Top 10 free cybersecurity training for employees

This course by Mitti (by SafetyCulture) will provide your employees with knowledge about different cyber scams and cyber attacks, and the know-how to mitigate them. It gives an overview of why scams occur and gives examples of the most common internet scams we can encounter, such as prize scams, fake merchandising, and sweetheart swindles. By the end of this course, your teams will become expert “scam scanners” and will know how to protect your business.

This free cybersecurity training for employees can be immediately deployed out of the box to your teams or can be fully customized. This means that you can put your branding and insert content that’s most relevant to you. Mitti (by SafetyCulture) is also a perfect tool for checking completion and progress as it includes an employee training tracker so it’s easy to monitor who has finished their training.

Scope: Types of scams, scam identification and mitigation

Technology evolves rapidly more than we’re aware of. This is why this course by Mitti (by SafetyCulture) highlights the importance of continuous learning so your employees can stay on top of cybersecurity awareness. This course was made in mind to give an up-to-date guide to individuals and organizations from cyber threats and attacks. At the core of it is recognizing the most common vulnerabilities, such as SQL injection, session impersonation, and cross-site scripting attacks. It then proceeds to teach you ways to protect your systems from those easily exploitable vulnerabilities.

While cybersecurity may be on a more serious note due to critical information, it doesn’t mean that learning can’t be a fun and engaging experience. Mitti (by SafetyCulture) has several game-based templates you can use to drive interest, like the Find-a-word template which is your typical word search game, and the jeopardy game which takes after the game with the same name.

Scope: Injection attacks, cross-Site Scripting (XSS), system protection

This cybersecurity training for employees gives the background needed to get you started on data privacy. To prime you up for the current landscape, it discusses the beginnings of cybersecurity and the various reasons why cyberattacks happen. It further expands your knowledge by giving a brief overview of the different kinds of unauthorized attacks and the tools we can use to defend against them. By the end of this course, you’ll be able to define basic terminology and concepts around cybersecurity. It will also provide best practices and resources if you want to further your knowledge beyond this course. This training is free of charge and can be done at your own pace; however, it takes 4 weeks to complete.

Scope: History of cybersecurity, types of cyberattacks, key security tools

This course shines a light on making privacy and security at the forefront of any organization. Through video learning, it discusses how to train your employees in online security and also teaches them how to secure their devices along with the software, networks, and cloud security systems they use at work to prevent them from being compromised. It also covers how to create a secure online experience for customers who are the lifeblood of any business. While this course is completely free, it takes an hour to finish which could affect completion rates for employees who may have a short attention span.

Scope: Online security, securing devices, networks, systems, and software

This cybersecurity training for employees helps them realize that you don’t have to be a bigshot or someone rich and famous to be potential targets of hackers. As with any individual who uses technology, they should take steps in protecting themselves from cyber criminals. This course starts by discussing why security matters and how to have the proper mindset towards it. It then cites the most common security threats we should be aware of and provides best practices to avoid and mitigate them. While some of the topics are technical, this course is targeted at beginners and is made to be easily actionable and understood. This course is quite lengthy with 35 lessons and takes almost 2 hours to complete. As this is one of Skillshare’s premium courses, you’ll need to subscribe to access it.

Scope: Common online security threats, multi-layer security, good security habits and practices

This course is designed to provide employees a glimpse into the current cybersecurity landscape and to equip them with the information they need to manage security protocols. By the end of this training, employees will have an enhanced understanding of cybersecurity principles and the knowledge to combat various threats, such as phishing, malware, and Bluetooth attacks. They’ll also be able to execute risk management processes and treatment methods. This course is a bit advanced but is still on a beginner level. The different topics were carefully curated and are spread out into 3 hours of self-paced video lessons. The good thing is that this informative course is free, but the downside is you’ll only have 90 days to access it.

Scope: Cybersecurity fundamentals, mitigation, risk management

Through this cybersecurity training for employees, essential information security topics are discussed together with the corresponding actions employees should take to protect vulnerable information in the workplace. It teaches the fundamental aspects of information security known as the CIA triad, which are: Confidentiality, Integrity, and Availability. It provides applicative examples to protect your personal information, such as learning how to set secure passwords and enabling multi-factor authentication. While you’re not required to know the whole process for reporting breaches, it also highlights the importance of knowing key processes, such as how to report an incident or exploit and knowing the appropriate team to forward it to.

Scope: CIA triad, common threats, incident response

Created by IBM, this cybersecurity training for employees hosted on Coursera starts with a background on cybersecurity by first discussing its history leading up to the landscape we have today. It describes key concepts including the CIA triad, incident response, and even best practices. This course will also help employees identify the various cybersecurity tools to protect against malicious threats, such as firewalls and antivirus software, and how to utilize them. And if you're looking for free cyber security certifications, this course allows you to earn a certificate upon completion. While you have the flexibility on how you want to progress in this course, it’s the lengthiest in our list as it takes around 20 hours to complete.

Scope: Cybersecurity concepts, cybersecurity tools, common cybersecurity best practices

This free cyber security course by Alison is a cybersecurity training for employees that will discuss what Digital Citizenship is as well as provide cybersecurity awareness. It explains how to be a good digital citizen by following proper digital etiquette and safety through your online presence. It also provides the fundamentals such as differentiation of the common types of cybersecurity attacks, prevention tips and tricks, and the use of prevention software for your desktop and mobile devices to protect yourself from any data breach online. This course is mobile-friendly and can take 4-5 hours to finish. You can also earn a certificate after completing this course.

Scope: Digital citizenship, digital security and safety, types of cyberattacks and breaches