Do Most Cyber Security Courses Deliver Any Value?

Today, it is not just companies that have become the victims of cyber-attacks, individuals are also becoming a prime target of hackers and DDoS attack is one of the best examples to this — who knows if your computer or laptop was also a part of a DDoS attack. In an age where the world is becoming more and more digital, not only organisations but individuals are also opting to learn cybersecurity. Today, it's not just a specialized, niche career—it is a  skill that even an average person should learn about.

The void in the cybersecurity Domain

When it comes to cybersecurity, it is not an easy domain — one needs to have extensive knowledge about a lot of things from the computer science field. And to gain that knowledge, more and more individuals are taking up cybersecurity courses — either online or offline.  But does these courses actually deliver the value and knowledge you are seeking? If you want to have a career in cybersecurity, apart from being someone from a computer science background, you need to have certain certifications. Some of the most popular certifications from the cyber security domain are:

• Certified Ethical Hacker (CEH): It is an intermediate-level credential offered by the International Council of E-Commerce Consultants (EC-Council). And it is a must-have for individuals pursuing careers in ethical hacking
• Certified Information Security Manager (CISM): It is a top credential for an individual who wants to have a career in managing, developing and overseeing information security systems in enterprise-level applications.

Further, there are other certifications too such as CompTIA Security+, Certified Information Systems Security Professional (CISSP), and SANS GIAC Security Essentials (GSEC), and to get these certifications done you need to have deep knowledge of the cyber security domain. But today, things are changing —even after having multiple certifications, many cybersecurity professionals are not aware of most of the things from the domain. And cybersecurity course that promises to get you your certification done, are also playing a role in creating this void.

Do you really need to rely on a cyber security training course?

Today, as cybersecurity continues to evolve and more and more people are taking cyber security as a career, the number of cybersecurity training centres are also increasing, offering courses ranging from one month to six months. However, not all the training centres or all the courses are worth spending on. Why? Even though almost every organisation today has viable cybersecurity infrastructure, the number of data breaches are not decreasing. The advancing technology is also favouring hackers to figure out sophisticated ways to hack. So, do you think a three months course can make you the jack of all trades? Most of the training centres basically focus on the basic, which is not a bad thing. However, too much time is spent on the basics itself. That is not all when it comes to getting your hands-on on real-time hacking, these courses don’t let students perform advanced hacks and sometimes, the centre itself doesn’t have the required infrastructure for real-time hacking. So, if you think for a moment, they cybersecurity training must not be a complete waste, but it's not worth the money either, considering the fact that domain has gone far beyond phishing and XSS. Talking about online cyber security courses, they are also not something that delivers a great amount of value. Being an online course, the chance is less that one would get a chance to try out real-time hacks. Online courses mostly prepare you with the basic and give an idea who to crack exams like CEH, CISM etc. But is cybersecurity only about cracking an exam and getting a certificate? Absolutely not.

How to choose the right cyber security course?

If you want to have a career in the field of cybersecurity, it is advisable not to completely rely on training courses. Also, make sure that you choose the right training centre before putting in your cash. Ask the previous batch students about the course, research if the centre has a viable infrastructure to practice real-time hacks, and make sure that the trainers have in-depth knowledge and has a significant amount of experience from the domain.