How to Obtain a Cyber Security Education For Free With MOOCs

As with many tech fields, cyber security is a field that the self-taught can obtain a job in. With over a million unfilled cyber security job openings just last year it’s definitely a job-seeker’s market. While a degree in a cyber security-related field won’t go amiss if you’re trying to secure a position of your choosing (see our guide titled Is a Cyber Security Degree Right for Me?), sometimes time and money constraints make heading to school difficult. Whether you know for sure you want to work in cyber security, you’re transitioning from traditional IT to cyber security, or just want to see if the subject matter is a good fit, free and open education on cyber security can be a great way to start.

Below we’ve looked at the top reviewed and ranked MOOCs that follow a typical bachelor’s degree in cyber security curriculum. We used Utica College’s cyber security degree curriculum as it exemplified the interdisciplinary nature of quality cyber security degrees as well as includes a number of specializations. All courses below may be taken entirely for free. Though many may also allow for you to take the course for a verified certificate of achievement for a modest fee.

Note: All Coursera courses may be taken for free by “auditing” them. The difference between free and paid Coursera courses is the lack of access of graded materials and not receiving a certification at the end of the course. Though all course materials are available for students who are auditing the course.

The Basics

CRJ 101
Seminar in Justice Studies

“Justice” with rock-star philosopher Michael Sandel, is potentially one of the most engrossing ways to jump into questions of how we are to discern the right thing to do. Known for his ability to pack amphitheaters with his lectures, Professor Sandel tackles a wide range of fundamental (and very interesting) Justice Studies scenarios including Justice, Democracy, Markets & Morals, and Ethics & Technology. A well-rounded critical understanding of the context in which cyber security decisions are made is central to a quality cyber security education. For our open education cyber security education track, this MOOC fits the bill for an overview of justice studies.

  • Provider: Harvard University
  • Workload: Unknown
  • Instructors: Michael Sandel, Professor of Political Philosophy
  • Course Length: 24 Lectures
  • Next Date: On Demand / Ongoing
CRJ 103
Introduction to Criminal Justice
Crime 101, offered the University of Queensland (Australia), tackles the multidisciplinary process of tracking and discerning the efficacy of criminal justice policy. A key fundamental course for cyber security majors, an overview of criminal justice concepts helps frame what may be a career-long fight against different forms of cyber crime. This course is particularly applicable to cyber security students with its focus on the psychology of crime and crime deterrence, a central consideration for minimizing cyber risk in the future.

  • Provider: University of Queensland
  • Workload: 2hrs/Week
  • Instructors: Blake McKimmie ,Mark Horswill, Barbara Masser
  • Course Length: 8 Weeks
  • Next Date: On Demand / Ongoing
CRJ 107
Computer Hardware and Peripherals

Embedded Hardware and Operating Systems is taught by Nguyen Gia Tuan of the University of Turku (Finland). You’ll probably want to take one of the intro to computer science courses first, if you don’t have experience in Java or C. The class will help to introduce students to core concepts related to embedded operating systems including the ability to plan our an embedded operating system on a resource-constrained system (like an internet of things application). The course also teaches students to use Cooja simulations of sensor-driven devices. A basic understanding of operating systems and internet of things devices is definitely crucial for cyber security professionals, as more and more connected devices are utilized (often in an under-secured way) every day.

  • Provider: University of Turku
  • Workload: 6 hrs/Week
  • Instructors: Nguyen Gia Tuan
  • Course Length: 4 Weeks
  • Next Date: October 2 / Regular Start Dates
CRJ 228
Cyber Technologies for Criminal Justice

This continuing education course from Cybrary provides students with the conceptual framework and tools to instigate cyber investigations. Topics covered include how to determine if and when illegal activity is occurring online, how to legally gather evidence on the cyber crime, and how to monitor for and investigate wireless attacks. Tools students will gain experience with include Kali OS, CEH toolkits, and VMWare Player.

  • Provider: Cybrary
  • Workload: 10 Hours
  • Instructors: Leo Dregier
  • Course Length: 7 Hours
  • Next Date: On Demand / Ongoing
CRJ 205
Software Foundations for Cybersecurity

The University of Maryland College Park’s Software Security MOOC is part of their larger cyber security specialization on Udacity. The course is suitable for students who have already taken an intro to computer science MOOC or have some programming experience as course work will implement both C/C++ as well as managed languages like Java. The course looks at common security vulnerabilities in software, including buffer overflows, SQL injection, and session hijacking. The course helps to instill the mindset that security should be “built in” from the start of software development, and also covers a number of maintenance and analysis tasks such as advanced security testing methods for software. The course prospectus notes that for students not having all of the requisite experience, the use of online tutorials should be remedial enough for participation in the course.

  • Provider: University of Maryland
  • Workload: 5 hrs/Week
  • Instructors: Michael Hicks
  • Course Length: 6 Weeks
  • Next Date: October 16 / Regular Start Dates
CRJ 333
Information Security
The University of London’s MOOC “Information Security: Context and Introduction” is a fantastic survey course of many of the central areas of cyber security. The MOOC provides frameworks and central concepts through which to solve problems related to cryptography, security management and network and computer security. Topics covered also include awareness of a wide range of threats, attacks, exploits and vulnerabilities. No prior experience in the subject matter is needed.

  • Provider: University of London
  • Workload: 6 hrs/ Week
  • Instructors: Dr Jorge Blasco Alis, Professor Keith M. Martin, Professor Peter Komisarczuk
  • Course Length: 6 Weeks
  • Next Date: October 16 / Regular Start Dates
CRJ 335
Cybercrime Law and Investigations
The “10 Domains of Cyber Security” MOOC offered by the University of Georgia System has a unique for-credit opportunity at the end of the course, in which students may transfer into Kennesaw State University’s award winning cyber security degree program. The course provides both technical and conceptual information on a wide range of topics related to risk management, cyber security laws, regulations, business continuity planning, and secure software development techniques. For anyone seeking the additional context needed to handle cybercrime and security for a wide range of stakeholders, this course is a great primer.

  • Provider: University System of Georgia
  • Workload: 6 hrs / Week
  • Instructors: Dr. Humayun Zafar
  • Course Length: 6 Weeks
  • Next Date: October 9 / Regular Start Dates
GOV 341
Jurisprudence of the Criminal Law
While not every cyber security professional will operate under United States’ law, a great majority of international disputes as well as large cyber security divisions do operate under United State’s law. As part of the interdisciplinary aspects of a cyber security degree, students are expected to have supporting knowledge for dealing with those who are in effect criminals (cyber assailants). If you’re planning on practicing cyber security in another nation, there are a wide range of MOOCs detailing the criminal laws of other nations as well.

  • Provider: University of Pennsylvania
  • Workload: 1 hr / Week
  • Instructors: Anita Allen, Shyam Balganesh, Stephen Morse, Theodore Ruger, Tess Wilkinson-Ryan, Tobias Barrington Wolff
  • Course Length: 8 Weeks
  • Next Date: October 9 / Regular Start Dates
CRJ 362
Information System Threats, Attacks & Defenses
FutureLearn’s “Introduction to Cyber Security” MOOC is a great initial course to test whether or not cyber security truly piques your interest. Offered by the Open University and UK Government’s National Cyber Security Programme, the course of study is interdisciplinary and may be entered into by anyone. Program outcomes include the ability to understand and diagnose different forms of malware, understanding of basic cryptographic principles, ability to utilize basic cyber security terminology and complete more cyber security research on your own, outline basic legal and regulatory issues in cyber security, and understand basic security implications of devices like virtual private networks, firewalls, and so forth.

  • Provider: The Open University and FutureLearn
  • Workload: 3 hrs / Week
  • Instructors: Arosha K. Bandara
  • Course Length: 8 Weeks
  • Next Date: October 16 / Regular Start Dates

Foundational Courses

ECN 241
Statistics
Statistical knowledge is important in cyber security and computer science in general through it’s applications for interpreting very large data sets. Many cyber security professionals are provided with constant logs of different system and network data, through which they must learn to hone in on areas of interest . This Introduction to Inferential Statistics MOOC offered by Duke University is a great course to position close to the start of your course of study, as it will help to fine tune your ability to parse numbers as well as prepare you for advanced analytics tasks, preparation of risk reports, and prepare you for the study of algorithms.

  • Provider: Duke University
  • Workload: 7 hrs / Week
  • Instructors: Mine Çetinkaya-Rundel
  • Course Length: 5 Weeks
  • Next Date: September 25 / Regular Start Dates
SOC 274
Criminology
“Justice, Mercy, and Mass Incarcaration” presented by Vanderbilt University examines macro trends in our criminal justice system, and wrestles with some of the core questions of criminal justice: what is justice, is our system of preserving justice fair, do our methods of deterrence work, and what are factors to contribute to crime? This course probes students to think deeply about our criminal justice system and attempt to discover alternative (and hopefully more humane) criminal justice alternatives for the future.

  • Provider: Vanderbilt University
  • Workload: Unknown
  • Instructors: Graham Reside
  • Course Length: 7 Weeks
  • Next Date: September 25 / Regular Start Dates
MAT 147
Mathematics for Cyber Security
MIT’s “Mathematics for Computer Science” MOOC offers lecture notes, exams and solutions, problem sets, and supporting documents for students wishing to study discrete mathematics geared towards computer science applications. The course is divided into three subject matter areas that include fundamental concepts of mathematics, discrete structures, and discrete probability. coupled with the statistics course above, students should have plenty of prerequisite math knowledge to excel in the remainder of their cyber security studies.

  • Provider: Massachusetts Institute of Technology
  • Workload: Unknown
  • Instructors: Ronitt Rubinfeld, Albert R. Meyer
  • Course Length: 16 Weeks / Self Paced
  • Next Date: On Demand

ETHICS

PHI 107
Ethics
“Cyberwar, Surveillance, and Security” by the University of Adelaide (Australia) seeks to inform students enough to participate in one of the most important debates of our time. The course covers the tensions between our rights to privacy as it relates to our digital lives and revelations about how information is harvested for national security reasons in the Post-Snowden era. Cyber security professionals — in particular — are in the important position to create future technology applications that effectively balance our right to privacy against our need for national security, making this a great course to get exposed to early in your course of study.

  • Provider: University of Adelaide
  • Workload: 3 hrs / Week
  • Instructors: Melissa de Zwart, Dale Stephens, Rebecca LaForgia
  • Course Length: 6 Weeks
  • Next Date: On Demand
PHI 108
Professional Ethics
While a slightly more dated course (from 2005), “Ethics and Law on the Digital Frontier” presented by MIT is a great foundational course that highlights many of the high-level considerations of how to govern the internet at the start of the internet age. Taught by professors of computer science, the director of the World Wide Web Consortium, and a professor of anthropology and science technology, the course is presented by some of the finest thinkers on the intersection of popular technology, the government, and the people.

  • Provider: Massachusetts Institute of Technology
  • Workload: Unknown
  • Instructors: Daniel Weitzner, Harold Abelson, Michael M.J. Fischer
  • Course Length: 12 Weeks / Self Paced
  • Next Date: On Demand

Specialization Courses

INFORMATION ASSURANCE

CSC 101
Computer Science I
Stanford University’s Computer Science 101 was one of the original open online courses that ushered in this period of open education proliferation. This revised version was first published in 2014, though retains some timelessness due to its focus on the underlying patterns behind computing. The course of study is well documented with video as well as extensive written commentary. The language of choice for computing problems is javascript. This course is meant for those with zero programming experience.

  • Provider: Stanford University
  • Workload: 4 hrs / Week
  • Instructors: Nick Parlante
  • Course Length: 12 Weeks / Self Paced
  • Next Date: On Demand
CSC 102
Computer Science II
Theoretical Computer Science, or Computer Science 313 as it is described by Udacity helps to give students exposure to higher level computing issues. Where many of the problems in CS 101 are effectively trivial — as in there is a known solution that is easily accessible — theoretical computer science deals with tougher problems that require a great deal of computing power and proper algorithm design to fully tackle. In fact, the last module of the course examines problems that — theoretically — no computer could ever solve, even given unlimited time and resources.

  • Provider: Udacity
  • Workload: Unknown
  • Instructors: Sebastian Wernicke,
    Sean Bennett, Sarah Norell
  • Course Length: 8 Weeks
  • Next Date: On Demand
CSC 201
Discrete Mathematics I
Discrete mathematics is often the foundation of information and computer science disciplines and deals with sets, functions, relations, and graphs. A goal of this course is to also help students to reach a decent level of mathematical maturity. Maturity in the sense that those who complete the course should be able to better understand formal proofs as well as come up with proofs of their own. This helps to be able to utilize mathematics to come up with interesting conclusions and better understand information systems.

  • Provider: Shanghai Jiao Tong University
  • Workload: 5 hrs / Week
  • Instructors: Dominik Scheder
  • Course Length: 11 Weeks
  • Next Date: September 25 / Regular Start Dates
CSC 316
Object-oriented Programming
Object-Oriented Programming is at the heart of most all of commercial-grade software products. This is one of the first courses we’ve listed thus far that is project-based, which is often a good thing for self-learners seeking to build a portfolio. This course tackles intermediate java development and seeks to help students to make a java program that is substantially more significant than others they have made. Coupled with basic security knowledge from earlier courses in this curriculum, students should be able to use the course as the basis for creating a quality example of their programming and security skills.

  • Provider: University of California, San Diego
  • Workload: 6 hrs / Week
  • Instructors: Mia Minnes, Leo Porter, Christine Alvarado
  • Course Length: 7 Weeks
  • Next Date: September 25 / Regular Start Dates
CSC 323
Introduction to Networks
For many cyber security positions, networking and hardware are just as important as software. That makes at least one course in networking crucial for future cyber security professionals. This introductory course is then built on by future courses in network security. In this course students are given the conceptual framework of how networking works as well as a variety of tools for rudimentary network creation and analysis. Students are recommended to have some computer science background as well as specific knowledge in C++/Java.

  • Provider: University of Colorado System
  • Workload: 5 hrs / Week
  • Instructors: Xiaobo Zhou
  • Course Length: 6 Weeks
  • Next Date: September 25 / Regular Start Dates
CSC 432
Computer and Network Security
One of our first advanced courses in cyber security is presented as part of a “MicroMasters” by the Rochester Institute of Technology. The course teaches users the issues and resources afforded to both network administrators and those perpetrating cyber attacks on networks. Core skills groupings that are emphasized include network intrusion detection, evidence collection, network auditing, and contingency planning against attacks.

  • Provider: Rochester Institute of Technology
  • Workload: 12 .hrs / Week
  • Instructors: Jonathan S. Weissman
  • Course Length: 8 Weeks
  • Next Date: September 25 / Regular Start Dates
CRJ 438
System Vulnerability Assessments
Cybrary’s “Penetration Testing and Ethical Hacking” course is great preparation for the Certified Ethical Hacker certification and also provides 20 hours of continuing education credit. Ethical hacking involves employing many of the same techniques that cyber criminals use in hacking exploits in order to ascertain how digital assets and systems are vulnurable. Subsequently, ethical hackers (or penetration testers) will then provide reports to the organizations they are servicing on how to shore up vulnurabilities they have tested. In this course a wide range of hacking exploit methods are covered, including intrusion Detection, Policy Creation, Social Engineering, DDoS Attacks, Buffer Overflows and Virus Creation.

  • Provider: Cybrary
  • Workload: 20 hrs
  • Instructors: Leo Dregier
  • Course Length: 20 Hours
  • Next Date: On Demand

CYBERCRIME AND FRAUD INVESTIGATION

CRJ 232
Economic Crime Theory
Understanding what motivates cyber criminals is one of the first steps to understanding where they may strike next. By studying the economics of crime in general, students may obtain a useful framework for parsing the motives of cyber assailants. This course, presented by Hanyang University covers many of the factors that contribute to different crimes as well as trends in crime deterrence.

  • Provider: Hanyang University
  • Workload: 3 hrs / Week
  • Instructors: Songman Kang
  • Course Length: 6 Weeks
  • Next Date: TBD
CRJ 321
White-collar Criminology
White Collar Crime is a specific subsection of criminology, and in the case of cyber security potentially more pertinent to understanding the motives and patterns of behaviors of cyber criminals. In this course offered by the University of California at Irvine, students will be exposed to a number of facts and analyses on some of the most common types of white-collar crime: consumer fraud, organizational fraud, unsafe products, political corruption, among others. Though the method of delivery may differ, many studies of white collar crime do draw many comparisons to cyber criminality.

  • Provider: University of California, Irvine
  • Workload: Unkown
  • Instructors: Unknown
  • Course Length: Unknown / Self Paced
  • Next Date: On Demand
CRJ 338
Applied Cryptography
Cryptography is the art and science of creating secure codes. It’s central to most secure digital services we use. This course starts by providing the mathematical basis for cryptography, moving into common encryption tactics and tools, and moving into more specialized applications of cryptography: digital currency, voting, and anonymonized communication. This course assumes prerequisite knowledge of programming to the extent offered by a typical Computer Science 101 course.

  • Provider: Udacity
  • Workload: Unknown
  • Instructors: Dave Evans
  • Course Length: 8 Weeks
  • Next Date: On Demand
CRJ 348
Information Assurance Risk and Compliance
One of the first upper level information security management courses we’ve listed, this MOOC by the University of Washington seeks to provide students with a glimpse of a security organization from the point of view of the Chief Information Security Officer. Lessons include references to many of the latest management tools for CISO-level cyber security managers, coverage of health record confidentiality, legal security implications, and discussion of individual privacy.

  • Provider: University of Washington
  • Workload: Unknown
  • Instructors: Barbara Endicott-Popovsky
  • Course Length: Unknown
  • Next Date: TBD
CRJ 355
Cybercrime Investigations and Forensics I
Digital evidence, whether for criminal investigations, a variety of audit types, or for business decisions feature into almost every area of our personal and professional lives. This introductory course in digital investigations and forensics offered by the Open University helps to provide students with a framework for how to properly conduct digital investigations: gathering, analysing, and presenting digital evidence. The course is also meant to hone student thinking about the differences between scientific conclusions and legal decision making, explain the relationship between digital forensics and more traditional science or forensics, and outline a range of situations in which a digital forensics toolbox might be applicable.

  • Provider: Open University
  • Workload: 8 hrs
  • Instructors: Unknown
  • Course Length: 8 hrs
  • Next Date: On Demand
CRJ 356
Cybercrime Investigations and Forensics II
One of the more self-guided and advanced courses in our curriculum is presented by Korea University in a largely text and resource-based form. This course tackles some of the latest advances and applications in intrusion detection — which is at the intersection of cyber crime response and investigation. These advances include machine learning, data science applications, and statistical methods for intrusion detection. Readings for the class are up-to-date and require moderate experience in computer science and statistics terminology.

  • Provider: Korea University
  • Workload: Unknown
  • Instructors: Unknown
  • Course Length: Unknown
  • Next Date: On Demand
CRJ 455
Cybercrime Investigations and Forensics III
This graduate-level resource provided by MIT’s OpenCourseWare is a rigorous introduction to cryptography and cryptoanalysis. Though this course potentially fulfills more of an elective role in an undergraduate course of study, we’ve placed as third in our series of cyber crime investigation and forensics courses as an advanced (for an undergraduate) look at how cryptanalysis can feature in to digital forensics. Topics covered include cryptographic primitives of public-key encryption, digital signatures, pseudo-random number generation, and basic protocols and their computational complexity requirements.

  • Provider: Massachusetts Institute of Technology
  • Workload: 6 hrs / Week
  • Instructors: Unknown
  • Course Length: 14 Weeks
  • Next Date: On Demand
CRJ 347
Fraud Prevention and Detection Technologies
Did you know, 90% of the world’s data has been created in the last 2 years? This data can be a liability, if your team doesn’t know how to accurately harness and analyze this deluge. It can also be a great assert, particularly in fraud detection and prevention. That’s what this short course focuses on. Topics covered in this course include key concepts and frameworks for thinking about fraud and fraud detection, data analysis techniques geared towards spotting and preventing fraud, and skills for presenting quality research and actionable insights from data regarding digital forensics reports.

  • Provider: American University
  • Workload: 2 hrs / Week
  • Instructors: Jeff Rinehart, Casey Evans
  • Course Length: 3 Weeks
  • Next Date: October 16 / On Demand
CRJ 354
Payment Systems and Fraud
Payment systems and fraud encompasses a wide range of cyber exploit threats — particularly to businesses. Future Learn’s Cyber Security for Small to Medium Enterprises is chock full of examples of these cyber threats in everyday business management. This course is part of FutureLearn’s awesome IT Security Management track, which is also worth checking out. Additionally, this course is a free introduction to a postgraduate degree in cyber security offered by Deakin University and available entirely on FutureLearn.

  • Provider: Deakin University
  • Workload: 3 hrs / Week
  • Instructors: Nicholas Patterson, Lei Pan, John Yearwood
  • Course Length: 2 Weeks
  • Next Date: November 13 / Regular Start Dates

NETWORK FORENSICS AND INTRUSION INVESTIGATION

CSC 101
Computer Science I
Stanford University’s Computer Science 101 was one of the original open online courses that ushered in this period of open education proliferation. This revised version was first published in 2014, though retains some timelessness due to its focus on the underlying patterns behind computing. The course of study is well documented with video as well as extensive written commentary. The language of choice for computing problems is javascript. This course is meant for those with zero programming experience.

  • Provider: Stanford University
  • Workload: 4 hrs / Week
  • Instructors: Nick Parlante
  • Course Length: 12 Weeks / Self Paced
  • Next Date: On Demand
CRJ 337
Computer Network Investigations
One of our first advanced courses in cyber security is presented as part of a “MicroMasters” by the Rochester Institute of Technology. The course teaches users the issues and resources afforded to both network administrators and those perpetrating cyber attacks on networks. Core skills groupings that are emphasized include network intrusion detection, evidence collection, network auditing, and contingency planning against attacks.

  • Provider: Rochester Institute of Technology
  • Workload: 12 .hrs / Week
  • Instructors: Jonathan S. Weissman
  • Course Length: 8 Weeks
  • Next Date: September 25 / Regular Start Dates
CRJ 355
Cybercrime Investigations and Forensics I
Digital evidence, whether for criminal investigations, a variety of audit types, or for business decisions feature into almost every area of our personal and professional lives. This introductory course in digital investigations and forensics offered by the Open University helps to provide students with a framework for how to properly conduct digital investigations: gathering, analysing, and presenting digital evidence. The course is also meant to hone student thinking about the differences between scientific conclusions and legal decision making, explain the relationship between digital forensics and more traditional science or forensics, and outline a range of situations in which a digital forensics toolbox might be applicable.

  • Provider: Open University
  • Workload: 8 hrs
  • Instructors: Unknown
  • Course Length: 8 hrs
  • Next Date: On Demand
CRJ 356
Cybercrime Investigations and Forensics II
One of the more self-guided and advanced courses in our curriculum is presented by Korea University in a largely text and resource-based form. This course tackles some of the latest advances and applications in intrusion detection — which is at the intersection of cyber crime response and investigation. These advances include machine learning, data science applications, and statistical methods for intrusion detection. Readings for the class are up-to-date and require moderate experience in computer science and statistics terminology.

  • Provider: Korea University
  • Workload: Unknown
  • Instructors: Unknown
  • Course Length: Unknown
  • Next Date: On Demand
CRJ 438
System Vulnerability Assessment
Cybrary’s “Penetration Testing and Ethical Hacking” course is great preparation for the Certified Ethical Hacker certification and also provides 20 hours of continuing education credit. Ethical hacking involves employing many of the same techniques that cyber criminals use in hacking exploits in order to ascertain how digital assets and systems are vulnurable. Subsequently, ethical hackers (or penetration testers) will then provide reports to the organizations they are servicing on how to shore up vulnurabilities they have tested. In this course a wide range of hacking exploit methods are covered, including intrusion Detection, Policy Creation, Social Engineering, DDoS Attacks, Buffer Overflows and Virus Creation.

  • Provider: Cybrary
  • Workload: 20 hrs
  • Instructors: Leo Dregier
  • Course Length: 20 Hours
  • Next Date: On Demand
CRJ 455
Cybercrime Investigation and Forensics III
This graduate-level resource provided by MIT’s OpenCourseWare is a rigorous introduction to cryptography and cryptoanalysis. Though this course potentially fulfills more of an elective role in an undergraduate course of study, we’ve placed as third in our series of cyber crime investigation and forensics courses as an advanced (for an undergraduate) look at how cryptanalysis can feature in to digital forensics. Topics covered include cryptographic primitives of public-key encryption, digital signatures, pseudo-random number generation, and basic protocols and their computational complexity requirements.

  • Provider: Massachusetts Institute of Technology
  • Workload: 6 hrs / Week
  • Instructors: Unknown
  • Course Length: 14 Weeks
  • Next Date: On Demand
CRJ 457
Network Forensics
This MOOC offered a portion of Rochester Institute of Technology’s “MicroMasters” program focuses on core principles and techniques surrounding system forensic analysis. This includes fundamental tools for perfoming a forensic analysis on Windows and Unix/Linux Systems as well as contextual information such as how to prepare forensic information in a way that it may be admissable in court, the legal implications of digital forensic procedures, and how to read digital forensic analyses presented by others.

  • Provider: Rochester Institute of Technology
  • Workload: 12 hrs / Week
  • Instructors: Yin Pan
  • Course Length: 9 Weeks
  • Next Date: September 25 / Regular Start Dates

CYBER OPERATIONS

CSC 101
Computer Science I
Stanford University’s Computer Science 101 was one of the original open online courses that ushered in this period of open education proliferation. This revised version was first published in 2014, though retains some timelessness due to its focus on the underlying patterns behind computing. The course of study is well documented with video as well as extensive written commentary. The language of choice for computing problems is javascript. This course is meant for those with zero programming experience.

  • Provider: Stanford University
  • Workload: 4 hrs / Week
  • Instructors: Nick Parlante
  • Course Length: 12 Weeks / Self Paced
  • Next Date: On Demand
CSC 102
Computer Science II
“Introduction to Theoretical Computer Science” MOOC
Theoretical Computer Science, or Computer Science 313 as it is described by Udacity helps to give students exposure to higher level computing issues. Where many of the problems in CS 101 are effectively trivial — as in there is a known solution that is easily accessible — theoretical computer science deals with tougher problems that require a great deal of computing power and proper algorithm design to fully tackle. In fact, the last module of the course examines problems that — theoretically — no computer could ever solve, even given unlimited time and resources.

  • Provider: Udacity
  • Workload: Unknown
  • Instructors: Sebastian Wernicke,
    Sean Bennett, Sarah Norell
  • Course Length: 8 Weeks
  • Next Date: On Demand
CSC 316
Object-oriented Programming
Object-Oriented Programming is at the heart of most all of commercial-grade software products. This is one of the first courses we’ve listed thus far that is project-based, which is often a good thing for self-learners seeking to build a portfolio. This course tackles intermediate java development and seeks to help students to make a java program that is substantially more significant than others they have made. Coupled with basic security knowledge from earlier courses in this curriculum, students should be able to use the course as the basis for creating a quality example of their programming and security skills.

  • Provider: University of California, San Diego
  • Workload: 6 hrs / Week
  • Instructors: Mia Minnes, Leo Porter, Christine Alvarado
  • Course Length: 7 Weeks
  • Next Date: September 25 / Regular Start Dates
CRJ 339
Cyber Operations Tools
The “10 Domains of Cyber Security” MOOC offered by the University of Georgia System has a unique for-credit opportunity at the end of the course, in which students may transfer into Kennesaw State University’s award winning cyber security degree program. The course provides both technical and conceptual information on a wide range of topics related to risk management, cyber security laws, regulations, business continuity planning, and secure software development techniques. For anyone seeking the additional context needed to handle cybercrime and security for a wide range of stakeholders, this course is a great primer.

  • Provider: University System of Georgia
  • Workload: 6 hrs / Week
  • Instructors: Dr. Humayun Zafar
  • Course Length: 6 Weeks
  • Next Date: October 9 / Regular Start Dates
CSC 323
Introduction to Networks
For many cyber security positions, networking and hardware are just as important as software. That makes at least one course in networking crucial for future cyber security professionals. This introductory course is then built on by future courses in network security. In this course students are given the conceptual framework of how networking works as well as a variety of tools for rudimentary network creation and analysis. Students are recommended to have some computer science background as well as specific knowledge in C++/Java.

  • Provider: University of Colorado System
  • Workload: 5 hrs / Week
  • Instructors: Xiaobo Zhou
  • Course Length: 6 Weeks
  • Next Date: September 25 / Regular Start Dates
CRJ 337
Computer Network Investigations
One of our first advanced courses in cyber security is presented as part of a “MicroMasters” by the Rochester Institute of Technology. The course teaches users the issues and resources afforded to both network administrators and those perpetrating cyber attacks on networks. Core skills groupings that are emphasized include network intrusion detection, evidence collection, network auditing, and contingency planning against attacks.

  • Provider: Rochester Institute of Technology
  • Workload: 12 .hrs / Week
  • Instructors: Jonathan S. Weissman
  • Course Length: 8 Weeks
  • Next Date: September 25 / Regular Start Dates
CRJ 338
Applied Cryptography
Cryptography is the art and science of creating secure codes. It’s central to most secure digital services we use. This course starts by providing the mathematical basis for cryptography, moving into common encryption tactics and tools, and moving into more specialized applications of cryptography: digital currency, voting, and anonymenized communication. This course assumes prerequisite knowledge of programming to the extent offered by a typical Computer Science 101 course.

  • Provider: Udacity
  • Workload: Unknown
  • Instructors: Dave Evans
  • Course Length: 8 Weeks
  • Next Date: On Demand
CRJ 438
System Vulnerability Assessment
Cybrary’s “Penetration Testing and Ethical Hacking” course is great preparation for the Certified Ethical Hacker certification and also provides 20 hours of continuing education credit. Ethical hacking involves employing many of the same techniques that cyber criminals use in hacking exploits in order to ascertain how digital assets and systems are vulnurable. Subsequently, ethical hackers (or penetration testers) will then provide reports to the organizations they are servicing on how to shore up vulnurabilities they have tested. In this course a wide range of hacking exploit methods are covered, including intrusion Detection, Policy Creation, Social Engineering, DDoS Attacks, Buffer Overflows and Virus Creation.

  • Provider: Cybrary
  • Workload: 20 hrs
  • Instructors: Leo Dregier
  • Course Length: 20 Hours
  • Next Date: On Demand
CRJ 439
Introduction to Malware Analysis
Whether or not the subject matter of this course is included in your undergraduate course of study in cyber security, Malware Analysis techniques are a must for cyber security professionals. In this advanced course students will learn practical and hands-on techniques for performing dynamic and static analysis on most major file types, how to pull out malicious code from otherwise benign documents, and how to recognize and remove otherwise hidden malware types. Instruction includes topics like how to set up your malware analysis lab, several modules on dynamic malware analysis, a module on packers, and malware defense techniques.

  • Provider: Cybrary
  • Workload: 9 hrs
  • Instructors: Sean Pierce
  • Course Length: 9 Hours
  • Next Date: On Demand