Learn Cybersecurity Skills With These 4 Online Courses

The Introduction to Cybersecurity specialization is offered by New York University's Tandon School of Engineering. Though the course is introductory, some familiarity with IT management and concepts could be helpful. You'll gain skills like cryptography, risk assessment, cyber defense and information security.

The cybersecurity program specialization is made up of four courses -- Introduction to Cyber Attacks, Cyber Attack Countermeasures, Real-time Cyber Threat Detection and Mitigation, and Enterprise and Infrastructure Security. Coursera estimates it takes about four months to complete the specialization. 

What it costs: Coursera operates more like a traditional online college course with enrollment windows. Sometimes the certificates you earn can apply as credit at an institution, but it has to be stated. When you sign up for Coursera, you get a seven-day free trial, and then it starts at $59 a month. You can also choose to audit the class for free, which lets you read and view the course content only. 

This course from Paul Rosenzweig, a professorial lecturer in law at The George Washington University Law School, is meant to help you understand the structure of the internet, the dangers that come with it, and ultimately how to manage and reduce them. Over 18 lectures, Rosenzweig delves into specific cybersecurity topics including vulnerabilities, viruses, big data, the government's role in cybersecurity, how privacy should or shouldn't be defined, and the global spread of information.

What it costs: The Great Courses doesn't have a flat subscription fee like Skillshare. Rosenzweig's course costs $30 on instant video, $20 on instant audio or $50 on DVD. At the time of publication, there's a sale on The Great Courses website.

When you make a Great Courses account, you can stream the course for free with a trial with The Great Courses Plus. The content can then be accessed over the iOS or Android app, or on your TV via the Roku app, Chromecast, Amazon Fire TV and Apple TV.

The Cybersecurity in 90 Minutes course can help out beginners or professionals in the field, according to instructor Mohammad Adly, who has a PhD in computer networks. Adly notes that the course's goal is to point out security essentials for IT organizations. By the end of the course, you should be able to use your cybersecurity skill to set up a secure base for your IT environment or be able to thoroughly review any existing ones.

What it costs: Udemy's course prices are set by the individual instructors from a price tier, unless they choose to offer them for free. This course usually costs $50, but it's just $14 now. At the time of publication, there's a sale on Udemy's website.

Nathan House, CEO and founder of UK-based cybersecurity training and consultancy company Station X, offers a comprehensive four-volume course that covers virtually everything you'd need to know about cybersecurity. This means that you can benefit from House's course whether you're a beginner with a basic understanding of operating systems, networks and the internet, or you're already well-versed in cybersecurity. 

Across the four volumes, House covers topics like how to prevent hacking, IT security, network security, anonymous browsing, VPNs, disk encryption and malware prevention. It's a wide-ranging and thorough cybersecurity course that comes out to nearly 55 hours of content in total.

What it costs: Each of the four volumes in this course is available for purchase individually on Udemy. The prices are set by the course instructor and range from $14 to $25 per volume. At the time of publication, there's a sale on Udemy's website.