So take all the time you want to absorb the material. The video lectures are the doubt solving forums are as good as they come. Apart from all that, there are a bunch of articles, podcasts, series, and tutorials for you to select, in case you get curious. It’s free and filled with the same knowledge you’ll get anywhere, perfect for the students.

4. Microsoft Security Administrator Associate Certification

Microsoft’s own certification program for security enthusiasts. A complete package of multiple courses to learn and implement identity and access integrity, threat and information protection, and management of the Microsoft 365 system.

The course is available on the official Microsoft website. You get the technical course material online for your inconvenience, in the form of small videos. Sadly you don’t get specific forums for doubt solving and general discussion, and you will have to look at other sources. Also, most of the software used is not open-sourced, so there is that problem. But the course is free for all, although you will have to pay for the certification exam.

5.  Google Introduction to Cybersecurity

Let’s talk about the biggest giant in the tech world. Google provides one of the best online courses that can serve as the perfect starting point for your entry into the world of Cybersecurity. Introduction to the cybersecurity course is an excellent launch pad for an average student.

It covers all the fundamentals and core concepts such as networks handle routing, DNS, load-balancing, and more. Learn the Linux operating system, and review programming and APIs. There are a bunch of paid and free courses to select from that cater to every level of your intellect.

Apart from that, it also has a plethora of other modules to choose from. But it only serves as an entry point. You will have to do some research on your own to get that extra knowledge.

Also, free and paid certification exams are a good part of it, and Google certification is also a significant flex. So you might want to opt for this. But it would be best if you looked for other sources later, for advanced material and projects. 

6. LinkedIn Cyber Security for IT professionals

LinkedIn is very focused on sending excellent and plenty of learning resources your way and already has a wide array of courses to select from. Its Cybersecurity for IT professionals course is a very sound starting point to build up an excellent foundation.

The resources are presented as a freemium service, and you will have to pay for them after the trial period is over. Nevertheless, the courses like introduction to core concepts are a must-visit for any beginner and have associated materials and projects for you to experiment on.

Also, once completed, you get to show them on your LinkedIn profile. The courses range from foundation concepts to advanced implementation of those concepts to thwart attacks and maintain protection. And are not time-bound. So you get to fiddle around and see what works for you until you settle for that one course.

Must Read: Cyber Security Salary in India

7. Facebook Cybersecurity University For Veterans

Facebook Cybersecurity and Facebook VetWorking teamed up with CodePath.org to teach students or experienced professionals with some CS/IT background the fundamentals of Cybersecurity.

This is one of the more extravagant ones. This course is an offline one and is taught in Seattle, Washington. Involving hands-on challenges such as XSS (Cross-Site Scripting), CSRF (Cross-Site Request Forgery), SQLI (SQL Injection), CTF (Capture The Flag) competition, it is competitive to its core.

After applying to this 12-week course, your application goes through a rigorous process, and upon acceptance, you get to work with a group of like-minded peers and sharpen your skills in the various challenges. Although the course is free, students have to pay for their expenses there. 

Conclusion

The world of Cybersecurity is one of constant shifts and development. Hackers are even more notorious now for getting their hands on sensitive information and profiting off it. New algorithms and software are created to tackle the forever changing threats to the data worth a fortune.

Companies are now invested in securing their data more than ever because, for a company, this does compromise its data and the faith of their clients and customers and their reputation.

For this purpose, they spend a fortune’s worth on maintaining a team of learned professionals with years of experience to secure its humongous amount of data from breach and maintain its integrity. The demand for such a hardworking and talented workforce creates a huge number of job opportunities.

The resources and all the materials you will ever need are at your beck and call. So if one works diligently, follows a set path, and pays attention to detail, they might soon find themselves spearheading a team of peers and getting into their dream jobs.