With the introduction of new advancements in the information technology sector comes an array of cybersecurity specialization courses. Each of these courses grooms professionals with unique skills, experience, and training, to help them secure placements among the top technological brands in the market. However, because of the league of cybersecurity courses out there, it is confusing to decide the one that’s best for you. So here’s a quick insight into some of the popular courses to opt for, as well as other certifications that can help boost your career.

Introduction to Cyber Security Specialization – NYU Tandon School of Engineering
Offered by NYU, the course is designed to educate learners about modern information and methods on how to protect a system or group of systems. This beginner-level course takes about four months to complete if the student dedicates about four hours to the course a week. It also helps the learner develop skills to assess and improve cyber security in real-world implementations for computing, software systems, and networking. The modules for this course include the following.

• Introduction to Cyber Attacks
• Cyber Attack Countermeasures
• Real-Time Cyber Threat Detection and Mitigation
• Enterprise and Infrastructure Security

IBM Cybersecurity Analyst Professional Certificate – IBM
Curated by IBM, the Cybersecurity Analyst Professional Certificate is an 8-course certification. It equips the learners with technical skills that render them ready for the job of a Cybersecurity Analyst. The course includes concepts like endpoint protection, incident response, network security, penetration testing, threat intelligence, and vulnerability assessment. The professional certificate includes the following courses.

• Introduction to Cybersecurity Tools & Cyber Attacks
• Cybersecurity Roles, Processes & Operating System Security
• Cybersecurity Compliance Framework & System Administration
• Network Security & Database Vulnerabilities
• Penetration Testing, Incident Response, and Forensics
• Cyber Threat Intelligence
• Cybersecurity Capstone: Breach Response Case Studies
• IBM Cybersecurity Analyst Assessment

Google IT Support Professional Certificate – Google
Designed by Google, the course does not require any prior experience and gets the individual job-ready in less than six months. The course objective is to train the person to execute daily IT support tasks, including computer assembly, program installations, and wireless networking. The course also offers training for end-to-end customer support, right from identifying issues to troubleshooting and debugging. The Google IT Support Professional Certificate is a five-course program that includes the following.

• Technical Support Fundamentals
• The Bits and Bytes of Computer Networking
• Operating Systems and You: Becoming a Power User
• System Administration and IT Infrastructure Services
• IT Security: Defense against the digital dark arts

Secure Coding Practices Specialization – University of California, Davis
The certification is the perfect solution for those who want to be well-versed in secure coding and programming. The Secure Coding Practices Specialization by the University of California, Davis, covers concepts of threat modeling and cryptography, principles of secure coding. It also covers detecting and resolving vulnerabilities in C/C++ and Java languages. The course prepares the learner to think like a hacker, and in doing so, learn how to protect their employer’s sensitive data. You can expect strenuous practice activities that include WebGoat, an OWASP project specifically designed to train people in penetration testing. Here’s what the intermediate-four-course specialization looks like.

• Principles of Secure Coding
• Identifying Security Vulnerabilities
• Identifying Security Vulnerabilities in C/C++Programming
• Exploiting and Securing Vulnerabilities in Java Applications