A good friend once said “If it’s free, take three". I think there’s a lot of truth to that.
There is a collection of Cybersecurity knowledge out there, with much of it being free.
With a lot of people asking me what are good resources to dive into learning about Cybersecurity, I previously put together some resources for the community.
Below is an overview of these free resources.
Awesome Compilations
Lastly, this “hack” will work for any Cybersecurity domain and even other domains in tech.
Searching the phrase awesome followed by “literally any security domain” will give you Github compilations of resources for that given topic. Github is a great resource in general, but using this keyword search will provide immense value.
For example awesome “malware analysis” or awesome “blue team” or awesome “macos security”. Even if you don’t include Github in your search it should be the top result in google.
From here, checking out these compiled lists will bring you a lot of options to explore.
Command Line Kung Fu
This is a blog I have recommended to people wanting to get their hands dirty with the command line. It goes over working through and solving specific problems from the command line.
It focuses on the “how”, with explanations on solutions from experts in the field.
For example, finding names of files matching a particular string. From here, there’s a Linux walkthrough, Windows walkthrough, and a MacOS one.
Coursera
A MOOC (massive open online course). It has plenty of options for Information Security and courses are free when you audit them. This gives you the same access as paying, just no certificate when you complete it.
In the end, the knowledge you retain will be more important than certificates or certifications, so this could be great way to get started.
CyberDefenders
This is a hands on platform with Capture the Flags. It has various challenges in security topics and sets of questions to go through. What is unique about this one is it is focused on the Blue team side of things, and can get quite granular.
Also of note here, some of the exercises on this platform are similar to interview exercises you may see.
edX
edX is another MOOC (massive open online course) with course options in Cybersecurity.
Like Coursera, it has instructor led courses from top universities.
Some of the universities they partner with for courses include Harvard, Maryland, MIT, and Berkeley. You can audit courses for free, or opt to pursue the certificate for a fee.
OverTheWire
This is another CTF platform (Capture the Flag) with various challenges in security topics and sets of questions to go through.
Bandit for example, takes you through the command line from basically zero and levels you up by the end, with challenges increasing in difficulty as you go. I recommend this one for folks starting out. After going through it, you will have a versatile skill-set at the command line.
Udemy
Udemy is another MOOC (massive open online course).
However, these courses are generally made by practitioners and not Universities such as Coursera. There are tons of courses both free and paid, including my free course on Linux Fundamentals.
I always recommend folks to learn Linux well for Cybersecurity, and I hope you get a lot of value out of it.
These are some of the many free resources out there, and I encourage you to check them out to find what interests you the most. From there, you’ll have a good direction to go from.
I hope this overview of free resources helps you in your learning journey!
See you in the next one.