7 Free (or Cheap) Ways to Increase Your Cybersecurity Knowledge
Building cybersecurity skills is a must; paying a lot for the education is optional. Here are seven options for increasing knowledge without depleting a budget.
November 15, 2018
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Cybersecurity isn't free. Sure, there's little cost to users who follow best security practices in their day-to-day actions, but when it comes to learning how to defend against skilled criminals and set up secure systems, there's generally a cost attached. For professionals who know the basics and want to get better at their profession, costs can quickly add up. For smaller organizations, that cost can be prohibitive, but what is the alternative?
It turns out there are ways to boost knowledge and skill without dipping deeply into the operating budget for the year — and if you're a professional who wants to increase your skills, you can do it without endangering your retirement account.
The options range from free training offered by industry groups to online classes provided by major universities. Throw in training that taxes have paid for and regional gatherings, and you have an array of possibilities that can go a long way toward boosting the value and usefulness of most security pros — or those IT professionals who want to add "security" to their portfolio.
There are costs associated with many of these - and not necessarily in dollars. For instance, few of the free offerings provide certifications of class completion: If you want a (virtual) piece of paper, you'll have to pay up. And if you want the work to lead to a degree, you'll have to pay more. But even in those cases, the options in this list are likely much more affordable than most commercial training courses. At the very least, these can be a good way to brush up on skills, or a way for an IT pro to find out whether security is a path they want to tread.
(Image: Alexas_Fotos)
Feel like a good DIY project? Looking for materials to use to train an internal team? Or are you just the sort who likes to look through the instruction materials and draw your own conclusions? If any of these apply, then the material on OpenSecurityTraining.info might be just what you need.
According to the site, OpenSecurityTraining, "is dedicated to sharing training material for computer security classes, on any topic, that are at least one day long." There are materials for beginner, intermediate, and advanced classes on topics ranging from cryptography to reverse engineering malware.
Everything on OpenSecurityTraining is published under a Creative Commons license, and individuals are encouraged to take the material for use in a person-to-person class that they teach. If you believe in the See One, Do One, Teach One philosophy of training, then the materials on OpenSecurityTraining could be just the ticket for the third phase of expertise.
Cybersecurity isn't free. Sure, there's little cost to users who follow best security practices in their day-to-day actions, but when it comes to learning how to defend against skilled criminals and set up secure systems, there's generally a cost attached. For professionals who know the basics and want to get better at their profession, costs can quickly add up. For smaller organizations, that cost can be prohibitive, but what is the alternative?
It turns out there are ways to boost knowledge and skill without dipping deeply into the operating budget for the year — and if you're a professional who wants to increase your skills, you can do it without endangering your retirement account.
The options range from free training offered by industry groups to online classes provided by major universities. Throw in training that taxes have paid for and regional gatherings, and you have an array of possibilities that can go a long way toward boosting the value and usefulness of most security pros — or those IT professionals who want to add "security" to their portfolio.
There are costs associated with many of these - and not necessarily in dollars. For instance, few of the free offerings provide certifications of class completion: If you want a (virtual) piece of paper, you'll have to pay up. And if you want the work to lead to a degree, you'll have to pay more. But even in those cases, the options in this list are likely much more affordable than most commercial training courses. At the very least, these can be a good way to brush up on skills, or a way for an IT pro to find out whether security is a path they want to tread.
(Image: Alexas_Fotos)
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