Cybersecurity Bootcamps Boston, MA

The term cybersecurity is a fairly recent coinage. Stemming from the Latin securus (without care) and the Greek kubernetikos (good at steering), which evolved into cybernetics, and, then, into a prefix that means anything to do with computers: Cyber. Thus, we have words like cyberpunk, Cyber Monday, and Cybercafé. The cyber- prefix is neutral: it can be used to create the word for something bad, cybercrime, as well as its solution, cybersecurity. The last-named is the means of foiling the nefarious efforts of cybercriminals who'd steal your data, mangle your systems, and otherwise do damage to the machines on which you depend. Small wonder that the rise of the internet was accompanied by the development of cybercrime, as all those interconnected computers are basically sitting ducks for bad actors.

Among the most commonly encountered types of cybercrime are:

• Viruses and worms,
• Backdoors,
• Denial-of-Service attacks,
• Direct access attacks,
• Spyware,
• Ransomware,
• Man-in-the-middle attacks and eavesdropping, and
• Phishing, Smishing and Social Engineering.

These have various goals, depending on the attacker’s motives. The attacks may be simply malicious and for the apparent fun in creating chaos, or they can be designed to steal data and other sensitive information, to cause physical damage to a system by overloading a server, or, even, to abet international espionage schemes.

The more society depends on computers and the internet, the more impetus there is for cybercriminals to try to profit from them illegally. Thus, there is a greater need than ever for people who can stop cybercriminals or at least undo their damage. The result is the cybersecurity field, which incorporates everything from the person in the IT office that’s responsible for keeping the network of a medium-sized business safe to shadowy freelance ethical hackers such as the one who rescued the British National Health Service from a ransomware attack in 2017.

Countermeasures against cybercrime range from physical locks on servers to prevent tampering, educating a network’s users in the ways of digital hygiene, firewalls, and employing machine learning to let computers teach them to combat advanced threats.

Among the good guys who protect networks from cybercriminals, you’ll find people working under such titles as:

• Security Architect,
• Penetration tester,
• IT auditor,
• Computer forensics analyst,
• Security software developer,
• Cryptography engineer, and
• Ethical hacker.

The cybersecurity field is as vast as the spectrum of humans with bad intentions. The defense of most systems is a strategy of man coverage rather than zone coverage: each type of threat has its own opposing member on the good guys’ team. The main categories of cybersecurity responses are:

• Reducing vulnerabilities,
• Hardware protection,
• Inoculation against viruses,
• Cryptography,
• Data loss prevention software,
• Firewalls, and
• Computer security incident response:
• Preparation,
• Detection and analysis,
• Containment, eradication and recovery, and
• Post-incident activity.

That makes for a lot of tactics, but cybercrime poses a very, very real threat to the digital-age world, and there is no shortage of bad actors out there who want to exploit computer systems’ vulnerabilities for gain, thrills, or still more nefarious purposes.

What Will I Learn in a Cybersecurity Class?

Cybersecurity is a complex topic that people often study for four years or longer in university. You can get a bachelor's degree in cybersecurity, and master’s degrees in the subject aren’t unusual. Sometimes, people will take a computer science undergraduate degree and specialize in cybersecurity as a graduate student. You can also, with the proper education and patience building up experience in entry-level IT roles, break into the field without a college degree.

The most important groundwork to lay for a cybersecurity class is a thorough understanding of computer networking. This is why the proving ground for cybersecurity positions is often in the IT department. There’s more to networking than just plugging many cords together. You’ll also need to study basic security measures such as firewalls, intrusion detection systems, and such defenses as virtual private networks (VPNs). You’ll move on to learning about data in all its various forms, along with the ways in which it can be secured.

There is a software side to cybersecurity, too, so you’re going to have to learn how operating systems work. As it becomes increasingly important to computer users everywhere, you’ll also have to learn how the cloud functions. Learning programming languages is extremely useful to cybersecurity specialists as well. The always versatile Python is a good place to begin with that, although other languages have their uses in the field as well, including C and C++, SQL (the database query language), JavaScript (which is used by 95% of websites), Java (a versatile aid for writing programs to secure systems) and Ruby (a great language for hacking, and, therefore, one which cybersecurity specialists need to understand.) Not all cybersecurity specialists are coders, and there are jobs in the field that involve minimal programming knowledge, especially at the entry-level, but, still, coding does have a place in the cybersecurity equation. After all, computer viruses are just lumps of malevolent code, and foiling them requires people who can respond in kind.

Will I Need to Be Certified to Get a Job in Cybersecurity?

Yes. Unlike many tech professionals for whom certifications are available but not necessary for starting a career, cybersecurity specialists are expected to hold, not just one, but several certifications that can testify objectively to their abilities. The matter is complicated because there are so many certifications available, and they’re not offered by a single entity. Thus, you’ll encounter certifications from authorities that include CertNexus, the International Risk Management Certification Board, CompTIA, EC-Council, ISACA, ISC2 and OffSec. The certifications themselves have alphabet-soup names such as CFR, A+, ITF+, CySA+, CSA, CEH, CISM, CISSP, CSSLP, CC, ISSMP, and OSDA.

If that sounds confusing, that’s because it is. And no remedy for the confusion is in sight.

You should be aware that, just as some people put Marshmallow Fluff on their hot fudge sundaes and end up with something totally unlike a Boston Sundae, cybersecurity certificates aren’t the same thing as cybersecurity certifications. The former are what you receive when you complete an in-depth non-degree program. In all but name, they’re diplomas awarded for successful study of a given field. Certifications, on the other hand, are objective yardsticks administered by neutral third parties that test your knowledge of a particular aspect of the field.

The first certification on which you will probably set your sights is the CompTIA A+, a certification earned by passing a pair of 90-minute exams, one of which concentrates on mobile devices, the cloud, and the hardware side of the equation, while the second half concentrates on operating systems, security, and software troubleshooting. CompTIA recommends nine to 12 months’ experience in the field or the lab working on the material covered in the exam. It is administered by test provider Pearson VUE, and can be taken either at your friendly, local testing center or, thanks to the wonders of remote proctoring, from the comfort of your own home.

Other early-career certifications include ISC2’s CC (Certified in Cybersecurity) and SSCP (Systems Security Certified Practitioner.) The first is offered to people with no work experience in the field as yet, while the latter is offered to those with a minimum of one year in the workforce. CertNexus’ CyberSAFE exam is another example of an entry-level certification that demonstrates the necessary skills to operate in a secure digital environment at work. It’s a great deal more basic than the CompTIA A+, but it shows the range of certifications open to those starting out in cybersecurity. Don’t think that you’ll be done with certifications at that point, however: there are certifications at every level of the profession, so, if your goal is to become a cybersecurity professional, get ready to take a lot of tests. As keeping networks safe is such important work, companies need to know that their cybersecurity teams are up to the most recent snuff.

How Hard is It to Learn Cybersecurity?

The techniques for keeping a computer network safe from the bad guys are not learned overnight. It’s a complex field, rendered all the more complex by being constantly in flux. Ethical Hackers have to stay at least one step ahead of the unethical ones, although the problem there is that the good guys are very often playing catch-up with the people trying to infiltrate their systems. True, some attempts at wreaking havoc are easily foiled such as the 2017 WannaCry ransomware attack on the British National Health Services network that was fixed by the registration of a kill switch discovered by a more-or-less ethical hacker. Other attacks manage to do a great deal of damage such as the 2023 zero-day attack and data breach on Progress Software that impacted everything from the Government of Nova Scotia to the BBC, Boots, and British Airways. Thought to be the work of the Russian cyber gang Clop (CI0P), remediation efforts have largely been successful, but the virus, the culprits and the estimated $75 million they made all remain at large.

The computer science and mathematics components of studying cybersecurity are less involved than what you’d encounter in, say, learning software development. And, while there is cybersecurity work that does involve some very intense programming, cybersecurity generally calls more for problem-solving capabilities than coding ability. Above all, you’ll need to understand the way hackers think. Aspiring cybersecurity specialists also need to understand the legalities that govern cybercrime. That’s perhaps not the most exciting aspect of the job, but you do need to understand how to bring the bad guys to justice.

In summary, you’re going to need more than six minutes to learn enough about cybersecurity to get hired, but you’re not going to need six years, either. It’s easier to learn cybersecurity than it is to code, especially as the field requires more in the way of problem-solving abilities than it does hard technical knowledge. It’s, thus, not exceedingly hard to learn.

Is It Worth It to Learn Cybersecurity?

The question beggars another: what, exactly, do you mean by worth it? Some hackers are after thrills and fun, so their idea of worth it isn’t the same as that of someone seeking to start a career with decent starting salaries and room for growth. Assuming you’re in the latter group, the solid supply of cybersecurity jobs should reassure you that a future can be made in the field. According to Bureau of Labor Statistics 2023 figures, there are over 180,000 working Information Security Analysts (the term by which the BLS refers to cybersecurity professionals) and job growth for the category is anticipated to be a whopping 33% over the course of the ten years from 2023 to 2033. Given that the national average for job growth sits at something around 4%, this projected growth is truly remarkable, and bodes well for those moving into the field.

The pay figures for cybersecurity specialists are attractive as well: the BLS reports a median annual salary in the field in the United States is $120,000. That’s a median, meaning that half of the cybersecurity analysts out there make less than that figure. A bit more information can be gleaned using the mean figure for Security Analyst salaries in the BLS’ Boston-Cambridge-Nashua statistical area. That number is $132,000, with the tenth percentile of the mean figure sitting at $79,000 and the ninetieth percentile coming in at $181,000. So wide a range may continue to bewilder you, but the figures do mean that 90% of all people employed in the field in Boston make more than $80,000 per annum. Those numbers would be great, but for the Brobdignagian cost of living (and especially of housing) in the area, which comes in at about double the national average. Living in Boston is going to take a big bite out of that $80,000 paycheck.

Other encouraging numbers for cybersecurity analysts in Greater Boston are the number of people working in the profession (,000, eighth highest in the country) and the location quotient of 1.23. The last figure shows the density of people employed in a particular profession and a particular place: numbers higher than 1 indicate concentrations greater than the national average. While 1.23 isn’t as high a figure as can be found elsewhere in the country (Washington, DC, where one would expect to find an awful lot of cybersecurity professionals, has a location quotient greater than 4), the Boston figure nonetheless means that employment for cybersecurity analysts certainly does exist in Beantown.

Boston Industries That Employ Cybersecurity Professionals

The industry that can afford to neglect cybersecurity just doesn’t exist. Every payment taken online requires encryption, which is just as much a cybersecurity operation as is finding kill switches for ransomware attacks. Even those irritating two-step authentication systems (involving both something you know, like a password, and something you have, like a phone) are the brainchildren of cybersecurity experts. And, as malevolent hackers continue to come up with their nefarious schemes for financial gain or for creating chaos, the need for people who can foil them becomes ever greater.

That said, some fields require more elaborate cybersecurity precautions than others. The Coffee Trike doesn't need digital watchdogs the way Fidelity Investments does. Indeed, Boston’s substantial financial sector affords probably the greatest possibilities to cybersecurity professionals in the city. Billions of dollars run through Boston’s financial services sector every day, and there is no shortage of cybercriminals who want to get their grubby little hands-on other people’s fairly-gotten gains. In addition to keeping people’s money safe, cybersecurity professionals are necessary to safeguard the enormous amounts of sensitive personal information that go through the computer systems of Boston’s leading industrial sector, healthcare.

Other industries that employ Information Security Analysts include computer systems design, accounting, computing infrastructure providers, computer manufacturers, software publishers, and even streaming services and social media platforms. Those are in addition to independent cybersecurity firms that make your data’s safety their business. These firms have teams that typically range in size from fewer than ten employees to 50,250 and even,000 people. Boston is well-supplied with such firms and consultancies. The city is also home to quite a few independent cybersecurity providers who work freelance.

Thus, if you want to have a career in cybersecurity, you’ll have quite a choice of environments in which to work. You can work in a huge hospital with tens of thousands of employees, or you can work for yourself and construct security systems for smaller companies that don’t require enormous security protocols. You may not have your choice of which industry you want to work in when you’re just starting out, but cybersecurity is a field of many niches, and you’re likely to find one that suits you in the long run.

Is There Anything I Should Learn in Addition to Cybersecurity?

Yes, definitely. You should learn all you can about setting up and maintaining computer networks. You’ll learn some of that in your cybersecurity course, but the more humble beginnings for cybersecurity careers often lead through the IT department. You should thus be equipped to take on an IT role, which means knowing how to work with and manage a network. That’s going to mean everything from working a help desk to unboxing hardware (someone’s got to do it) all the way through to staying on top of the network’s operation, helping people extricate themselves from issues at their workstations, recovering passwords, engineering the blocking of naughty sites, and performing some rudimentary security work.

The good news is that a lot of this isn’t especially difficult to learn. A course in computer networking can be completed in no more than a couple of months, and IT is by far the best route for people without degrees to evolve into cybersecurity professionals.

Among the skills you’ll have to learn are:

• Basic computer software (including Microsoft Word, Excel and PowerPoint),
• Navigating operating systems,
• Fundamentals of networking,
• Data analysis,
• Troubleshooting, and
• Basic cybersecurity principles.

You’ll have to know basic office software well enough to be able to answer other people’s questions, especially if you land at a help desk as your first career step. Your knowledge can be a little lighter for the other fields as you start out: you don’t need to be a Python expert to work in IT, but you do need to understand how databases work if you’re to protect them. IT isn’t a bad end in itself, and there will always be jobs in the field. So, if cybersecurity doesn't work out, you’ll always have highly marketable skills at your disposal.

Should I Learn Cybersecurity Online or Live?

Once you’ve set your heart on a cybersecurity career, you’re going to have to decide how you want to learn the requisite skills. The three options that face anyone wanting to learn anything in today’s world are live in-person, live online and self-paced online courses. Of these, the one that’s still most familiar to most people is the live in-person class, where teachers and students are in the same room and can communicate with each other more fully than they can in any other teaching methodology. The downside is that you need to get to the class’ location every time it meets, which can be inconvenient in the extreme in cities of Boston’s size.

While there are possibilities for in-person training in and around The Hub, the current market reality is that most non-degree granting adult educational programs have shifted to an online format that allows students from all over the country (and even the world) to take the same class at the same time. Although you’re following the class from a space of your own choosing in which you’re presumably comfortable, you are still working with the teacher and your classmates at the same moment in time, so you can ask questions, exchange ideas, and interact with each other as though you were in the same room. Most teleconferencing platforms, including Zoom, even make it possible to pass notes in class without the danger of getting caught by the teacher.

The third modality, the self-paced, on-demand, or asynchronous class, consists of video tutorials that you watch at your leisure. It’s extremely convenient, and, especially for very busy people, that convenience may make your decision about what kind of class to take. So much adaptability to your schedule comes at the cost of not being able to communicate directly with your teacher. All you get to work with is a talking head, so, when questions arise (and there is no earthly way that a video tutorial can take into account every possible question a student might have in the future), you won’t have anyone to ask.

Your best bet is thus the live online class. It offers something of the best of both worlds by letting you work in real-time with your teacher while simultaneously letting you work from wherever you want. (Admittedly, it obviously doesn’t let you study whenever you want, as you’ll have to report for class at a set time.) It will also give you the widest variety of schools from which to choose, including such well-known career-oriented institutions as Noble Desktop, edX (which works in tandem with various big-name universities) and Fullstack Academy.

Can I Learn Cybersecurity for Free Online?

Based on the above concerns about online tutorials as a means of learning cybersecurity, the answer here is a pretty resounding no. Certainly, there are free tutorials available on YouTube that claim to teach you hacking in six minutes and cybersecurity in seven, but, aside from the fact that these claims can’t be taken seriously, one of those videos has been gathering dust on a YouTube server somewhere in Uruguay for four years and would be hopelessly out of date today, especially given how rapidly the cybersecurity field develops.

That said, free tutorials have their uses, probably the most important of which is that they allow you to test the waters and see, at no cost to you, what the cybersecurity field is like. Before you invest in a live course (which is what you should do when it comes time to make that decision), you’ll get the chance to see what the field and learning about it are like. When taking this initial taste, you should make a point of concentrating on free tutorials that are less than six months old to avoid wasting your time absorbing useless antiquated information.

Note that these concerns about tutorials that have passed their sell-by dates apply to paid self-paced courses as well. If you do elect to study cybersecurity by this method, double-check the date the course you’re considering was last revised. IT courses age more like milk than they do wine.

Corporate Cybersecurity Training with Noble Desktop

Do you have a team in need of cybersecurity training? That could be an IT department you want to know more about an essential aspect of its work, or it could be a less technical team that should be more aware of the dangers posed by the bad guys and how to avoid them. The more educated your company is with regard to cybersecurity, the safer your network will be from would-be cyber marauders.

Noble Desktop is available to provide your organization with just the kind of cybersecurity education you require, all of it live, be it by sending experienced teachers to your location, or by using a teleconferencing platform such as Zoom to teach large or small groups how to safeguard their network environments more effectively. If you have a smaller number of team members who you think would benefit from taking one or more Noble Desktop cybersecurity classes, Noble offers a voucher program that will enable you to arrange for your employees to attend regularly scheduled Noble classes. Attractive discounts are available for multiple purchases. If you have any questions, feel free to contact Noble’s corporate sales department for further details.