Free Cybersecurity Training: Resources by Career Path

You can break into cybersecurity without a degree using free and low-cost training resources. This is not wishful thinking. One in three cybersecurity roles are now filled without a traditional degree, and 89% of employers say they prefer candidates with certifications over formal education credentials (Fortinet, 2025).

The industry is hiring based on what you can demonstrate, not where you studied. Certifications, hands-on lab work, and portfolio projects are what get you through the door. The resources to build all three are largely free or under $200.

This guide organises the best free cybersecurity training platforms by career track. Every path shares the same foundations, then branches into the specialisation that matches where you want to work.

What Free Cybersecurity Training Should Beginners Start With?

Regardless of which career path you choose, these resources build the core knowledge every cybersecurity professional needs. Start here before specialising.

Google Cybersecurity Professional Certificate (Coursera). Designed for total beginners with no prior experience. Covers the security analyst mindset, introduces Python, Linux, and SQL. Costs around $49/month on a subscription basis. Complete it in three months for under $150 total. Completing it also unlocks a 33% discount on the CompTIA Security+ exam, the certification most employers ask for first.

ISC2 Certified in Cybersecurity (CC). ISC2 runs the CISSP, one of the most respected certifications in the industry. Their entry-level CC certification is completely free through the One Million Certified in Cybersecurity programme: free self-paced training and one free exam attempt. A recognised certification for $0 at the time of writing.

Professor Messer (YouTube). Full video courses covering CompTIA A+, Network+, and Security+, all free. Most people in the industry used Professor Messer to pass their first certification exams. The content is thorough, clearly explained, and updated for current exam objectives.

TryHackMe (Free Tier). Theory only takes you so far. TryHackMe provides browser-based labs where you practise real skills in a safe environment. The free tier includes introductory paths like Pre-Security and Introduction to Cybersecurity. Premium runs $10-17/month when you are ready for more depth, but the free tier is enough to get started and build confidence.

Palo Alto Networks Free Fundamentals. Four self-paced courses covering cybersecurity fundamentals, network security, cloud security, and SOC operations. All you need is an email address. Coming from a major security vendor, these carry weight on a CV.

For a complete breakdown of how these foundations connect to career progression, see our Cybersecurity Skills Roadmap, which maps the path from zero experience to job-ready.

Free SOC Analyst Training Resources

SOC (Security Operations Centre) analysts monitor security alerts, investigate incidents, and defend networks. This is the most common entry point into cybersecurity and offers the clearest path from beginner to employed.

LetsDefend (Free Tier). Purpose-built for aspiring SOC analysts. Free courses include SOC Fundamentals, Phishing Email Analysis, Linux for Blue Team, Building a Malware Analysis Lab, and Splunk basics. The platform simulates a real SOC environment with alerts to triage, which is exactly the experience hiring managers want to see.

CyberDefenders. Free DFIR (Digital Forensics and Incident Response) challenges using real-world artefacts. You analyse actual packet captures, memory dumps, and disk images. This builds the investigation muscle that separates strong SOC candidates from the crowd.

Building your own SIEM lab is one of the strongest portfolio projects for SOC roles. Our ELK Stack Security Monitoring Tutorial walks through setting up a working SIEM from scratch, giving you hands-on experience with the tools you will use on day one.

Free Penetration Testing Training and Labs

Penetration testers find vulnerabilities before attackers do. This path requires deeper technical skills in networking, operating systems, and exploit development.

Hack The Box (Free Tier). More challenging than TryHackMe, with active machines you can attack in a realistic environment. The free tier is limited but gives you genuine penetration testing experience. HTB Academy offers structured learning paths for those ready to invest ($25/month for the paid tier).

OverTheWire Wargames. Completely free, no account needed. Progressive challenges teach Linux command line, networking, and exploitation through hands-on puzzles. Start with the Bandit wargame for Linux fundamentals, then progress to Natas for web security. These are a rite of passage for aspiring pentesters.

Building a practice lab is essential for this track. Our guides on setting up a cybersecurity practice lab and getting started with Docker for security walk through building environments where you can practise safely and build demonstrable portfolio evidence.

Free Application Security and DevSecOps Training

AppSec professionals secure software throughout the development lifecycle. If you have a development background, this is your fastest path into cybersecurity.

PortSwigger Web Security Academy. The gold standard for learning web application security, and 100% free. Created by the team behind Burp Suite, it covers everything from SQL injection to advanced deserialization attacks with interactive labs. Work through the entire curriculum and you will have a genuinely strong foundation that maps to real job requirements.

OWASP Resources. The OWASP Top 10 is the industry-standard list of web application security risks. Beyond the list, OWASP provides free deliberately vulnerable applications for practice: WebGoat and Juice Shop let you attack insecure apps to learn exploitation and defence techniques hands-on.

Supply chain security is increasingly critical for developers. Our npm Vulnerability Scanner guide covers practical dependency scanning workflows, and the broader supply chain content on the blog addresses what happens when the packages you trust get compromised.

Free GRC and Compliance Training Resources

Governance, Risk, and Compliance (GRC) roles focus on policy, frameworks, and risk management. These positions often suit career changers from business, finance, or legal backgrounds where the barrier is understanding frameworks rather than writing code.

NIST Cybersecurity Framework. The NIST CSF 2.0 documentation is freely available and forms the backbone of most enterprise security programmes. Understanding this framework is foundational for GRC roles. Start with the framework overview, then explore the Implementation Tiers for maturity assessment language that appears in nearly every job description.

CISA Training Resources. The US Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency provides free training modules covering incident response, risk management, and critical infrastructure protection. Government-backed, strong credibility, and directly relevant to public sector GRC roles.

ISC2 CC (listed in foundations) is particularly relevant here. The certification covers security principles, risk management, and compliance concepts that map directly to GRC job requirements without requiring deep technical depth.

Our CTEM guide covers how organisations move beyond point-in-time compliance assessments to continuous risk management, which is the direction most GRC roles are heading.

How to Use AI to Learn Cybersecurity Faster

AI is not just a topic to learn about in cybersecurity. It is a tool that accelerates how you learn everything else. Candidates who understand both how to use AI tools and how to secure them have a significant advantage. AI security is the single largest skills gap employers are trying to close, with 34% of organisations citing it as their top priority (ISC2, 2025).

AI as a learning accelerator. Use AI assistants to break down complex topics, generate practice scenarios, and explain error messages when you get stuck in labs. The key is treating AI as a study partner that you verify, not an oracle you trust blindly. Ask it to explain a SIEM alert, then check the explanation against documentation. This builds both AI literacy and security knowledge simultaneously.

Learning about AI security. Understanding how AI systems can be attacked, and defended, is becoming a baseline expectation for security roles. Prompt injection, data poisoning, and shadow AI risks are showing up in interview questions and job descriptions that did not mention them 12 months ago. Our AI security content covers these threats from a practitioner perspective.

The CyberDesserts Learning Assistant is built specifically for cybersecurity learners. It provides structured responses with citations and follow-up questions designed to guide you through security concepts, help you prepare for certifications, and connect topics across the cybersecurity landscape. Unlike a general AI chatbot, it draws from curated security sources and points you toward hands-on next steps.

Building AI into your portfolio. Demonstrating that you can use AI tools effectively in a security context, writing detection rules with AI assistance, using AI for log analysis, evaluating AI-generated code for vulnerabilities, is a differentiator that most entry-level candidates are not showing yet. Start documenting these skills now.

Do You Need a Degree for Cybersecurity?

A degree is not required to start a cybersecurity career. Around 33% of cybersecurity roles are now filled by candidates without traditional degrees, and that number is growing as employers shift to skills-based hiring (ISACA, 2025). Adaptability is now the top qualification factor employers look for, ahead of prior experience (ISACA, 2025).

That said, a degree is not worthless. It can help with certain employers, government clearance requirements, and long-term career progression. But a $23,000 for-profit programme is rarely the best investment at entry level. If you want a degree, consider community college or accredited online options at a fraction of the cost.

The CyberDesserts career content covers this topic in depth, including how to build a portfolio that competes with degree holders and what hiring managers actually look for at each career stage.

Key Takeaways

• Start with foundations regardless of career track. Google CC, ISC2 CC, and Professor Messer give you certification-ready knowledge for under $150 total.
• Pick a specialisation and match your resources to it. SOC analyst is the most common entry point, but pentesting, AppSec, and GRC are all viable paths with different resource requirements.
• Hands-on practice separates candidates who get hired from those who do not. TryHackMe, LetsDefend, Hack The Box, and OverTheWire provide the practical skills you cannot get from video courses alone.
• AI skills are a career differentiator. Learn to use AI tools for security tasks and understand AI-specific threats. Both are increasingly expected in interviews.
• Build portfolio evidence. A home lab, completed challenges, and certifications demonstrate capability better than any course completion certificate alone.

Map your full path from beginner to job-ready. Our Cybersecurity Skills Roadmap covers the complete journey, and the CyberDesserts Learning Assistant can help you build a personalised learning plan.

New resources appear regularly, and the best ones change as the industry evolves. Subscribers get notified when we update career guides and publish new hands-on tutorials. No sales pitches, no fluff.

This article is part of our cybersecurity careers series. See the full collection: CyberDesserts Career Resources

Last updated: March 2026

References and Sources

1. Fortinet. (2025). 2025 Global Cybersecurity Skills Gap Report. 89% of IT decision-makers prefer certified candidates. 86% of organisations experienced a breach in 2024. Survey of IT and cybersecurity decision-makers globally.
2. Fortinet. (2024). 2024 Global Cybersecurity Skills Gap Report. 91% of employers prefer hiring candidates with certifications. 87% of organisations experienced a breach partially attributable to skills gap.
3. ISACA. (2025). State of Cybersecurity 2025. Adaptability is the top qualification factor (61%). 33% of roles filled without traditional degrees.
4. ISC2. (2025). 2025 Cybersecurity Workforce Study. AI (34%) and cloud computing security (30%) identified as the most significant organisational skills gaps.
5. ISC2. (2024). One Million Certified in Cybersecurity Programme. Free CC training and exam for one million candidates.
6. Google. (2024). Google Cybersecurity Professional Certificate. Includes CompTIA Security+ 33% exam discount upon completion.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can I get into cybersecurity without a degree?

Yes. Around one-third of cybersecurity roles are now filled without traditional degrees (ISACA, 2025). The ISC2 Certified in Cybersecurity, CompTIA Security+, and hands-on lab experience from platforms like TryHackMe provide a recognised entry path that employers actively seek.

What is the cheapest way to get CompTIA Security+ certified?

Study with Professor Messer's free YouTube courses, practise on TryHackMe's free tier, and complete the Google Cybersecurity Certificate on Coursera (under $150 for three months) to earn a 33% discount on the Security+ exam fee. Total investment under $400.

Which free cybersecurity training platform should I start with?

For complete beginners, start with TryHackMe's free Pre-Security path to build foundational skills in a guided, browser-based environment. Once comfortable with basics, branch into specialised platforms: LetsDefend for SOC analyst skills, PortSwigger Web Security Academy for application security, or Hack The Box for penetration testing.

How long does it take to get an entry-level cybersecurity job?

With focused effort of 10-15 hours per week, most career changers can be job-ready within 6-12 months. This typically includes earning one or two certifications (ISC2 CC and CompTIA Security+), completing hands-on lab work, and building a portfolio of practical projects.

Is the ISC2 Certified in Cybersecurity really free?

Yes. Through the One Million Certified in Cybersecurity programme, ISC2 provides free self-paced training and one free exam attempt. You need to create an ISC2 account and complete a candidate application. Annual maintenance fees apply after certification, but the initial training and exam cost nothing.

What AI skills do cybersecurity employers want?

AI security is the largest skills gap, with 34% of organisations citing it as their top priority (ISC2, 2025). Employers want candidates who can use AI tools for tasks like log analysis and detection rule writing, and who understand AI-specific threats including prompt injection and data poisoning.