If you are planning to start your cybersecurity career in 2024 with free cybersecurity bootcamps, you are in the right place. Please note that these are the best cybersecurity bootcamps among the free options but not the best cybersecurity bootcamps overall.
Since you have made up your mind to pursue a cybersecurity career, let’s discuss whether it is worth investing your time (or money) in 2024. Let’s have a brief discussion with a few stats: The cybersecurity landscape faced unprecedented challenges in 2023, marked by a staggering shortage of skilled professionals to combat emerging threats. Reports from industry leaders ISC2 and ISACA revealed a record workforce gap of four million individuals globally, despite a notable increase in cybersecurity personnel, reaching 5.5 million worldwide. High demand for cybersecurity professionals will continue until 2031, and the workforce gap will persist in 2025.
Rising ransomware attacks further intensified the demand for cybersecurity experts, with 62% of cybersecurity teams reported as understaffed. This shortage and the ever-evolving threat landscape present a daunting challenge for organizations worldwide.
Cybersecurity Ventures predicts that there will be 3.5 million unfilled cybersecurity jobs by 2025. Additionally, the cost of damages from cybercrime is expected to skyrocket to $10.5 trillion by the same year. Download the report.
From the above discussion, we can get a pretty good idea that the demand for cybersecurity jobs will grow.
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Cybersecurity Bootcamp vs Degree: Which Offers Better Job Prospects?
To be honest, just doing a cybersecurity bootcamp won’t necessarily land you a job. But a formal degree can be beneficial; it isn’t strictly required.
If you don’t have a degree, you should at least obtain entry-level certifications. These certifications definitely give you an edge over other candidates. You can start your certification journey with CompTIA Security+ (SY0-701), the world’s most popular cybersecurity certification today! This certification is ideal for entry-level roles such as security analyst/manager, security specialist, incident responder, and IT auditor. As of April 2024, there are currently 75,510 job openings on LinkedIn in the USA alone.
The bottom line is you should definitely go for a cybersecurity bootcamp to gather knowledge, but getting a certification is essential.
Best 8 Free Cybersecurity Bootcamps
Here are 8 of the best free cybersecurity bootcamps to check out to upgrade your skills.
This fully online program provides the skills you need for an entry-level job in cybersecurity, but no relevant experience is required. The Google Cybersecurity Certificate also helps prepare you for the CompTIA Security+ exam, the industry-leading certification for cybersecurity roles. You’ll earn a dual credential when you complete both. It is offered on the Coursera platform and is accessible for free with the option to purchase a certificate.
You’ll learn about:
- Programming for cybersecurity tasks
- Frameworks and controls that inform security operations
- Using security information and event management (SIEM) tools for cybersecurity
- Detecting and responding to incidents using an intrusion detection system
- Performing packet capture and analysis
Curriculum:
- Foundations of Cybersecurity
- Play It Safe: Manage Security Risks
- Connect and Protect: Networks and Network Security
- Tools of the Trade: Linux and SQL
- Assets, Threats, and Vulnerabilities
- Sound the Alarm: Detection and Response
- Automate Cybersecurity Tasks with Python
- Put It to Work: Prepare for Cybersecurity Jobs
This free bootcam on cybersecurity focuses on Linux Command Line for Beginners. It is designed to teach you the Command Line basics for cybersecurity in an online, user-friendly format. The first 25 hours of the Fullstack Cyber Bootcamp curriculum are free for everyone. The bootcamp offers various support levels, including mentorship, high-quality instruction, and a collaborative learning environment.
How You Will Learn in the Cyber OnRamp:
- Video instruction from cybersecurity experts
- Learn with Fullstack’s Cyberlab platform to hone your new technical skills
- Through a list of curated resources, we’ll introduce you to important cybersecurity topics
Cybersecurity Bootcamp for Beginners by Simplilearn
This Cybersecurity Bootcamp by Simplilearn is entirely free on YouTube. Without any applications and formalities, you can dive into the learning right away. The total duration of this program is about 11 hours 40 minutes. The downside of this program is that you will get no certificate or study material. But this course can be a good start for beginners. This program covers:
- An overview of cybersecurity principles and foundational knowledge.
- Essential skills you need in the cybersecurity field.
- Review of common cyberattacks, possibly with examples and case studies.
- Discussion on the concepts and importance of cybersecurity.
- This program also covers techniques and tools used in ethical hacking to secure systems.
- Covers the methods for securing communication through encryption and decryption.
- You will get an idea of how to prepare for the CompTIA Security+ or other relevant CompTIA certifications.
- The bootcamp also focuses on preparing for the Certified Ethical Hacker exam.
- This free cybersecurity bootcamp also prepares you for the Certified Information Systems Security Professional certification.
- Provides guidance on how to handle job interviews in the cybersecurity sector.
This program could be a great option for users because it covers a wide range of foundational and advanced topics in cybersecurity. It’s structured for beginners, offering certification preparation that can enhance credibility and employability in the field.
The Cybersecurity Foundations training Bootcamp consists of three separate courses (IT Fundamentals, Cybersecurity Fundamentals, and Compliance Fundamentals) designed for anyone who wants to explore the field of cybersecurity. These courses are:
Course 1: IT Fundamentals
Course outcome: Students will develop basic competency in Windows, Linux, and Network Traffic Analysis, layering a solid foundation of good security, being good systems administration first and foremost. This course covers:
- Windows operating system
- Linux operating system
- Networking
Course 2: Cybersecurity Fundamentals
Course outcome: Students will learn the fundamental knowledge of cryptography, log and event analytics, and cyber threat intelligence and how they help support mitigating common cyber threats and vulnerabilities. This course covers:
- Cybersecurity industry
- Cryptography
- Loggin for security
- Cyber Threat Intelligence and OSINT
Course 3: Compliance Fundamentals
Course outcome: Students will learn the overarching “why” of cybersecurity in governance, risk management, and compliance and will be able to audit compliance against frameworks and/or requirements. This course covers:
- Governance, Risk Management and Compliance
You can join this free bootcamp in 15 cities across the USA, which offers the opportunity to earn the Cybersecurity Analyst Certification (CySA+), equipping you with fundamental concepts in security specialties and hands-on training to enter this ever-growing field as a cybersecurity analyst. Previous tech work experience or education preferred. The rigorous live instructor-led cybersecurity training includes hands-on activities using real-world servers, tools, and technologies. From this training, you will learn:
- Develop critical thinking and problem-solving skills to apply in the cybersecurity field.
- Learn test-taking strategies to best prepare and pass the CySA+ exam
- Learn Python and electives in the AWS Educate Platform to culminate your learning experience
This Free Cyber Security Bootcamp is designed from the ground up by industry experts to demonstrate the types of threats you may face in the industry. You can Learn how to protect your workplace by mitigating and dealing with these threats effectively and efficiently.
Upon completing the program, you’ll also receive an associated qualification – Cisco Cyber Security Essentials.
This Free Cybersecurity Bootcamp includes:
- Introduction to cyber security
- Types of cyber security threats and the need for experts
- Data and cyber security fundamentals to mitigate threats
- IT security management framework
- Malware and malicious code
- Attacks and the art of deception
- Cryptography and obscuring data
- Digital signatures, certificates and databases
- Access controls and data integrity
- Disaster recovery and business continuity
- Defending systems, devices and users
- Cyber security domains and ethics
- Implementing cyber security threats
Professor Messer's Playlist on YouTube
This isn’t actually a bootcamp, but the content of these videos is good and worth checking out. This free training is one of the best CompTIA Security+ Courses available on YouTube. Although this training course is for CompTIA Security+, it covers all the topics you need to know. This YouTube playlist covers every objective you need to know in small videos. The videos range from three to twelve minutes in length and are very easy to follow. Since it is a free course, you can start learning right now without spending a penny and be assured that it is a quality course.
- The course consists of a total of 121 videos.
- The videos are easy to follow, with an average length of 7 minutes.
- The total length of the playlist is 15 hours.
- The downside is that there are no hands-on activities or Virtual Lab facilities, which the above course provides.
The Evolve Academy bootcamp is a meticulously designed program that enhances hands-on technical skills crucial for a career in cybersecurity. It delves into the theoretical dimensions of the field, establishes a solid foundation of essential knowledge, and imparts requisite practical experience. Participants will learn to protect personal data and gain a deep understanding of the industry’s challenges and demands.
In this bootcamp, participants will:
- Explore diverse topics including an Introduction to Cybersecurity, Linux, Networking, Ethical Hacking 101, and Home Lab Setup.
- Utilize hacking tools such as netcat, nmap, and wireshark.
- Gain access to Evolve’s proprietary CyberLAB™ simulation platform, which offers a realistic environment for cybersecurity training.
- Acquire the capability to establish their own home lab environment to facilitate continuous learning outside of classroom hours.
