This post focuses on various platforms that provide free resources on cybersecurity. Today, the importance of cybersecurity is increasing day by day. There are different methods for people who want to improve themselves in this field. One of the first methods that comes to mind is to read various books, take courses, and follow various platforms related to cybersecurity. Some of these methods have advantages and some have disadvantages. Particularly, both reading books and taking courses are methods that lack practice. In addition, these resources are weak in terms of being up to date. For such reasons, it is necessary to follow the platforms on cybersecurity and subscribe to them. In this article, we will discuss ten platforms where you can improve your cybersecurity skills for free:
Cybrary: It is a platform that offers comprehensive course content and hands-on training.
LetsDefend: It allows users to practice with real-world scenarios and SOC (Security Operations Center) focused interactive training.
Khan Academy: It offers a wide range of free courses in computer science and core subjects.
MIT OpenCourseWare: Free online course materials from MIT provide comprehensive content in computer science and engineering.
Coursera: It offers free and paid courses on many subjects in cooperation with universities and organizations.
Udemy: It is a platform with a large user base and free and paid courses on a wide range of topics.
SANS Cyber Aces: It provides free training that focuses on the fundamentals of cybersecurity.
Cisco Networking Academy: It offers comprehensive courses and hands-on training on network security and management.
OWASP Foundation: It is a community that provides guides, tools, and open-source projects on web application security.
edX: It offers a wide range of learning opportunities with courses from prestigious universities.
These platforms provide a wide range of learning opportunities to improve your cybersecurity skills and offer a great foundation for continuous improvement. These platforms have several advantages such as easy accessibility, a variety of training materials, the ability to practice, and certification. You can also get community support from the users of such platforms. In addition, such platforms generally keep themselves up to date. Since cybersecurity is constantly developing and changing, it is necessary to adapt to this. You should stay up to date. Such reasons increase the interest in these platforms today. In this article, ten of the most popular free platforms are examined in different aspects. Each of them also has its own features that are better or open to improvement.
Cybrary is a platform that offers a variety of training and courses, both paid and free, in areas such as cybersecurity and IT. The platform offers courses ranging from beginner to advanced level. The best feature of these courses is that they are in video format. This platform provides hands-on cybersecurity training and courses for experts to better defend their organizations and institutions. It serves the goal with selected skills and career paths. One of the best features of the platform is that it provides online courses and tools that allow people to learn at any time and from anywhere.
The platform includes comprehensive course content, community support, and hands-on training. It offers a wide range of courses in cybersecurity and IT. There is strong community interaction and support among users. In addition, the best feature of the platform is that it provides users with a variety of labs and hands-on training.
LetsDefend is a SOC (Security Operations Center) platform that allows users to experience real-world scenarios. The biggest difference between LetsDefend and other cybersecurity platforms is that it focuses on the defense side of cybersecurity, which is the blue team. Users can gain practical skills by analyzing security and responding to incidents. The most difficult situation for cybersecurity employees is not knowing what to do when faced with a real case. Although personnel often have technical competence, they are sometimes unable to perform the analysis due to high stress. To avoid such situations, testing attack scenarios in advance helps the employee improve technically and mentally. In most of the cases, employees race against time. This platform offers sample playbooks that employees can use in cases. With these playbooks, they will learn the actions to be taken according to the situation from the moment of the incident.
The training, courses, and challenges on the platform are real-time and practical, following current threats. It provides the opportunity to connect to both Linux and Windows machines and perform live checks on the systems. Users can improve themselves on how to examine case-specific logs and which paths to check. The platform includes training programs for all levels. There are also special paths for people in different roles in cybersecurity such as specially prepared training, courses, and challenges for roles such as Security Analyst, Incident Responder, Detection Engineer, Cloud Engineer, DFIR, and Information Security Specialist. The purpose is to provide self-development according to the expertise of the users. In addition, after the alerts on the platform are solved by the users, they encounter various questions. If they have problems with these questions, users are provided with a written report about each alert to resolve them. The alerts are explained in detail in these reports. To summarize, LetsDefend offers realistic simulations, continuous development, and interactive training.
Khan Academy is a popular educational platform that offers free lessons and resources in many areas. Khan Academy is not a platform specific to the cybersecurity field like the other two platforms, therefore, it will contribute to your development not only in cybersecurity but also in computer science, networking, and basic fields. One of the most important features of this platform is that it gives free training and has a wide user base. However, since cybersecurity is a comprehensive field, there are many areas in which people need to improve themselves in advance. It provides a variety of free courses on topics such as basic computer science, network knowledge, and basic scripting which is useful to learn before specializing in cybersecurity. These tutorials are available in the form of articles, exercises, courses, and videos. It would be an improvement for this platform to increase the number of courses on advanced or specific topics related to cybersecurity.
MIT OpenCourseWare includes free online course materials offered by the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). It provides course materials on many topics including cybersecurity and computer science. It offers lecture notes, videos, and other materials from world-renowned MIT instructors. It offers comprehensive content on computer science and engineering topics. Another nice feature is that all content is free and accessible to everyone. The content is mostly in the form of lecture notes and videos. Therefore, it will not meet the demands of those who want to learn through hands-on learning. The content here is more formal and the tone is heavier than on other platforms. Lecture notes, PDFs, videos, and exams on the platform can be downloaded free of charge. This allows users to improve themselves in environments where internet access is limited.
Coursera is an educational platform that collaborates with universities and organizations around the world to offer free and paid courses on many topics. There are also many courses in cybersecurity. The platform offers courses and certificates from universities and well-known organizations. It offers courses in many areas from cybersecurity to artificial intelligence, data science to software engineering. You can find different levels of courses prepared by different people or institutions. This will allow you to get the appropriate training according to your level. It offers the opportunity to learn at your own pace and complete courses in accordance with time management. You can obtain official certificates from universities or organizations for completed courses, which is beneficial for career development.
Udemy is a platform with a large user base and courses on different topics. It has a structure where anyone can create and offer courses. Users can find courses on a wide range of topics such as cybersecurity, software development, and cloud security. Udemy offers some courses for free and some for a fee. However, with frequent discounts and campaigns, courses become quite affordable. There are quality training opportunities with courses taught by experienced and expert instructors. The platform enables users to reinforce what they have learned with tests, quizzes, and practical applications related to cybersecurity.
SANS Cyber Aces is a platform that offers free courses on basic cybersecurity topics. SANS Institute is a well-known and respected organization in the field of cybersecurity and the courses contain reliable information. Focusing on core topics such as network security, operating system security, and system administration, it provides a solid foundation for beginners. Through various simulations and hands-on scenarios, users learn how to apply what they have learned in the real world. There is an active community where course participants can share their experiences and knowledge. You can get in touch with people who have gone through similar stages of development with this platform. It will enable you to eliminate the areas in which you are lacking. It should be noted that common problems have common solutions. In addition, the platform offers comprehensive training materials and guides that allow users to learn on their own.
Cisco Networking Academy is a training platform that focuses on network security and management. Network security can be considered as the foundation of cybersecurity. Therefore, you need to be good at network security in order to avoid future problems in cybersecurity. It offers comprehensive courses to prepare for CCNA and other Cisco certifications. This will help you improve in the field of network security. Hands-on training and lab work in network management and security give students real-world experience. It offers accessible courses and multilingual training materials anywhere in the world. It reaches a wide range of students by collaborating with schools, universities, and various educational organizations. Cisco Networking Academy graduates have access to a variety of career opportunities through Cisco's extensive business network.
OWASP (Open Web Application Security Project) is a community project providing open-source web application security projects and guides. All projects, guides, and tools are open-source and freely accessible. It offers the opportunity to collaborate and share knowledge with an active security community worldwide. Leading security guides, such as the OWASP Top 10, are considered industry standard. It provides a wide range of resources for cybersecurity professionals with different security tools, software, and documents. They encourage knowledge sharing by regularly organizing seminars, conferences, and training events. Open-source projects and guides on the platform will help you go one step further in cybersecurity. The frameworks on the platform are accepted and actively used by organizations. The platform is important for both you and the organization you work for.
edX is an educational platform that offers free and paid courses in partnership with universities and educational institutions worldwide. Courses from prestigious universities such as Harvard and MIT enable users to gain academic knowledge. Users who complete the courses can obtain certificates issued by the universities. There is a wide range of courses in many fields such as cybersecurity, artificial intelligence, and data science. The platform offers users rich learning content with video lectures, articles, quizzes, and assignments. Forums and discussion boards encourage students to interact with each other and exchange information.
As a result, there is an abundance of free and high-quality resources for those looking to improve their cybersecurity skills. Platforms like Cybrary and LetsDefend offer hands-on experiences and real-world scenarios, while platforms like Khan Academy and MIT OpenCourseWare focus on strengthening basic computer science and cybersecurity knowledge. Education platforms such as Coursera, Udemy, and edX meet the needs of learners of all levels with a wide range of topics and course options at different levels. SANS Cyber Aces and Cisco Networking Academy guide those who want to gain basic cybersecurity and network security knowledge, while OWASP Foundation offers more advanced experience with its open-source tools and interaction with security communities. These resources are of a variety and quality to help you gain the knowledge and skills you need to get ahead in your cybersecurity career. It is important to remember that continuous learning and practice in this dynamic and rapidly changing field is one of the most important elements for a successful cybersecurity career.
Each of these platforms offers different advantages and possibilities for developing cybersecurity skills. However, users should consider the strengths and areas for improvement of each to choose the platform that best suits their learning needs and goals or you can follow more than one platform. What one lacks in one area, the other may excel in. We hope this article will be useful for anyone who wants to improve themselves in the field of cybersecurity!
