Ready to kickstart your cyber security career but not sure which cyber security courses for beginners are worth your time and money? This guide lays everything out in a clear training roadmap you can follow at your own pace, so you’re never stuck wondering what to learn next or how the pieces come together.
Below, you’ll find ten StationX courses organized into four clear stages: what security is, security fundamentals, deeper security concepts, and applying security in practice.
Let’s begin.
First Things First: The Key to Success
Before diving into the top courses, it's crucial to understand that success in cyber security goes beyond the courses themselves—it requires unwavering commitment.
The challenge most beginners face isn't the complexity of the material but maintaining the motivation to persevere. That’s exactly why our Master’s Program exists.
The StationX Master’s Program is more than a library of courses. It’s a complete learning-and-career system built to keep you moving forward. You get structured learning paths, mentorship, and an active community to help you stay consistent - from your first fundamentals all the way to certification prep and real-world readiness.
All of the below courses are available to Master’s Program students, and some can be purchased directly granting lifetime access.
With that in mind, let’s look at the best cyber security courses for beginners!
Courses: What Is Security?
These first courses help you understand cyber security and why it’s important to implement security measures in various systems and networks.
1. Cyber Security Awareness Training for Everyone
The Cyber Security Awareness Training for Everyone course is designed to bolster your defenses.
This course is a perfect fit for anyone using the internet and those wanting to work with small and medium-sized businesses to employ cyber hygiene in helping them protect from cyber crime and threats.
In this course, you'll gain insights into:
- Understanding common cyber security definitions
- Identifying and preventing personal cyber attack attempts
- Techniques used by hackers
- Securing your smartphones and laptops
- Adopting best practices for cyber security
- Maintaining safety and privacy on the Internet
Mohamad Mahjoub, a seasoned Cyber Security expert, leads the course. With credentials like CISSP, CISA, and PMP and a rich IT and cyber security background, Mohamad brings a wealth of practical knowledge to the table.
What This Course Prepares You For:
This isn’t a “start-your-cyber-security-career” track, and it doesn’t try to be. Instead, it gives you a crucial head start on how cyber security works in the real world for daily life and business environments. You’ll walk away knowing how to spot threats, reduce your personal risk, and apply proven best practices at home or in the workplace.
We recommend this course because it’s engaging, practical, and accessible to everyone, with no prerequisites required. It’s the kind of training that makes you safer online right away, and gives you a solid foundation if you decide to go deeper later.
2. Introduction to Encryption Basics
The Introduction to Encryption Basics course helps you grasp the fundamentals of encryption.
Protecting sensitive information is more crucial than ever, and this course is a great introduction to this important topic.
Specially designed for beginners, the course breaks down the complex inner workings of encryption into easily understandable concepts.
Here's a glimpse of what you'll learn:
- Extra topics like password-based and two-factor authentication with tools like YubiKey
- The basic principles behind encryption
- The role of digital signatures in validating the authenticity of your data
- How digital certificates function in establishing digital identity
The course uses entertaining videos starring Alice, Bob, and the hacker Mallory to explain real-world encryption scenarios, and you'll learn to thwart Mallory's attacks against Alice.
With over 18 years of cyber security expertise, instructor Mike Kurtze simplifies even the most challenging encryption ideas into accessible information and teaching methods, and will equip you with the expertise required to navigate the winding paths of data protection.
What This Course Prepares You For:
This is not primarily a career-path course or a certification prep track. Instead, it provides you with a strong conceptual foundation in encryption, the kind of knowledge that helps you understand why so many cyber security tools and systems work the way they do.
If you’re building your cyber literacy, or you want to confidently understand the tech behind secure communication, authentication, and data protection, this course is a solid step. And if you later move into deeper security training, encryption won’t feel like a black box anymore.
Courses: Security Fundamentals
These next courses lay the foundation for a solid understanding of cyber security fundamentals in various areas such as network security, incident response, and policy management.
3. The Ultimate ISC2 Certified in Cybersecurity Course
The Ultimate ISC2 Certified in Cybersecurity Course equips you with the knowledge and skills to ace the ISC2 CC certification exam and confidently apply your knowledge in real-world scenarios.
This course covers foundational cyber security concepts, including:
- Core principles like confidentiality, integrity, and availability that underpin security systems
- Incident response concepts such as identification, containment, and mitigation
- Constructing business continuity and disaster recovery plans
- Grasping access control policies from authentication to authorization
- Securing networks through firewalls, VPNs, IDS/IPS
- Security operations like risk management and compliance with frameworks like HIPAA and GDPR
With over ten years of IT experience, instructor Serkan Demirhan brings invaluable real-world cyber security insights. His expertise simplifies complex topics for beginners. The course walks you through all five CC exam domains in clear modules, and reinforces learning with chapter quizzes and a 100-page study guide tailored to the exam.
What This Course Prepares You For:
This is a certification-prep course first and foremost. The goal here is to get you exam-ready and credentialed. If you want a structured roadmap that aligns with a real, employer-recognized certification and you like the idea of learning with a clear target in mind, this course is a strong launchpad.
By the end, you won’t just understand the fundamentals; you’ll have them organized the way the CC exam expects, plus the practice and revision tools to walk into the test confidently. And once certified, you’ll have a sharper edge when applying for entry-level cyber security roles.
4. SOC Training for Blue Teams
SOC Training for Blue Teams is a hands-on, practical course designed to teach you what it’s really like to work inside a Security Operations Center (SOC). If you’re aiming for a defensive (blue team) role, this course helps you build the core detection-and-response skills SOC analysts use day to day, even if you’ve never worked in a SOC before.
In this course, you’ll learn how to:
- Understand SOC fundamentals: structure, purpose, workflows, and daily operations
- Analyze logs in Splunk to spot anomalies and investigate incidents
- Perform static and dynamic malware analysis, including behavioral techniques
- Detect and respond to threats using real-world SOC procedures
- Map attacker behavior using frameworks like MITRE ATT&CK and tools like Atomic Red Team
- Do network forensics with PCAP traffic analysis to identify malicious activity
The course is led by Rohit Gautam, CEO and Founder of Hacktify Cyber Security, with extensive experience in SOC-focused training, VAPT teams, and real-world security work. His background spans network exploitation, web application security analysis, and red team/blue team operations, which gives the course a strong “this is how it works on the job” feel.
Requirements are beginner-friendly: basic familiarity with cyber security concepts helps, you’ll need a Windows PC for the hands-on labs, but no prior SOC or security operations experience is required.
What This Course Prepares You For:
This is a job-role course, not just theory. It’s built to move you from “I understand the basics” to “I can function like a junior SOC analyst.” You’re learning real tooling, real workflows, and real detection/triage thinking, the kind that directly supports roles like SOC Analyst, Cyber Security Analyst, or Security Operations Technician.
That’s why it’s best taken after you’ve covered core fundamentals (like CC/Security+ and a broader security overview). Once you’ve done that, this course becomes the bridge into practical blue-team work and SOC readiness.
Courses: Security in Depth
Now that you have the fundamentals down, it’s time to learn security in depth.
This includes understanding different layers of security and implementing multiple measures to protect against various threats.
5. The Complete Cyber Security Course! Volume 1: Hackers Exposed
The Complete Cyber Security Course! Volume 1: Hackers Exposed is a comprehensive course to equip you with the skills to keep hackers away, protect your privacy, and help shield you from threats.
In the course, you'll learn:
- Cyber security concepts from threat modeling to risk analysis
- The inner workings of the Darknet, hacker psychology, exploit kits, and more
- Global tracking systems and the far-reaching capabilities of agencies like the NSA
- Operating system privacy and security on Windows, Linux, and macOS
- Encryption techniques, use cases, and limitations
- Defending against phishing, SMShing, vishing, and other social engineering attacks
- Isolation solutions like sandboxes, virtual machines, and secure operating systems like Whonix and Qubes OS
With 25 years of cyber security industry experience securing top-tier clients, award-winning cyber security educator Nathan House leads the course sharing hard-won insider tips.
Standing out as an all-in-one cyber security resource, 11+ hours of video lessons and a 200+ page eBook make this course an invaluable training for professionals and beginners seeking practical defenses against digital threats.
What This Course Prepares You For:
This one is less “your first step into cyber security” and more a master’s-level foundation. Think of it as a high-impact overview of the field, the kind that helps you connect the dots between concepts, technologies, attacker methods, and defensive strategy.
It’s ideal if you want to seriously deepen your understanding, whether you’re a motivated beginner ready for a bigger challenge, or someone already in tech who wants a comprehensive, real-world cyber security worldview. After finishing it, you’ll have a structured mental model of how cyber security fits together, and what to focus on next.
6. CompTIA Security+ Study Guide: SY0-701 Total Course
CompTIA Security+ Study Guide: SY0-701 Total Course is your comprehensive guide to acing the CompTIA Security+ exam.
This course is a must-have for anyone looking to boost their cyber security career, and covers the latest SY0-701 exam objectives launched in November 2023.
Even if you don’t plan on getting the Security+ certification, the knowledge you will gain from this course provides an invaluable, high-level understanding of cyber security.
In the course, you'll learn:
- Understanding the basics of IT security, including confidentiality, integrity, and availability (CIA triad)
- Identifying different types of cyber security threats and vulnerabilities
- Learning testing infrastructure, such as vulnerability assessments and penetration testing
- Understanding how to develop and manage security policies
- Cryptographic principles, encryption techniques, and public key infrastructure (PKI)
- Understanding how to implement robust access control policies and procedures
Instructors Mike Meyers, Dan Lachance, and Lyndon Williams bring over 60 years of combined experience. Their expertise ensures you get the knowledge to pass the exam and the practical skills for the field.
This course is ideal for beginners. If you're considering the Security+ 701 exam, it’ll help you prepare by providing a comprehensive overview of the certification exam objectives and key concepts.
With this course, you're not just preparing for an exam; you're setting the foundation for a thriving career in cyber security.
What This Course Prepares You For:
This is a foundational certification-prep course that also serves as one of the most important career on-ramps in cyber security. Security+ is widely treated as the baseline credential for entry-level security roles, so this course points you directly toward getting exam-ready and employable at the same time.
What you’re really building here is a broad, job-relevant security framework: threats, controls, risk, policy, identity, network defense, and crypto - all organized the way employers and the Security+ exam expect you to understand them. That’s why it’s often the best first major certification step after basic IT/networking learning.
Courses: Security Principals Applied
Our final courses will help you apply security principles such as encryption, authentication, and access control to real-world scenarios. These courses will also provide experience with industry standards and techniques for securing networks and systems.
7. ISO 27001:2022 Training Foundations Course
The ISO 27001:2022 Training Foundations Course offers a way to understand complex ISO cyber security standards. This course teaches you the fundamentals of ISO 27001 implementation and is aimed at beginners.
ISO 27001 is an internationally recognized standard that outlines guidelines for organizations to establish an information security management system. This provides a framework for organizations to manage, maintain, and monitor the protection of their assets.
This course will teach you:
- The structure, principles, and purpose behind the ISO 27001 standard
- Constructing an Information Security Management System (ISMS) as an ISO 27001-aligned project
- Defining organizational context, leadership roles, and security objectives
- Risk management assessment, treatment planning, and mitigation
- Implementing risk treatment plans, operational planning, and managing changes
- Monitoring, auditing, reviews, addressing weaknesses, and continual improvement
With six modules that include activities, quizzes, and over eight hours of content, this course simplifies ISO 27001 adoption.
Author of the acclaimed thesis The Impact of Cybersecurity on Competitive Advantage, instructor Dejan Kosutic is an internationally respected ISO security expert.
His unique approach teaches you practical applications of these standards, linking cyber security to strategic business growth.
For beginners tackling their first ISO 27001 implementation or those seeking a refresher, this course delivers. With Dejan’s guidance, you’ll not only grasp ISO 27001 but also discover how to transform standards into organizational opportunities.
What This Course Prepares You For:
This course points you toward the governance, risk, and compliance (GRC) side of cyber security - the part of the industry focused on building secure organizations, not just secure systems.
It teaches you how companies create and run an Information Security Management System (ISMS) using ISO 27001:2022 as the blueprint. That means you’ll understand how security becomes a structured business program: defining scope, assessing risk, selecting controls, documenting processes, auditing, and improving over time.
8. CompTIA CySA+ Study Guide: CS0-003 Total Course
CompTIA CySA+ Study Guide: CS0-003 Total Course teaches you everything you need to excel in cyber threat analysis, vulnerability detection, risk mitigation, and incident response while preparing you to pass the CySA+ exam.
It’s important to emphasize that the knowledge and skills covered in this course provide enormous value even if you do not pursue the CySA+ certification.
Understanding the core cyber security analysis concepts will benefit various defensive roles such as SOC or Security Analyst.
In this course, covering all four domains, you’ll gain this knowledge:
- Understanding various types of security controls and their applications
- Learning about the importance of sharing threat intelligence
- Gaining skills in threat classification and understanding different types of threat actors and malware
- Developing skills in network forensics and using tools like tcpdump and Wireshark for network analysis
- Exploring endpoint monitoring techniques and tools, as well as analyzing endpoint security data
While some network and computer security foundations help, the course is designed for those with limited technical backgrounds seeking to bridge skill gaps.
Khester Kendrick of Total Seminair have over 25 years of hands-on technical experience and five years teaching cyber security professionally. He is a PHD in Information Technology, a Masters in Cyber Security, and holds his CISSP, CySA+, and Security+.
What This Course Prepares You For:
This is an intermediate, certification-prep course that also doubles as a career-skills builder for defensive roles. The CySA+ track is specifically aligned with how real analysts work: detecting threats, interpreting evidence, prioritizing risk, and responding to incidents.
In other words, this course trains you to think and operate like a cyber security analyst. That makes it a natural next step after foundational learning (like ISC2 CC or Security+), and a strong bridge into hands-on blue-team work.
Whether you’re pursuing the CompTIA CySA+ certification or hoping to excel as a cyber security analyst, vulnerability assessor, SOC analyst, or risk mitigation expert, this course is for you.
9. Introduction to CIS Critical Security Controls
The Introduction to CIS Critical Security Controls course provides an in-depth understanding of the Center for Internet Security (CIS) Controls, guiding you through their implementation and application, which are vital for enhancing cyber security in any organization.
In this course, you’ll learn controls such as:
- Understanding how to manage and keep track of physical and software assets within an organization
- Best practices for managing user accounts and access controls
- Exploring protections for email communications
- Insights into managing and securing network infrastructure
- Exploring the role and methodologies of penetration testing in cyber security
The course is taught by Kenneth Underhill, a cyber security specialist renowned for his innovative approach to education and extensive industry experience.
What This Course Prepares You For:
This course is very job-focused. The CIS Controls are used daily by security analysts, SOC teams, IT admins, risk/compliance folks, and consultants, so learning them gives you a framework you’ll see in real roles.
If your goal is to work in cyber security (especially in defense, operations, or governance), this course helps you build the mindset of “how organizations secure things in practice”. It’s also incredibly useful if you want to speak the same language as employers and security teams.
10. Cyber Threat Intelligence Training: Basics and Fundamentals
The Cyber Threat Intelligence Training: Basics and Fundamentals course demystifies the core concepts and models behind Cyber Threat Intelligence (CTI), covering its definition, objectives, specialized vocabulary, and key frameworks.
CTI is a field focused on analyzing and understanding cyber threats. The course provides well-rounded training on CTI from strategic, operational, and tactical perspectives.
You’ll learn the following:
- Defining CTI, its goals, terminology, and specialized vocabulary
- Key CTI models like the Cyber Kill Chain, Diamond Model, MITRE ATT&CK, and Pyramid of Pain
- Conducting threat actor analysis and Darkweb asset monitoring
- Hunting C2 infrastructure via SSL certificates and JARM fingerprints
Instructor Adrien Le Sech brings a distinctive blend of military and private-sector cyber security expertise to the table.
Backed by academic credentials like a Master’s in International Relations and certifications including GIAC Cyber Threat Intelligence (GCTI), his well-rounded insights inform both strategic and technical aspects of CTI.
With Adrien’s guidance, you’ll emerge with versatile skills to excel in cyber threat analysis, intelligence gathering, and mitigation.
What This Course Prepares You For:
This course is a specialization track, not a first-step fundamentals course. Cyber Threat Intelligence sits a little above the basics, assuming you already understand what attacks are, how defenders respond, and why frameworks matter.
What it points you toward is the intel side of cyber security, where the goal is to understand adversaries, predict behavior, and turn threat data into actionable insight. After this course, you’ll be able to read threat reports fluently, use major CTI models to structure analysis, and understand how intelligence feeds into real security operations.
Learning IT and Networking
To succeed in cyber security, you need a solid grasp of basic IT and networking. These skills form the foundation for understanding how systems communicate, where attackers exploit weaknesses, and how threat detection works.
CompTIA A+ (for IT fundamentals) and Network+ (for networking concepts) offer excellent roadmaps for what you should learn. Since you're studying the material anyway, why not prepare for the exams?
Earning these certifications isn't required—especially if you're just exploring the field—but they build confidence quickly and add credibility to your resume. This is particularly valuable when pursuing entry-level roles like SOC analyst or cyber security analyst, where employers expect baseline IT and networking competence.
You can certainly begin learning cybersecurity without this background, though it may be more challenging. For additional guidance, see our article "Best Networking Courses for Beginners: Top 15 Picks" to start building the habits and security practices that will support your cybersecurity journey.
Conclusion
These are ten of the best cyber security courses for beginners, organized into a clear learning path, from understanding what security is, to building real-world, job-ready skills. If you follow this roadmap, you’ll be well on your way to building strong cyber security foundations, earning certifications, and moving toward the career path you want.
It’s also worth noting that while all ten courses are available inside the StationX Master’s Program, a few can be purchased directly if you want to start with a single cert or skill track first.
Our Security+, CySA+, and Complete Cyber Security Courses are available in the following bundles - each containing additional training and practice tests:
So if you’re not ready for full membership yet, you can begin with one of these. And if you like the style of training and want to go further, with structured learning paths, mentorship, mastermind/study groups, career roadmaps, and on-demand access to the entire beginner-to-job-ready library, that’s exactly what our Master’s Program is built for.
Guarantee Your Cyber Security Career with the StationX Master’s Program!
Get real work experience and a job guarantee in the StationX Master’s Program. Dive into tailored training, mentorship, and community support that accelerates your career.
- Job Guarantee & Real Work Experience: Launch your cybersecurity career with guaranteed placement and hands-on experience within our Master’s Program.
- 30,000+ Courses and Labs: Hands-on, comprehensive training covering all the skills you need to excel in any role in the field.
- Pass Certification Exams: Resources and exam simulations that help you succeed with confidence.
- Mentorship and Career Coaching: Personalized advice, resume help, and interview coaching to boost your career.
- Community Access: Engage with a thriving community of peers and professionals for ongoing support.
- Advanced Training for Real-World Skills: Courses and simulations designed for real job scenarios.
- Exclusive Events and Networking: Join events and exclusive networking opportunities to expand your connections.
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