31 free courses & certifications to level up in security
Hand-picked, genuinely free trainings from the best providers — across cyber fundamentals, cloud, AppSec, AI & LLM security, blue team, GRC, and leadership. Filter by level, time commitment, and whether you walk away with a certificate. Vote on what helped you, and suggest one we're missing.
DeepLearning.AI Short Courses
Bite-size, hands-on courses on RAG, agents, evaluation, and safety.
OWASP Top 10
The foundational awareness document for web application security risks.
Microsoft SC-900: Security Fundamentals
Security, compliance, and identity fundamentals across the Microsoft cloud.
CISA Cyber Training
Free government-grade training across IR, ICS, and cyber defence.
Certified in Cybersecurity (CC)
Free training + free exam for an entry-level, globally recognised cyber certification.
Introduction to Cybersecurity
Threats, attacks, and how to protect yourself and organisations — with a badge.
Cohere LLM University
From embeddings to RAG to deployment, taught clearly from first principles.
LetsDefend (free path)
A hands-on SOC analyst simulator — investigate real alerts in a browser.
Fortinet Certified Fundamentals
Free self-paced training and certification path in network security fundamentals.
TryHackMe (free rooms)
Guided, gamified hacking rooms — one of the best on-ramps into offensive security.
Google Cybersecurity Certificate
Job-ready foundation across SIEM, Linux, Python, and incident response. Audit for free.
Microsoft Cybersecurity Analyst Professional Certificate
9-course series covering cybersecurity fundamentals and AI in security, plus a 50% discount voucher for the SC-900 exam. Audit free; the graded certificate needs a Coursera subscription.
SANS Free Webcasts & Resources
Expert-led sessions on strategy, threats, and building security programmes.
OWASP Top 10 for LLM Applications
The definitive risk list for LLM apps: prompt injection, data leakage, and more.
Cloud Security Academy
Deep, practical explainers on cloud attack paths, CSPM, CNAPP, and identity.
NIST Cybersecurity Framework
Learn the framework that anchors modern risk and controls programmes.
Secure Code Warrior (free tier)
Gamified secure-coding challenges across many languages and frameworks.
PCI DSS Document Library
The source standards, SAQs, and guidance — pair it with PlayCISO’s PCI tools.
W&B AI Academy
LLM evaluation, MLOps, and production monitoring, with completion certificates.
PentesterLab (free exercises)
Real, isolated vulnerabilities to exploit and learn web pentesting properly.
Hugging Face AI Agents Course
Build and evaluate autonomous agents; earn a certificate on completion.
5-Day Gen AI Intensive
Intensive on prompting, embeddings, agents, and MLOps for generative AI.
AWS Security Learning Plan
Official AWS security curriculum: IAM, detection, data protection, incident response.
Microsoft SC-200: Security Operations
Threat detection and response with Microsoft Sentinel and Defender.
Blue Team Labs Online
Defensive challenges and investigations: forensics, IR, and threat hunting.
Hugging Face LLM Course
Transformers, fine-tuning, and deploying LLMs hands-on — the community standard.
HTB Academy (free modules)
Structured offensive-security modules with hands-on labs and a clear skill path.
Web Security Academy
The gold standard for web AppSec: interactive labs from the makers of Burp Suite.
Intro to LangGraph & Deep Agents
Build stateful, multi-step agent graphs with the LangGraph framework.
Cybersecurity Leadership & Management
Governance, risk communication, and leading teams — audit tracks for free.
Open Security Training 2
University-depth, free courses on architecture, trusted computing, and more.
Know these already? Put them into practice.
PlayCISO turns theory into reps — run a mock incident, sit a simulated PCI QSA interview, or defend your calls to a board.
Links go directly to each provider. PlayCISO curates this list and isn't affiliated with the providers.