Best Ethical Hacking Courses

Are you intrigued by ethical hacking? Maybe you read an article that piqued your interest or you’re currently enrolled in a class that covers the subject. If you want to learn more and explore the option of possibly entering the field, an ethical hacking course is ideal. 

There are options for all skill levels, from newbie to expert. Why not use the knowledge and skills acquired in ethical hacking courses to advance your career if you already work in the field?

Let Benzinga help you get on the right track toward ethical hacking mastery. 

Quick Look: Best Ethical Hacking Courses

Here’s a quick look at our top picks: 

• Learn Ethical Hacking From Scratch by Udemy 
• Ethical Hacking: Introduction to Ethical Hacking by LinkedIn Learning
• Practical Ethical Hacking – The Complete Course by Udemy 
• Ethical Hacking with JavaScript by LinkedIn Learning
• Ethical Hacking: System Hacking by LinkedIn Learning
• Learn Ethical Hacking by Hacking Real Websites Legally by Udemy 
• Advanced Ethical Hacking by Udemy 
• Ethical Hacking Masterclass by Udemy
• Become a Certified Ethical Hacker (CEH) by Udemy

What Makes a Certified Ethical Hacking Course Great?

How do you know which ethical hacking options are best? Keep these factors in mind as you explore your options. 

Comprehensive

There are many components to ethical hacking, so you want a course that covers all the bases. It should also be led by a subject-matter expert as you learn the mechanics from scratch or ramp up your ethical hacking chops. 

Interactive

The best ethical hacking courses feature demonstrations of critical concepts taught in the class. It’s also helpful if the professor includes activities and projects in the lesson plans that you can complete on your own time. 

Affordable 

You don’t need to spend a lot of money to learn the art of ethical hacking or enhance your skill set. There are several affordable options to choose from or you can get started for free and work your way up to ethical hacking courses that require an investment. 

Our Top Picks

We researched several ethical courses to bring you the top selections. Our picks are from leading online learning providers LinkedIn Learning and Udemy. 

The classes are listed by skill level, from beginners to advanced students. We’ve also included a description of each course and the pricing information to help you find the best fit. 

How to Become a Certified Ethical Hacker

Start with these introductory courses if you’re new to ethical hacking. 

1. Learn Ethical Hacking From Scratch by Udemy 

Ready to launch your career as an ethical hacker? This Udemy bestseller is an ideal way to acquire foundational knowledge and prepare for the workforce. It’s suitable for beginners who want to explore the field and learn the basics from the ground up.

Learn Ethical Hacking From Scratch includes 138 lectures jam-packed into 14.5 hours of on-demand video. You’ll also receive 2 articles and 22 downloadable resources to supplement the instruction provided in the video lessons. 

The course is presented by zSecurity, a top provider of ethical hacking and cybersecurity training. Facilitator Zaid Sabih is an ethical hacker and computer scientist. 

Enroll now. 

2. Ethical Hacking: Introduction to Ethical Hacking by LinkedIn Learning

Who it's for: Beginners 

Price: Included with the monthly membership

In a little over an hour, you can learn the basics of ethical hacking in this introductory course from LinkedIn Learning. It also dives into incident management, data protection, penetration testing, the COBIT framework and how to create security policies. 

Ethical Hacking: Introduction to Ethical Hacking is led by Lisa Bock, associate professor in the information technology department at Pennsylvania College of Technology. She rolls out the lessons in 4 modules: 

• Ethical Hacking Overview
• Information Security Controls
• Data Protection in a Digital World
• Supporting Ethical Hacking 

Enrollment is free with a LinkedIn membership or you can register for free with a 1-month trial. 

Enroll now. 

3. Practical Ethical Hacking – The Complete Course by Udemy

Presented by TCM Security Inc., Practical Ethical Hacking – The Complete Course is designed for individuals interested in ethical hacking and cybersecurity. No prior knowledge is required and you will learn everything you need to know to get started. 

Senior Penetration Tester Heath Adams kicks off the course with a discussion on what it’s like to be an ethical hacker and what the job entails, followed by lectures on the importance of effective note keeping and computer networking basics. You’ll also find lessons on Linux, Python, the hacking methodology, reconnaissance and information gathering, scanning and enumeration, exploitation basics, web application penetration testing, legal documentation, wireless attacks and more. Plus, you’ll receive career advice tips to help you land a role in the field. 

The enrollment fee grants you full lifetime access to 191 lectures jam-packed into 24.5 hours of on-demand video, 1 article and 5 downloadable resources. You’ll also receive a certificate of completion when you finish the course. 

Enroll now. 

Intermediate Ethical Hacking Courses

If you have a solid understanding of ethical hacking basics, move on to these intermediate courses.

4. Ethical Hacking with JavaScript by LinkedIn Learning

Who it's for: Intermediate students 

Price: Included with the monthly membership

Ethical Hacking with JavaScript explores ways that the object-oriented computer programming language exposes web applications to hackers. You will also discover how to identify common threats, vulnerabilities and strengthen the security of JavaScript code to prevent attacks. 

Full-Stack Developer Emmanuel Henri divides this course into 3 segments: 

• Introduction and Setup
• Reconnaissance
• Top Security Threats 

There are detailed lessons on ethical hacking, the cyber kill chain, attack strategy planning, Snyk, Retire.js, AppSensor, XML external entities, insecure deserialization, security misconfiguration and more.

Enrollment is included with a LinkedIn membership. Or you can register for free by signing up for a 1-month trial. 

Enroll now. 

5. Ethical Hacking: System Hacking by LinkedIn Learning 

Who it's for: Intermediate students

Price: Included with the monthly membership

Also offered by LinkedIn Learning, Ethical Hacking: System Hacking spans 1.5 hours and covers the primary methods used to hack systems.

Instructor Lisa Bock covers keylogging, password cracking, privilege escalation, spyware installation, steganography and cell phone spyware. She also discusses tactics you can use as an IT security professional to ward off intruders. 

Here’s a breakdown of the course: 

• System Hacking Overview
• Gaining Access
• Privilege Escalation
• Spyware
• Keyloggers
• Hiding in Plain Sight
• Cover Your Tracks

It’s free to enroll if you have a LinkedIn membership. Otherwise, you can sign up for a 1-month free trial to register for the class. 

Enroll now. 

6. Learn Ethical Hacking by Hacking Real Websites Legally by Udemy 

What better way to master ethical hacking than by putting your skills to use? Consider this highly-rated course from Udemy. It’s designed for web developers and aspiring ethical hackers with basic knowledge of HTML, Javascript, SQL, GET and POST requests. 

College lecturer Paul Chin takes you through a series of hands-on activities to level up your hacking skills. You will begin with simple exercises that include hacking real websites legally and progress to more difficult challenges. 

Learn Ethical Hacking by Hacking Real Websites Legally includes 9 core modules: 

• Basic Missions
• Realistic Missions 
• Realistic Mission 6 (Cryptanalysis) 
• Realistic Mission 7 (Apache htpasswd vulnerability) 
• Realistic Mission 8 (Hacking Bank Account and Transferring Money)
• Realistic Mission 9 (XSS attacks)
• Realistic Mission 10 (Changing school grades by exploiting form action)
• Application Missions (Cracking Software)
• Bonus Lecture 

Register today to get full lifetime access to 4.5 hours of on-demand video and 24 downloadable resources. You’ll also receive a certificate of completion when you finish the course. 

Enroll now. 

Advanced Ethical Hacking Courses

Career professionals who have experience with ethical hacking may find these courses useful. 

7. Advanced Ethical Hacking by Udemy

Offered by the VTC Software Training, Advanced Ethical Hacking delves into high-level penetration testing methods, along with tools and techniques to execute tasks more effectively.

This advanced course caters to computer and network experts. It comprises the following segments: 

• Dradis: Results Tracking 
• Nmap
• Nessus
• Nexpose
• Manual Testing
• Metasploit
• Simple Web Application Testing
• Webgoat
• Burpsuite
• Other Web Tools
• Injection Attacks
• Social Engineering Attacks 

Included in the registration fee is full lifetime access to 100 lectures jam-packed into 6.5 hours of on-demand video. You will also receive a certificate of completion when you reach the finish line. 

Enroll now. 

8. Ethical Hacking Masterclass by Udemy 

Presented by Packt Publishing, Ethical Hacking Masterclass provides a blueprint to help you pass the ethical hacking certification exam. It is ideal for experienced cybersecurity specialists, ethical hackers, information security engineers, network pen-testers and web security specialists.

Included in the registration fee is 77 lectures condensed into 7.5 hours of on-demand video. 

Facilitator Sunil Gupta is a certified ethical hacker with several years of experience in the field. He’s taught over 45,000 students online in more than 150 countries. 

Enroll now. 

9. Become a Certified Ethical Hacker (CEH) by Udemy 

Ready to start preparing for the Certified Ethical Hacker (CEH v10) certification? Look no further than this course to help you acquire the skills and knowledge you need to pass on the first attempt.

Become a Certified Ethical Hacker (CEH) is led by information security (IS) expert Rick Messier. He also holds CEH, CISSP, GCIH and CSEC certifications. It includes 6.5 hours of on-demand videos and 5 articles. Here’s a quick look at the syllabus:

• EC-Council and the CEH
• Foundations
• Cryptography
• Ethical Hacking Testing Methodology
• Web Application Testing
• Malware Operations
• Software Security
• Wireless Networking 
• Network Design
• Governance 

Plus, you can enroll with confidence knowing the class is backed by a 30-day money-back guarantee if you’re not satisfied for any reason.

Have experience with TCP/IP networking before you register. You should also understand basic computer architectural components, be familiar with command line systems and know how to launch and operate applications on a computer system. 

Enroll now. 

Find the Right Ethical Hacking Course for You

Now’s the time to make your dream of becoming an ethical hacker a reality. You can level up your skills to land that role you’ve always wanted. 

Consider an ethical hacking course from our list of recommendations. They’re led by experienced professionals who provide interactive, comprehensive instruction. Enrollment fees are tailored to fit your budget and make it easy to meet your career goals.

Frequently Asked Questions