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A curated map of the best free places to learn cyber security online — hands-on labs, full courses, web-hacking academies, blue-team training and challenges. Filter by topic and level, and click straight through to start.

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Not sure where to begin?

A simple path from zero to skilled.

Follow these four steps in order, or jump straight to the resources below.

01

Foundations

Learn the basics of computers, networks and online safety. Try Cisco’s intro or Khan Academy.

02

Get hands-on

Practise in guided labs. TryHackMe and PortSwigger Academy are the perfect on-ramp.

03

Specialise

Pick a direction — web, blue team or offensive — and go deeper with focused platforms.

04

Prove it

Take on CTFs and certificate paths, and build a portfolio of write-ups as you go.

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Six ways to learn.

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The resources

Start learning today.

Filter by topic and level. Every card links straight to the source — all free to begin.

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Every resource has a free way to start; some also offer paid tiers or certificates.

Hands-on labsBeginnerTryHackMeGuided, gamified labs that hold your hand from zero.The friendliest place to start. Bite-sized ‘rooms’ walk you through concepts and let you practise on real machines in the browser, with a generous free tier.Free tier + roomstryhackme.com ↗Hands-on labsAdvancedHack The BoxReal-world penetration-testing machines to attack.A step up in difficulty: vulnerable machines and challenges that mimic real targets. HTB Academy adds guided modules, while the main labs reward independent problem-solving.Free + Academyhackthebox.com ↗Web & AppSecBeginnerPortSwigger Web Security AcademyThe best free way to learn web hacking.Made by the team behind Burp Suite. Free, structured labs covering every major web vulnerability from SQL injection to SSRF — widely considered essential for AppSec.100% freeportswigger.net ↗CTF & challengesBeginnerOverTheWireLearn Linux and hacking basics through war-games.Classic ‘war-game’ challenges (start with Bandit) that teach the Linux command line and security fundamentals one puzzle at a time. Pure terminal, totally free.100% freeoverthewire.org ↗Courses & pathsBeginnerCybraryVideo courses across the whole field.A broad library of cybersecurity video courses and career paths, with a free tier that covers fundamentals and certification prep.Free tiercybrary.it ↗Courses & pathsBeginnerGoogle Cybersecurity CertificateA beginner-to-job career path.An entry-level professional certificate (on Coursera) designed to take complete beginners toward their first security role. Audit free; certificate is paid.Free to auditgrow.google ↗Courses & pathsBeginnerCoursera — CybersecurityUniversity-grade courses and specializations.University and industry courses you can audit for free, including IBM, Google and university specializations. Great for structured, certificate-track learning.Free to auditcoursera.org ↗Courses & pathsIntermediateedX — CybersecurityProfessional programs from top universities.Free-to-audit courses and MicroBachelors/Professional Certificates from universities like Harvard (CS50) and RIT. Strong for fundamentals and theory.Free to auditedx.org ↗Courses & pathsIntermediateMicrosoft LearnFree cloud + security training & certs prep.Free, hands-on learning paths for Azure security, identity and the SC-/AZ- certifications, with sandboxes to practise in.100% freelearn.microsoft.com ↗Courses & pathsIntermediateAWS Skill BuilderCloud security training from AWS.AWS’s official training, with free digital courses on securing cloud workloads, IAM and the AWS Security Specialty certification path.Free tieraws.amazon.com ↗Courses & pathsBeginnerCisco Networking AcademyNetworking + security fundamentals.Free courses including ‘Introduction to Cybersecurity’ and networking essentials — a solid grounding before you specialise.100% freenetacad.com ↗Frameworks & referenceIntermediateOWASPThe home of web application security.A nonprofit goldmine: the OWASP Top 10, cheat sheets, testing guides and free tools that define how the industry thinks about app security.100% freeowasp.org ↗Frameworks & referenceIntermediateMITRE ATT&CKThe knowledge base of attacker tactics.A free, continuously-updated matrix of real-world adversary tactics and techniques — the shared language used by blue teams, threat intel and detection engineers.100% freeattack.mitre.org ↗Frameworks & referenceAdvancedSANS — Free ResourcesPosters, webcasts and research.SANS sells premium training, but its free posters, white papers, webcasts and the ‘Holiday Hack’ style challenges are excellent reference material.Free resourcessans.org ↗Web & AppSecAdvancedPentesterLabHands-on web exploitation exercises.Focused, hands-on exercises for learning web vulnerabilities in depth, with a set of free exercises and a low-cost Pro tier.Free exercisespentesterlab.com ↗Blue team & DFIRIntermediateBlue Team Labs OnlineDefensive, SOC-style investigations.Investigation challenges from a defender’s seat — phishing, SIEM, forensics and incident response — with a free tier to get started.Free tierblueteamlabs.online ↗Blue team & DFIRIntermediateSecurity Blue TeamBlue-team focused learning & BTL1 prep.Defensive-security training including a free introductory course and paths toward the respected BTL1 certification.Free introsecurityblue.team ↗Blue team & DFIRIntermediateCyberDefendersBlue-team CTFs: SOC & DFIR.Free, realistic blue-team challenges and labs covering SOC analysis and digital forensics — perfect for practising detection and investigation.100% freecyberdefenders.org ↗Blue team & DFIRAdvancedMalware-Traffic-Analysis.netPractise analysing real malicious traffic.A long-running archive of packet captures and exercises for practising malware and network-traffic analysis with real samples.100% freemalware-traffic-analysis.net ↗Blue team & DFIRAdvancedDFIR TrainingDigital forensics & incident response.A hub of free DFIR tools, challenges, test images and resources for anyone moving into forensics and incident response.Free resourcesdfir.training ↗CTF & challengesIntermediateRoot MeHundreds of security challenges.A huge, free catalogue of bite-sized challenges across web, crypto, forensics and more — great for steady, varied practice.100% freeroot-me.org ↗CTF & challengesBeginnerPicoCTFBeginner-friendly CTF from Carnegie Mellon.A free, beginner-oriented capture-the-flag built for students, with a gentle on-ramp into CTF-style problem solving that stays available year-round.100% freepicoctf.org ↗Hands-on labsIntermediateVulnHubDownloadable vulnerable machines.Free, downloadable virtual machines you can hack in your own lab — ideal for offline practice and building a home pentest environment.100% freevulnhub.com ↗Hands-on labsAdvancedRangeForce CommunityHands-on cyber skill labs.Interactive, browser-based labs with a free community edition focused on practical defensive and offensive skills.Free communityrangeforce.com ↗Courses & pathsAdvancedINE — Free TrainingPro labs and certification prep.INE offers professional training and the eLearnSecurity (eJPT/eCPPT) certifications, with a set of free starter courses.Free coursesine.com ↗Courses & pathsBeginnerKhan Academy — Online SafetyPlain-English internet safety basics.Free, approachable lessons on core computing and online-safety concepts — a gentle starting point for absolute beginners.100% freekhanacademy.org ↗Courses & pathsAdvancedOpenSecurityTraining2Deep, low-level technical training.Free, university-depth courses on topics like assembly, reverse engineering and exploitation for those who want the fundamentals at a low level.100% freeopensecuritytraining.info ↗Courses & pathsBeginnerCyber AcesFree intro to operating systems & networking.Free foundational tutorials in operating systems, networking and system administration — the groundwork every security role builds on.100% freecyberaces.org ↗Frameworks & referenceBeginnerCISA — Free TrainingGovernment cyber training & resources.The US cyber agency’s free training, guides and awareness resources — trustworthy material for individuals and small organisations.100% freecisa.gov ↗Courses & pathsBeginnerYouTube — Free CreatorsChannels like NetworkChuck, John Hammond, IppSec.A wealth of free, high-quality tutorials and walkthroughs from creators such as NetworkChuck, John Hammond, IppSec and The Cyber Mentor.100% freeyoutube.com ↗CTF & challengesIntermediateCTFtimeFind live CTF competitions to join.The calendar of capture-the-flag competitions worldwide, plus team rankings and write-ups — the place to find your next event.100% freectftime.org ↗Frameworks & referenceAdvancedExploit DatabaseArchive of public exploits & papers.A searchable archive of public exploits and security papers maintained by OffSec — a reference for researchers (study, don’t misuse).100% freeexploit-db.com ↗Frameworks & referenceIntermediateNIST Cybersecurity FrameworkThe framework that shapes the industry.The free, widely-adopted framework for understanding and managing cyber risk — essential reading for GRC, risk and architecture paths.100% freenist.gov ↗
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