Top Cybersecurity Resources for Students and Professionals

With a steady increase in breaches and cyberthreats continually on the rise, the demand for skilled cybersecurity professionals is in high demand, making it a solid career choice. Whether you’re considering a new position in cybersecurity, or looking to enhance your skills, taking advantage of online cybersecurity resources can keep you informed, educated, and attractive to employers.

We curated this virtual cybersecurity resource center to help cybersecurity students and professionals develop their skill set. We’ve grouped the following free, online resources together under six main categories:

• Resources for Industry News
• Resources for Free Trainings
• Resources for Certifications
• Resources for Women in Cybersecurity
• Resources for Finding Jobs
• Resources for Free Cybersecurity Tools

Resources for Industry News

1. Security Week covers a range of industry topics, including risk management, cybercrime, cloud security, and application security.
2. Dark Reading is a highly trusted online community of security professionals and thought leaders who cover information security stories.
3. Bruce Schneier’s Schneier on Security has been around since 2004 and is read by over 250,000 people. Known as the “security guru,” Schneier offers blog posts, essays, and access to his books.
4. Brain Krebs is another well-known security writer. He shares his thoughts on cybercrime and the latest news in information security on his blog, Krebs on Security.
5. SC Magazine features industry expert insights and delivers breaking news stories and product reviews.
6. Zero Day Blog, brought to you by ZDNet, covers the latest software and hardware security research and computer attacks.
7. Cybereason’s podcast, Malicious Life features interesting stories about cybersecurity’s history. Listen to unknown stories with commentary from real hackers, experts, journalists, and politicians.
8. Rick Howard, CISO of Palo Alto Networks, started The Cybersecurity Canon Project in 2013 to help identity must-read books for cybersecurity practitioners. You can access the list here.

Free Cybersecurity Training Resources

1. Randy Franklin Smith’s Ultimate Windows Security offers free webinars and interactive training that qualify for Continuing Professional Education (CPE) credits.
2. Visit Hack the Box to test and improve your penetrations testing and other cybersecurity skills. Challenges are released weekly and are free to play.
3. Springboard offers a free Foundations of Cybersecurity course covering security fundamentals, basics of cryptography, training on several advanced topics, and information about the current job market.
4. SANS Cyber Aces Online is an engaging online course that teaches the core concepts needed to assess and protect information security systems using a combination of tutorials and videos.
5. The U.S. Department of Homeland Security provides 11 virtual courses on topics like operational security for control systems and threats to industrial control systems at risk.
6. Visit edX to access free online courses by Harvard, MIT, UC Berkeley and more than one hundred leading educational institutions.
7. Cybrary is a crowdsourced security and IT education platform offering free practice tests, practice labs, and assessments to help you achieve your professional goals.
8. In addition to an extensive library of cybersecurity related course, Udemy also offers a variety of free online cybersecurity courses for all skill levels.

Resources for Certifications

1. SANS offers various programs designed for almost every area of cybersecurity with options for on-demand, self-paced, or live training.
2. You can find over 5,000 cybersecurity courses and narrow your search by specific certifications in the NICCS Education and Training Catalog.
3. (ISC)² offers the Certified Information Systems Security Professional (CISSP) certification to learn how to effectively design, implement, and manage an effective cybersecurity program.
4. ISACA provides certificate programs designed to help professionals at any stage advance in your cybersecurity career.
5. The Certified Computer Examiner (CCE)®certification prepares you for digital computer forensics.
6. In addition to offering courses for continuing education, CompTIA provides a certification series for a variety of skill levels. Certifications range from foundational knowledge to penetration testing, cloud security, management, and more.
7. Coursera’s library of virtual degree and certification programs include courses for a variety of areas within cybersecurity. Some areas of focus include network security, penetration testing, encryption, and cryptography.
8. You can find a comprehensive list of more cybersecurity certifications that employers typically look for here.

Resources for Women in Cybersecurity

1. Women in Cybersecurity (WiCyS) is a non-profit organization dedicated to bringing women in cybersecurity together. They provide a wide selection of live and on-demand webinars on topics like research, industry knowledge, networking, and mentoring.
2. Cybercrime Magazine put together a list of women-owned cybersecurity companies as part of their ongoing effort to promote awareness about women in cybersecurity.
3. The Scholarships for Women Studying Information Security (SWSIS) program provides scholarships for studying for their bachelor or master’s degrees in fields related to information security. Check them out here.

Resources for Finding Jobs

1. You can find a cybersecurity job board on icrunchdata and information about the market and cybersecurity employment trends in the United States.
2. National Action Council for Minorites in Engineering (NACME) is a non-profit organization committed to providing scholarships and opportunities for underrepresented students pursuing undergraduate degrees in engineering and computer science. The NACME website also has a job board for minorities in the STEM field.
3. In addition to accessing career resources and research, you can create a Cybersec Jobs profile for recruiters to find you.
4. Check out the LogRhythm Careers page on our website to view current opportunities and learn more about our dynamic culture, benefits, and community.

Resources for Free Cybersecurity Tools

1. OpenVPN is an open-source solution used by many VPNs, to make sure data sent over the internet is encrypted and private.
2. Two Factor Auth is a tool you can use to search for websites and apps that support multi-factor authorization (MFA). Security teams should implement MFA for an extra layer of security and minimize the risk of a breach caused by compromised credentials.
3. Org is a go-to repository of the network security community’s favorite tools. The site offers ratings, reviews, searching, sorting, and a list of the top 100 network security tools.
4. Enter an email address on the Have I Been Pwned (HIBP) website to quickly find out if one of your accounts has been compromised or “pwned” in a data breach.
5. CheckShortURL verifies the original URL for most shortened ones and provides additional information about the original URL to help you verify if the link is safe to visit. GetLinkInfo is another popular option.
6. SANS Internet Storm Center is an open source threat intelligence feed that gathers millions of intrusion detection log entries daily, helping identify sites used for attacks and providing data on the types of attacks happening around the globe.
7. Vulnhub is a great website to gain hand-on experience in cybersecurity. Vulnhub gives you access to vulnerable environments and walkthroughs to let beginners practice hacking.

The LogRhythm blog is also a valuable resource for new research and tips. Subscribe to get updates when new posts are published. Let us know in the comments at the bottom of the post if you have suggestions on more resources to add to this list.