10 Best Ethical Hacking Courses Online in 2023 [Updated]
It’s no secret that hackers come in all sorts of colors: white, gray, black, and everything in between when it comes to cybersecurity. Hackers who use their skills for good are considered white hats. White Hat hackers use Ethical Hacking for their purpose. As part of their Ethical Hacking practice, they examine a network’s vulnerability to outside attacks to determine its vulnerability. Hence, it goes without saying that Ethical Hacking is the most crucial skill for IT security professionals that strengthens network security.
Therefore, I have created this list of the top Ethical Hacking courses for beginners and experts to learn about Ethical Hacking. I have curated this list from the top platforms such as Udemy, Coursera, Codecademy, edX, Pluralsight, etc.
1. Learn Ethical Hacking From Scratch — [Bestseller Udemy Course]
The course assumes no prior knowledge of hacking, so by the end, you’ll know how to hack and secure systems similarly to black-hat hackers. Although this course is convenient, it doesn’t neglect the theory.
You will start with ethical hacking basics. Then, you will deconstruct penetration testing fields, download the necessary software (for Windows, Linux, and Mac OS X), and begin hacking. Additionally, you will learn everything by analyzing and exploiting different systems, including networks, servers, clients, websites, etc.
In this Ethical Hacking course, you will learn the following:
- Learn ethical hacking, its fields & the different types of hackers.
- Install a hacking lab & needed software (on Windows, OS X, and Linux).
- Hack & secure both Wi-Fi & wired networks.
- Understand how websites work and how to discover & exploit web application vulnerabilities to hack websites.
- Use 30+ hacking tools such as Metasploit, Aircrack-ng, SQLmap, etc.
- Discover vulnerabilities & exploit them to hack into servers.
- Hack secure systems using client-side & social engineering.
- Secure systems from all the attacks shown.
- Install & use Kali Linux — a penetration testing operating system.
- Learn Linux basics.
- Learn Linux commands & how to interact with the terminal.
- Learn Network Hacking / Penetration Testing.
- Network basics & how devices interact inside a network.
- Run attacks on networks without knowing their key.
- Control Wi-Fi connections without knowing the password.
- Create a fake Wi-Fi network with an internet connection & spy on clients.
- Gather detailed information about networks & connected clients like their OS, ports, etc.
- Crack WEP/WPA/WPA2 encryptions using several methods.
- ARP Spoofing / ARP Poisoning.
- Launch various Man In The Middle attacks.
- Access any account accessed by any client on the network.
- Sniff network traffic & analyze it to extract important info such as passwords, cookies, URLs, videos, images, etc.
- Intercept network traffic & modify it on the fly.
- Discover devices connected to the same network.
- Inject Javascript in pages loaded by clients connected to the same network.
- Redirect DNS requests to any destination (DNS spoofing).
- Secure networks from the discussed attacks.
- Edit router settings for maximum security.
- Discover suspicious activities in networks.
- Encrypt traffic to prevent MITM attacks.
- Discover open ports, installed services, and vulnerabilities on computer systems.
- Hack servers using server-side attacks.
This course contains 4 main topics:
- Network Hacking
- Gaining Access
- Post Exploitation
- Website/Web Application Hacking
Throughout the course, there are several sections, and each section focuses on a specific penetration testing/hacking field. You’ll first learn how the target system works, and its weaknesses and then exploit those weaknesses to hack it.
At the end of the course, you’ll have a solid grounding in most hacking and penetration testing fields and skills in detecting, preventing, and securing systems and yourself.
Featuring over 16 hours of engaging content and a course rating of 4.6 out of 5, this is an excellent course to learn Ethical Hacking. It includes a Certificate of Completion.
2. Ethical Hacking Essentials (EHE) — [Coursera]
Students will learn ethical hacking and penetration testing fundamentals, which will prepare them for a career in cybersecurity. The course will include such topics as threats and vulnerabilities, password cracking, web application attacks, IoT and OT attacks, cloud computing, pentesting fundamentals, and more.
In this Ethical Hacking course, you will learn the following:
- Fundamentals of information security and ethical hacking.
- Malware types, information security threats, and vulnerability assessments.
- Countermeasures to network-level attacks such as sniffing, denial-of-service, and session hijacking.
- An overview of application-level attacks, including web server exploitation, OWASP top 10 attacks, and SQL injection and their countermeasures.
As a result of this course, learners gain hands-on practical experience that will prepare them for a career in cybersecurity.
Featuring over 32 hours of engaging content, this is an excellent course to learn Ethical Hacking. It includes a Certificate of Completion.
3. Penetration Testing — Discovering Vulnerabilities — [edX]
The course introduces ethical hacking skills in a self-paced manner. The curriculum includes penetration testing topics. The topics covered in this course are Introduction to Penetration Testing Methodologies, Recognition, and Enumeration of Penetration Testers, Scanning, and Vulnerability Enumeration.
The course begins with an overview of penetration testing and its phases. Phase 1 is scoping. This stage involves students identifying the test’s logistics, expectations, legal implications, objectives, and goals.
The next phase of penetration testing is Reconnaissance. Reconnaissance or Open Source Intelligence (OSINT) gathering is an essential first step in penetration testing. The penetration tester is responsible for gathering as much intelligence as possible about a target organization and possible targets for exploitation.
What you will learn in this Ethical Hacking course:
- Scope a penetration test
- Collect as exciting information as possible about a target
- Identify potential target systems
- Identify possible entry points into a tested system
- Configure vulnerability scanners to identify weaknesses
- Analyze the results of vulnerability scans
Students will gain hands-on experience scanning for targets and vulnerabilities. The class concludes with threat modeling and vulnerability identification. During the threat modeling and vulnerability identification phase, the tester identifies targets and maps the attack vectors.
Featuring over 5 weeks of engaging content, this is an excellent course to learn Penetration Testing. It includes a Certificate of Completion.
4. Ethical Hacking: Introduction to Ethical Hacking — [Linkedin Learning]
This introduction will help you get started securing your own network or becoming an ethical hacker. This course will examine the most common attack vectors and motives behind attacks in today’s environment. Furthermore, it explores policies that help enforce security objectives and various ways to secure an organization.
Topics in this Ethical Hacking course include:
- Ethical Hacking Overview
- Information Security Controls
- Data Protection in a Digital World
- Supporting Ethical Hacking
Featuring over 2 hours of engaging content and a course rating of 4.6 out of 5, this is an excellent course to learn Ethical Hacking. It includes a Certificate of Completion.
5. Introduction To Ethical Hacking — [Codecademy]
In this Ethical Hacking introductory course, you’ll learn the responsibilities an ethical hacker has. Learn how to hack ethically in this course, practice hacking in an ethical way, and discover how to become an efficient hacker by practicing the techniques and tools.
Topics in this Ethical Hacking course include:
- Let’s Be Ethical
- Getting Started with Ethical Hacking
- Evading & Computing
- Unethical Hacking
Skills You will gain:
- Hacking ethically
- Analyzing and exploiting vulnerabilities on a website
- Scanning networks with Nmap
- Capturing network packets with PCAP
Featuring over 6 hours of engaging content, this is an excellent course to learn Ethical Hacking. It includes a Certificate of Completion (Pro Membership).
6. Complete Ethical Hacking Bootcamp 2023: Zero to Mastery — [Udemy]
Whether you are a complete beginner seeking to become an ethical hacker, or a programmer seeking to prevent hacking on their website by improving their online security, you will learn everything from scratch about Ethical Hacking and Penetration Testing in this course. You will also learn Python programming from scratch if you wish to program your own penetration testing and hacking tools.
In this Ethical Hacking Bootcamp, you will learn the following:
- Learn Python from scratch to write your own tools for ethical hacking.
- Create trojans, viruses, and keyloggers for ethical hacking.
- Learn how to bypass Firewalls & Intrusion Detection Systems with Advanced Scanning.
- Learn how to crack Wireless Access Point passwords.
- Bug Bounty: Discover all types of Web Application Bugs that could cause a threat.
- Learn how to gain access to any type of machine: Windows/Linux/macOS.
- Sniff passwords over the local area network with Man In The Middle Attacks.
- SQL Injection, XSS, Command Injection, and other techniques.
- Learn how to trick people into opening your program (i.e Social Engineering).
- Learn Advance Metasploit Framework usage.
- Learn the Basics of Linux and Linux Terminal.
- Master Information Gathering and Footprinting.
- Learn how to perform Vulnerability Analysis.
- Perform advanced scanning of an entire network.
- Perform Deauthentication Attack to disconnect everyone from the Wireless Access Point.
- Learn Website Application Penetration Testing from scratch.
- Learn Advance Nmap Usage.
- Code your own Advanced Backdoor that you can use in your Penetration Tests.
- Create Persistence on target machines.
- Perform the newest Windows 7 + 10 exploits & attacks.
- Learn how to gain access to a router in various ways.
- Learn Networking & different Networking Protocols.
After setting up your computers for ethical hacking, you will start the course by setting up your hacking lab to ensure your computers stay safe throughout the course. Then, once your computers are set up for ethical hacking, the course will begin discussing the following topics:
- Hacking Lab
- Python 101 — Learn Python 3 programming from scratch. (Optional)
- Reconnaissance
- Scanning
- Vulnerability Analysis
- Exploitation and Gaining Access
- Post Exploitation
- Website Penetration Testing
- Man in the Middle
- WiFi Cracking
- Social Engineering
Featuring over 28.5 hours of engaging content and a course rating of 4.7 out of 5, this is an excellent BootCamp to learn Ethical Hacking. It includes a Certificate of Completion.
7. Penetration Testing, Incident Response, and Forensics — [Coursera]
This course will help you learn how to gather data for penetration tests, how to conduct penetration tests, and what tools are available for penetration tests. Moreover, you will understand how incidents are handled, what documentation should be collected, and what constitutes an incident response policy. Lastly, you will learn key steps in the forensic process and the crucial data to collect.
Topics in this Penetration Testing course include:
- Penetration Testing
- Incident Response
- Digital Forensics
- Introduction to Scripting
Featuring over 17 hours of engaging content and a course rating of 4.6 out of 5, this is an excellent course to learn Ethical Hacking. It includes a Certificate of Completion.
8. Ethical Hacking: Wireless Networks — [Linkedin Learning]
In this course, students will learn how to configure basic security and how hackers access networks using Bluetooth devices and extract passwords. Furthermore, it introduces several sophisticated tools for scanning for vulnerabilities, including Acrylic, Ekahau, and Wireshark, to help users select the right antennae for testing.
Topics in this Ethical Hacking course include:
- Wi-Fi Networks
- Rogue Access Points
- Bluetooth
- Additional Tools
- Internet of Things
As a result of this course, you should be able to strengthen your wireless connections and become confident that your local network is safe to use.
Featuring over 1.5 hours of engaging content and a course rating of 4.6 out of 5, this is an excellent course to learn Ethical Hacking and prevent your wireless networks from attacks. It includes a Certificate of Completion.
9. Hacking the TPM Interview — [Educative]
This course will teach you how to answer the most common questions in technical program manager interviews. It is written by TPM, who has worked at multiple FAANG companies, so you will learn the inside scoop on how to succeed at this type of interview.
- What is Technical Program Management?
- Interview Prep (a.k.a. Skills Development)
- Practical Advice
- Career Transitions
Furthermore, you will also receive practical advice on how to thrive as a TPM. After completing this course, you will be well-equipped to succeed at interviews and perform well at work.
Featuring over 5 hours of engaging content, this is an excellent course to prepare for the TPM interview. It includes a Certificate of Completion.
10. Ethical Hacking: Reconnaissance/Footprinting — [Pluralsight]
This course prepares you for the Certified Ethical Hacker Exam by teaching you reconnaissance and footprinting skills. It explains how attackers profile your company. In the first segment, we’ll discuss reconnaissance/footprinting and its importance.
Topics in this Ethical Hacking course include:
- Describing Reconnaissance/Footprinting
- Using Search Engines against a Target
- Capturing Intel through Web Services.
- Exploiting Social Media.
- Acquiring Intel From Websites.
- Derive Intel from Email.
- Examining Whois and DNS for Intel.
- Discovering Intel from Network Reconnaissance/Footprinting.
- Employing Social Engineering Tactics.
- Examining the Tools of Attackers and the Countermeasures.
Following that, you will explore how search engines and web services can help you understand your target and its resources. Last but not least, you’ll learn to gather and document your findings with some of the top tools in the industry.
Featuring over 16 hours of engaging content and a course rating of 4.6 out of 5, this is an excellent course to learn Ethical Hacking. It includes a Certificate of Completion.
Thank you for reading this article about the best Ethical Hacking courses. I hope this course curation helped you to pick the right course to learn about Ethical Hacking. In case you want to explore more, you can check these articles:
