Best online cyber security courses

The demand for cybersecurity professionals continues to skyrocket and so there's never been a better time to either get into the industry or improve your skills. Whether you are looking to start a new career in cybersecurity, upskill your team, or earn a globally recognized certification, the right training can make all the difference.

This guide compiles the best online cybersecurity courses available today, catering to total beginners, entry-level security professionals, right up to experienced professionals trying to take their knowledge to the next level.

The majority of the courses below offer comprehensive coverage of the world of cybersecurity, including network security, threat detection, incident response, and understanding malware, while others are dedicated to boosting your skills you might need to specialize. Regardless of your existing capabilities, this list has a course perfect for you to continue in your journey to becoming a skilled cybersecurity professional.

Best online cyber security courses for 2025

The Complete Cyber Security Course: Hackers Exposed

Best for cyber security beginners

Organisation: Udemy

Course cost: £64.99 / $79.99 (but can often be found on sale)

Course link: The Complete Cyber Security Course for Beginners: Hackers Exposed

Udemy is a well-known online education platform that has a wide range of courses on cybersecurity and could be the perfect place to start if you are a beginner looking to enter the field.

The Hacker Exposed course has been one of the top cybersecurity courses available on Udemy for a number of years. The course was developed by Nathan House, an award-winning cybersecurity expert and educator who is currently the CEO at StationX, which is a training platform dedicated to teaching cybersecurity.

Featuring 12 hours of on-demand video content, this course will give you a basic grounding in cybersecurity, running the full gamut of security issues that businesses face on a daily basis. If you are looking to start your journey in cybersecurity and build a practical skill set that security professionals will need including learning about encryption, physical and virtual compartmentalization, tracking, and the infrastructure used in cyber attacks.

In addition to the basic tenets of cyber defense, you will also receive up-to-date information on the latest malware and attack techniques so you can help keep organizations safe and forge your career in cybersecurity.

Although you won't receive any formal accreditation except for a certificate of competition, this course is ideal for those with little existing knowledge looking to get to grips with the industry and go on to achieve more in-depth certifications that will help you land your next security role.

The Complete Cyber Security Course: Network Security

Best introduction to networking

Organisation: Udemy

Course cost: £64.99 / $79.99 (but can often be found on sale)

Course link: The Complete Cyber Security Course: Network Security

If you want to get into cybersecurity, understanding the basics of networking is essential and this course, also found on Udemy, is a perfect companion to the course above that focuses solely on network security.

The corporate network is the lifeblood of any organization's digital infrastructure, and thus having a firm grasp of how this part of the IT estate works and how attackers might try to exploit it to infect your systems is vital.

Also created by Nathan House, this training program will teach you how to detect security vulnerabilities, configure and architect a small network to maximize security, as well as monitoring techniques to detect hackers and malware lurking on the network.

You will also learn how to configure firewalls, the fundamental tool in the arsenal of the network defender, across all major platforms including Windows, macOS, and Linux.

The 12.5 hours of video content also covers helpful skills like how to get the most out of different authentication methods such as multi-factor using soft or hard tokens, as well as password management, and Wireshark –useful for analyzing network traffic.

As with the previous entry, this course will help give you the grounding you will need to go on and qualify for more intensive certifications, but even if you choose to go no further down the network security pathway, it's very helpful to have a base level understanding in any security role.

Cybersecurity Courses for Beginners My Training Academy

Best for those looking to retrain quickly

Organisation: Open University (OU)

Course cost: £895 (also often on sale currently at £395) / $1,191 (conversion)

Course link: BSc (Hons) Cyber Security from the Open University

For those looking to get a more holistic level of training in all of the important aspects of security, and trying to do so quickly, My Training Academy's (MTA) CyberSecurity Courses for Beginners may be for you.

This course from MTA is a brilliant option for the uninitiated cyber professional looking to get up to speed in the industry and accredited through the CompTIA cybersecurity career pathway, considered by many to be the gold standard for entry-level cybersecurity qualifications.

The MTA program is highly customizable, allowing students to choose exactly which modules they want to take in their order of preference and get certified across all of CompTIA's core skills courses: Tech+, A+, Network+, Security+. These four courses will give you a strong foundation in the fundamental principles of cybersecurity, IT infrastructure, networking, risk management, and threat mitigation.

The program runs over the course of a year with 116 hours of training including online video tutorials, workbooks, mock exams at the end of each module, as well as revision materials for the actual exam.

This course will set you back quite a bit more than both Udemy courses put together, and that doesn't include the actual fees to take the exams themselves, but it will take you a bit further in becoming proficient as a cyber professional and pick up the certifications you will need to progress through the industry.

Google Cybersecurity Professional Certificate

Best budget option to get hands-on experience with security fundamentals

Organisation: Google

Course cost: $49 / £49 per month with a free 7-day trial

Course link: Google Cyber Security training

If you can't afford to fork out for the MTA training program then the Google Cybersecurity Professional Certificate offers a more budget-friendly option to earn a professional cybersecurity certificate that will also help prepare you for the CompTIA Security+ exam.

The self-paced study program hosted on Coursera features 170 hours of instruction broken up into eight different courses and is charged with a $49 monthly fee and a seven-day free trial period, meaning at a moderate pace you could complete the course within three months and achieve the certification for under $200.

In addition to the expert instruction covering the entire security workload from managing risks, network security, vulnerabilities, detection and response, and automation, the Google program also includes hundreds of practical assessments.

These hands-on labs help mimic real-world cybersecurity scenarios to help you get a feel for how to successfully defend threats in the field. Students will gain a firm grounding in Python, Linux, SQL, security incident and event management (SIEM) tools, and Intrusion Detection Systems (IDS), all vital tools of the trade for any budding security professional.

On top of this, once you complete the program you will get access to Google's private job boards that feature positions at the company as well as 150 other major US organizations including American Express, Deloitte, T-Mobile, and Walmart. Many of these openings will appear first in this exclusive area making this course a valuable option for those looking to get upskilled as well as a headstart on the competition.

Hack The Box Certified Defensive Security Analyst

Best intermediate-level cybersecurity certification

Organisation: Hack the Box

Course cost: $490 / £362 (conversion)

Course link: Hack The Box Certified Defensive Security Analyst

If you are looking to bridge the gap between foundational knowledge and the more advanced defensive tactics possessed by a SOC analyst, Hack The Box's Certified Defensive Security Analyst (CDSA) is an excellent choice.

To be eligible for the CDSA, candidates need to complete Hack The Box's SOC Analyst job-role path which is a guided learning experience that not only covers some of the more foundational concepts covered in other courses but quickly ramps up to more advanced topics such as malware analysis in much more detail.

Much like the Google certificate, the CDSA includes hands-on training and goes a step further by testing your practical skills requiring students to perform actual security operations and incident handling activities across a number of different environments.

Although the course is aimed at entry-level security personnel, the CDSA is more advanced than some of the more beginner-friendly courses listed previously but manageable for intermediates with basic cybersecurity knowledge like the CompTIA Security+ or Network+.

With its combination of hands-on labs simulating enterprise environments under attack, guided exercises breaking down defensive techniques step by step, and challenge-based assessments, it will quickly help you make strides in progressing toward a more advanced understanding of security operations and incident handling.

Overall the certification costs $499, which while not cheap will stand you in good stead in becoming a more proficient security professional and help you on your way to achieving more advanced level qualifications.

Cybersecurity for Managers: A Playbook

Best for course business executives

Organisation: MIT Sloan School of Management

Course cost: $2,950 (£2,350) - early registration discount available

Course link: Cybersecurity for Managers: A Playbook

Firmly aimed at business owners and managers who need to expand and enhance their cyber security skills and knowledge, this course is far-reaching and offers comprehensive modules that cover all cyber security topics, focusing on developing a strategic in-depth cyber security defence policy for businesses.

Based on the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) Cybersecurity Framework, the course is ideal for CISOs and CTOs looking to enhance their skills. The topics offer an overview and more detailed training across six modules that begin with understanding the threat landscape and conclude with ethics and cyber security.

Students who complete the course will gain a verified digital certificate of completion from the MIT Sloan School of Management. This program also counts towards an MIT Sloan Executive Certificate.

The six modules included provide an opportunity to test out different budget scenarios for protection, detection, and response using interactive cyber security simulation, as well as offering various case studies and examples to maximise the experience. Additionally, you’ll be able to create a personalised cyber security playbook that ties these insights together into a robust action plan for your business.

NextGenT Cyber Security Program

Best intensive cyber security course

Organisation: NextGenT

Course cost: $10,500 (£8,366). Early registration discount available.

Course link: NextGenT Cyber Security Program

If you have ambitions to become a cyber security specialist, this detailed course could land you your first job. The course is described as 'military grade' as IT instructors from the US Air Force and Navy have designed the course. Students over 14-24 weeks develop their skills, which includes hands-on training.

The course designers are confident that their students will gain high-salary jobs as one of the payment plan options is an income-based loan that allows you to take the course by paying back 10% of your salary.

Only some courses offer a mix of theory and practical application. Indeed, more than half of this course is delivered via hands-on training. Students can access mentors, regular live training and coaching sessions and workbooks. The organisers are confident that the course they have designed will result in a cyber security job, which has become some of the highest paying tech jobs across the industry.

Post Graduate Program in Cyber Security

Best post-graduate cyber security course

Organisation: Simplilearn, MIT Schwarzman College of Computing and EC Council

Course cost: $3,000 or $264 per month (£2,552 / £212.67)

Course link: Post Graduate Program in Cyber Security

As winners of the Course Report’s Best Cyber security Bootcamp in 2022 for the second year in a row, this course lasts six months (students must allocate between 5-10 hours per week) and boasts a comprehensive syllabus delivered by experts in their field.

With modules designed by MIT Schwarzman College of Computing and EC Council, students can gain world-class knowledge. Over 25 hands-on projects are included, with additional live sessions throughout the course. This post-graduate course concludes with a certified certification in cyber security, application and policy.

Designed as an online boot camp, students will cover general hacking approaches today's threat actors take to network packet analysis, IDS firewalls and honeypots to network security.

Cyber Security Foundations

Cyber Security Foundations

Most flexible online cyber security course

Organisation: EC-Council via Future Learn

Course cost: £36 / $39 per month

Course link: Cyber Security Foundations

Cyber security is just one of the many courses offered by FutureLearn. As part of the more extensive IT and computer science subject, this course consists of four modules in the ExperTrack that cover an introduction to the subject before moving on to more in-depth topics, including how to combat malware attacks, concluding with identity and access management.

The credentials for this course are world-class, coming from the EC Council, which has built a reputation as a renowned international consultancy for e-commerce and is the world's largest cyber security certification body.

Each module runs for four weeks with a commitment of two hours per week. After completing the 15-week course, students will gain practical skills and knowledge to navigate today's cyber security risks. This course is ideal for small enterprises looking to enhance their cyber security skills within their company.