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In the mod­ern job mar­ket, employ­ers respect an online cyber­se­cu­ri­ty degree just as they would a tra­di­tion­al degree earned in a brick-and-mor­tar pro­gram. Unless a per­son vol­un­teers infor­ma­tion about their degree and the col­lege of their choos­ing, employ­ers usu­al­ly won’t know whether a stu­dent earned a degree online or in a class­room. The only excep­tion would be if a stu­dent attend­ed a school that’s only known for online degrees. Today, stu­dents may earn a degree online from high­ly rep­utable schools. Some schools that began as strict­ly on-cam­pus schools now offer online solu­tions. The online pro­grams often pro­vide the same cur­ricu­lum only in a dig­i­tal format.

Despite the increas­ing pop­u­lar­i­ty of online degrees, some not-so-cred­i­ble options exist. These pro­grams don’t have cyber­se­cu­ri­ty accred­i­ta­tion or pos­si­bly any accred­i­ta­tion. Stu­dents who want to earn a degree in cyber­se­cu­ri­ty, or any field at that mat­ter, online should eval­u­ate the accred­i­ta­tion of the school and its pro­grams. The Nation­al Cyber­se­cu­ri­ty Cen­ter of Excel­lent (NCCoE) pro­vides cyber­se­cu­ri­ty solu­tions for U.S. busi­ness­es. The Nation­al Cyber­se­cu­ri­ty Cen­ter of Excel­lence also works with aca­d­e­m­ic insti­tu­tions to deter­mine the schools that pro­vide high-qual­i­ty cyber­se­cu­ri­ty programs.

Methodology: Ranking the Best Online Cyber Security Degree Programs

Work­ing adults look­ing for the best cyber­se­cu­ri­ty pro­grams online are look­ing for a pro­gram that will pay off in the short term and long term. Bachelor’s Degree Cen­ter edi­tors know that, and built their rank­ing of the best online cyber­se­cu­ri­ty bachelor’s degree pro­grams around rep­utable, accred­it­ed insti­tu­tions. Online pro­grams were ranked based on data from Col­lege Score­card, IPEDS, and Niche: Cost, Grad­u­a­tion Rate, Job Place­ment, Salary Poten­tial, and Stu­dent Sat­is­fac­tion. Prospec­tive stu­dents can trust these, the best online col­leges for cyber secu­ri­ty, to pro­vide a real return on investment.

So what is the best online school for cyber secu­ri­ty? Read on!

1. Penn State World Campus

When you’re look­ing for the best online cyber secu­ri­ty degree for your career goals, the BS in Secu­ri­ty and Risk Analy­sis online from Penn State World Cam­pus is a good option for your goals. The degree pro­gram focus­es on teach­ing stu­dents to use the right tools to address secu­ri­ty risks to orga­ni­za­tions or indi­vid­u­als. It also strives to ensure stu­dents have the skills to devel­op secure net­work sys­tems and mea­sure risk to a system.

Penn State World Cam­pus offers online cours­es for stu­dents who want to work in cyber secu­ri­ty. The degree pro­gram pro­vides a strong foun­da­tion in the skills need­ed for dif­fer­ent careers with­in the cyber secu­ri­ty indus­try. Since it is an online pro­gram, it allows stu­dents to work at their own pace and accom­plish their goals when work­ing on a bach­e­lor’s degree.

What We Like: Penn State World Cam­pus is ranked among the top ten online uni­ver­si­ties for a bach­e­lor’s degree by U.S. News and World Reports.

Degree: BS in Secu­ri­ty and Risk Analysis

Click here to learn more about this online cyber­se­cu­ri­ty bachelor’s!

2. Syracuse University

The Cyber­se­cu­ri­ty Admin­is­tra­tion degree from Syra­cuse Uni­ver­si­ty is an online cyber secu­ri­ty bach­e­lor’s degree that allows stu­dents to pre­pare for the rig­ors of work­ing in a grow­ing indus­try. The bach­e­lor of pro­fes­sion­al stud­ies pro­gram rec­og­nizes the grow­ing threat asso­ci­at­ed with increased tech­no­log­i­cal advances and it pre­pares stu­dents to address the threats by devel­op­ing the skills to use appro­pri­ate tools for improved security.

A key way Syra­cuse Uni­ver­si­ty dif­fers from oth­er pro­grams is the focus on devel­op­ing crit­i­cal think­ing skills as they apply to tech­nol­o­gy and cyber secu­ri­ty. The degree pro­gram strives to ensure that stu­dents are pre­pared for the chal­lenges they may face when mov­ing for­ward with their career objec­tives. It gives stu­dents a strong foun­da­tion in tech­ni­cal skills as well as dif­fer­ent aspects of cyber security.

What We Like: Syra­cuse Uni­ver­si­ty teach­es stu­dents dig­i­tal foren­sics to devel­op the skills they need to track down threats after a secu­ri­ty breach.

Degree: Bach­e­lor of Pro­fes­sion­al Stud­ies — Cyber­se­cu­ri­ty Administration

Click here to learn more about this online cyber­se­cu­ri­ty bachelor’s!

3. Oklahoma State University

When you want to find the best online cyber secu­ri­ty degree for your goals, you will want to con­sid­er the Bach­e­lor of Tech­nol­o­gy in Infor­ma­tion Tech­nolo­gies with a focus on Cyber­se­cu­ri­ty and Dig­i­tal Foren­sics from Okla­homa State Uni­ver­si­ty. The online degree pro­gram allows stu­dents to work at their own pace and com­plete their degree when it fits their sched­ule. It gives stu­dents the flex­i­bil­i­ty to pur­sue a degree while main­tain­ing per­son­al oblig­a­tions or keep­ing up with a cur­rent job.

A key way Okla­homa State Uni­ver­si­ty stands apart from oth­er pro­grams is the option to apply finan­cial aid to the online pro­gram. The school does accept finan­cial aid from state and fed­er­al sources for online stu­dents. Schol­ar­ships from the school may also apply to the degree pro­gram in appro­pri­ate cir­cum­stances. Stu­dents may still need to pro­vide a FAFSA to qual­i­fy for schol­ar­ships or aid.

What We Like: Okla­homa State Uni­ver­si­ty offer cred­it to the online bach­e­lor’s degree pro­gram for trans­fer stu­dents or indus­try expe­ri­ence that may help with accel­er­at­ed grad­u­a­tion goals.

Degree: Bach­e­lor of Tech­nol­o­gy in Infor­ma­tion Tech­nolo­gies — Cyber­se­cu­ri­ty & Dig­i­tal Forensics

Click here to learn more about this online cyber­se­cu­ri­ty bachelor’s!

4. Drexel University

When you are look­ing for an online cyber secu­ri­ty bach­e­lor’s degree to fit your long-term goals, Drex­el Uni­ver­si­ty offers a BS in Com­put­ing and Secu­ri­ty Tech­nol­o­gy that may fit your goals. The degree pro­gram focus­es on gain­ing hands-on expe­ri­ence with the skills used in cyber secu­ri­ty to pre­pare stu­dents for the chal­lenges of their careers. The degree pro­gram also rec­om­mends stu­dents gain work expe­ri­ence in their field through intern­ships and relat­ed jobs while work­ing on a degree.

A key way Drex­el Uni­ver­si­ty dif­fers from oth­er online pro­grams in cyber secu­ri­ty is the focus on hands-on expe­ri­ence. The degree pro­gram is designed around work­ing adults who have expe­ri­ence in a tech­nol­o­gy career or who want to move into a career in cyber secu­ri­ty. It rec­og­nizes the val­ue of gain­ing expe­ri­ence through work and encour­ages stu­dents to seek out oppor­tu­ni­ties to improve their capabilities.

What We Like: Drex­el Uni­ver­si­ty is a mil­i­tary-friend­ly uni­ver­si­ty that offers reduced tuition for mil­i­tary ser­vice­men and their fam­i­ly members.

Degree: BS in Com­put­ing and Secu­ri­ty Technology

Click here to learn more about this online cyber­se­cu­ri­ty bachelor’s!

5. Oregon Tech

Ore­gon Tech offers a BS in IT with a con­cen­tra­tion on Infor­ma­tion Secu­ri­ty online that allows stu­dents to focus on a career in cyber secu­ri­ty. The degree pro­gram pre­pares stu­dents for the chal­lenges that may arise in their careers. It strives to pre­pare stu­dents to han­dle data breach­es, sys­tem analy­sis, and net­work admin­is­tra­tion objec­tives. By pro­vid­ing stu­dents with a strong foun­da­tion in cyber secu­ri­ty, it ensures that they have the skills to han­dle chal­lenges in their long-term career goals.

Ore­gon Tech offers an Enter­prise Tech­nol­o­gy and Cyber­se­cu­ri­ty Lab that gives stu­dents hands-on expe­ri­ence in the field. The lab work pre­pares stu­dents to han­dle the chal­lenges of their careers. It also ensures that stu­dents have prac­ti­cal knowl­edge through sim­u­la­tions that allow stu­dents to gain advanced skills. The school focus­es on prepar­ing stu­dents for the chal­lenges of work­ing in the secu­ri­ty indus­try through prop­er train­ing and enhanced lab exercises.

What We Like: Ore­gon Tech is nation­al­ly rec­og­nized for its tech­nol­o­gy degrees and online programs.

Degree: BS in IT — Infor­ma­tion Security

Click here to learn more about this online cyber­se­cu­ri­ty bachelor’s!

6. University of Arizona

The Uni­ver­si­ty of Ari­zona offers a BAS in Cyber Oper­a­tions online that allows stu­dents to work at their own pace. The online cyber­se­cu­ri­ty degree pro­gram focus­es on pro­vid­ing the prac­ti­cal skills stu­dents need to work in the secu­ri­ty indus­try. The pro­gram focus­es on pro­vid­ing hands-on expe­ri­ence that allows stu­dents to pre­pare for the rig­ors of work­ing in a fast-paced environment.

A key way the Uni­ver­si­ty of Ari­zona stands out is the Cyber Vir­tu­al Learn­ing Envi­ron­ment avail­able to online stu­dents. The learn­ing envi­ron­ment gives stu­dents a vir­tu­al and safe way to explore the prac­ti­cal appli­ca­tion of their skills. It gives them hands-on prac­tice using the tools and pro­grams to help with cyber secu­ri­ty goals. It also pre­pares stu­dents for the lead­er­ship roles that may arise when work­ing in operations.

What We Like: The Uni­ver­si­ty of Ari­zona is an NSA-des­ig­nat­ed pro­gram and is rec­og­nized by the gov­ern­ment agency for its excel­lent cyber oper­a­tions program.

Degree: BAS Cyber Operations

Click here to learn more about this online cyber­se­cu­ri­ty bachelor’s!

7. Lewis University

Lewis Uni­ver­si­ty offers a BS in Infor­ma­tion Secu­ri­ty and Risk Man­age­ment pro­gram that allows stu­dents to work at their own pace. The pro­gram is avail­able online or on-cam­pus, so stu­dents have the flex­i­bil­i­ty to work around their own sched­ule and goals. The online pro­gram allows stu­dents to work on course mate­r­i­al and class­es when they have time. They can also take class­es at the cam­pus if they pre­fer the tra­di­tion­al on-cam­pus expe­ri­ence for their education.

A key way Lewis Uni­ver­si­ty stands apart from oth­er pro­grams is the focus on the imple­men­ta­tion of infor­ma­tion secu­ri­ty strate­gies. It rec­og­nizes that stu­dents need to gain hands-on expe­ri­ence and pro­vides the tools stu­dents need to devel­op their skills. The focus on imple­ment­ing strate­gies ensures that stu­dents are ready to han­dle a fast-paced work envi­ron­ment after fin­ish­ing their degree.

What We Like: Lewis Uni­ver­si­ty pre­pares stu­dents for indus­try cer­ti­fi­ca­tions to help with long-term goals and spe­cial­ized skills.

Degree: BS in Infor­ma­tion Secu­ri­ty and Risk Management

8. Bellevue University

Belle­vue Uni­ver­si­ty offers a bach­e­lor’s degree in cyber­se­cu­ri­ty through its online and on-cam­pus pro­grams. Stu­dents are able to focus on accom­plish­ing their goals by work­ing at their own pace. Since stu­dents can take class­es online or on-cam­pus, it allows a greater lev­el of flex­i­bil­i­ty to fit into a stu­den­t’s lifestyle and sit­u­a­tion. It gives stu­dents the oppor­tu­ni­ty to work on their class­es when they have time.

A key way Belle­vue Uni­ver­si­ty dif­fers from oth­er pro­grams is the option for accel­er­at­ed cours­es. The online degree pro­gram allows stu­dents to work at an accel­er­at­ed pace. That means stu­dents can com­plete their degree ear­ly and focus on get­ting into their career objec­tives. Stu­dents can fol­low the accel­er­at­ed course mate­r­i­al or work at a slow­er pace based on their situation.

What We Like: Belle­vue Uni­ver­si­ty is accred­it­ed by the High­er Learn­ing Com­mis­sion for its online cyber­se­cu­ri­ty degree program.

Degree: BS in Cybersecurity

Click here to learn more about this online cyber­se­cu­ri­ty bachelor’s!

9. Maryville University

When look­ing into pro­grams for a cyber secu­ri­ty career, the BS in Cyber Secu­ri­ty from Maryville Uni­ver­si­ty is a good option. The degree pro­gram is avail­able online or through the tra­di­tion­al cam­pus. Stu­dents gain the oppor­tu­ni­ty to work at their own pace or keep up with per­son­al oblig­a­tions when they work on the online program.

A key way Maryville Uni­ver­si­ty dif­fers from oth­er pro­grams is the focus on pro­vid­ing stu­dents with spe­cif­ic tracks of study. Stu­dents can take the defen­sive track and focus on learn­ing to defend com­pa­nies or orga­ni­za­tions from out­side threats. They can also take the offen­sive track that looks at meth­ods of secu­ri­ty through offen­sive actions. The final track is the gen­er­al track. It allows stu­dents to gain gen­er­al knowl­edge that applies to defense and offense, but may not offer the same lev­el of specialization.

What We Like: Maryville Uni­ver­si­ty part­ners with cor­po­ra­tions and orga­ni­za­tions to give stu­dents hands-on expe­ri­ence through intern­ships and projects.

Degree: BS in Cyber Security

Click here to learn more about this online cyber­se­cu­ri­ty bachelor’s!

10. University of Illinois at Springfield

The Uni­ver­si­ty of Illi­nois at Spring­field offers a BS in Infor­ma­tion Sys­tems Secu­ri­ty online and on-cam­pus that gives stu­dents a strong foun­da­tion in com­put­er sci­ence and relat­ed top­ics. It also ensures that stu­dents are able to han­dle the risks asso­ci­at­ed with Inter­net tools, com­put­ers, and net­works that may cause con­cerns to cor­po­ra­tions and orga­ni­za­tions. The online degree pro­gram gives stu­dents the oppor­tu­ni­ty to work in the secu­ri­ty indus­try with a focus on com­put­er sys­tems and net­work security.

A key way the Uni­ver­si­ty of Illi­nois at Spring­field dif­fers from oth­er pro­grams is the focus on pro­vid­ing stu­dents with a sol­id foun­da­tion. Stu­dents learn about com­put­er sci­ence before mov­ing into the spe­cial­ized skills asso­ci­at­ed with cyber secu­ri­ty. That focus ensures that stu­dents are ready for the chal­lenges they may face when work­ing in a fast pace envi­ron­ment and gives them more flex­i­bil­i­ty to han­dle a vari­ety of com­plex tasks for their career goals.

What We Like: The Uni­ver­si­ty of Illi­nois at Spring­field is cer­ti­fied by the Nation­al Secu­ri­ty Agency for its Infor­ma­tion Sys­tems Secu­ri­ty degree.

Degree: BS Infor­ma­tion Sys­tems Secu­ri­ty Online or Campus

Click here to learn more about this online cyber­se­cu­ri­ty bachelor’s!

11. Norwich University

Nor­wich Uni­ver­si­ty offers a BS in Cyber Secu­ri­ty online that pre­pares stu­dents for the chal­lenges of a mod­ern tech­no­log­i­cal envi­ron­ment. The online degree pro­gram ensures that stu­dents are ready to han­dle the rig­ors of a fast-paced career. It gives stu­dents a strong foun­da­tion in com­put­er sci­ence skills they need to build on for their work in cyber security.

A key way Nor­wich Uni­ver­si­ty stands apart is the focus on pro­vid­ing an edu­ca­tion to work­ing adults. The online degree pro­gram gives stu­dents a flex­i­ble approach to their edu­ca­tion and the elec­tive cours­es allow stu­dents to tai­lor their degree to fit their long-term career objec­tives. That flex­i­bil­i­ty ensures that stu­dents are able to accom­plish their long-term goals.

What We Like: Nor­wich Uni­ver­si­ty allows stu­dents to trans­fer up to 90 cred­its, or two years of their under­grad­u­ate stud­ies, from oth­er uni­ver­si­ties or com­mu­ni­ty colleges.

Degree: BS in Cyber Security

Click here to learn more about this online cyber­se­cu­ri­ty bachelor’s!

12. Old Dominion University

The Bach­e­lor of Sci­ence in Cyber­se­cu­ri­ty online from Old Domin­ion Uni­ver­si­ty pro­vides stu­dents with a strong foun­da­tion in math­e­mat­ics, sci­ence, engi­neer­ing, and com­put­er sci­ence before mov­ing into the rig­ors asso­ci­at­ed with cyber­se­cu­ri­ty. It gives stu­dents the abil­i­ty to focus on find­ing real­is­tic solu­tions to poten­tial con­cerns and prob­lems that may arise over time. The focus on ensur­ing a broad under­stand­ing of com­put­ers before mov­ing for­ward into spe­cial­ized skills gives stu­dents the crit­i­cal think­ing skills they need for their careers.

A key way Old Domin­ion Uni­ver­si­ty stands apart is the des­ig­na­tion by the Nation­al Secu­ri­ty Agency. The school is rec­og­nized by the agency as a Nation­al Cen­ter of Aca­d­e­m­ic Excel­lence. It is specif­i­cal­ly rec­og­nized for the Cyber Oper­a­tions Fun­da­men­tals cat­e­go­ry and gives stu­dents con­fi­dence that they are get­ting the right degree to fit their long-term goals.

What We Like: Old Domin­ion Uni­ver­si­ty is ranked as num­ber six school for online cyber secu­ri­ty bach­e­lor’s degrees.

Degree: BS in Cybersecurity

Click here to learn more about this online cyber­se­cu­ri­ty bachelor’s!

13. Robert Morris University

Robert Mor­ris Uni­ver­si­ty offers a BS in Cyber Secu­ri­ty and Dig­i­tal Foren­sics online or on the school’s cam­pus to help stu­dents focus on their goals for a career in the secu­ri­ty indus­try. The degree pro­gram com­bines tech­ni­cal skills and knowl­edge with the legal skills stu­dents need to work in a foren­sics posi­tion. The degree pro­gram rec­og­nizes that stu­dents need to devel­op the abil­i­ty to han­dle poten­tial secu­ri­ty breach­es or to pre­vent com­pli­ca­tions, but also need to trace a breach when work­ing with law enforcement.

A key way Robert Mor­ris Uni­ver­si­ty stands apart is the focus on a broad under­stand­ing that nar­rows into more com­plex ideas in the cyber secu­ri­ty indus­try. The degree pro­gram gives stu­dents a broad focus that helps them under­stand the meth­ods used to reach their goals. It allows stu­dents to think crit­i­cal­ly about a sit­u­a­tion and apply the right skills to address the under­ly­ing problems.

What We Like: Robert Mor­ris Uni­ver­si­ty is ABET-accred­it­ed for its Cyber Secu­ri­ty and Dig­i­tal Foren­sics degree.

Degree: BS in Cyber Secu­ri­ty and Dig­i­tal Forensics

Click here to learn more about this online cyber­se­cu­ri­ty bachelor’s!

14. Purdue University Global

Pur­due Uni­ver­si­ty Glob­al offers a bach­e­lor’s degree in cyber­se­cu­ri­ty online that allows stu­dents to focus on accom­plish­ing their goals for a career in the secu­ri­ty indus­try. The school rec­og­nizes the grow­ing need for pro­fes­sion­als to han­dle secu­ri­ty risks as tech­nol­o­gy improves. It offers a solu­tion by pro­vid­ing stu­dents with a strong foun­da­tion for their careers.

Pur­due Uni­ver­si­ty Glob­al dif­fers from oth­er pro­grams by offer­ing an accel­er­at­ed pro­gram for the online cyber secu­ri­ty degree. The Excel­Track for the accel­er­at­ed pro­gram allows stu­dents to work at a faster pace and com­plete a degree pro­gram when it fits their sched­ule. The ten-week-long cours­es allow stu­dents to work through their class­es with­out wast­ing time.

What We Like: Pur­due Uni­ver­si­ty Glob­al offers mul­ti­ple start dates for stu­dents tak­ing online cours­es in cyber security.

Degree: BS in Cybersecurity

Click here to learn more about this online cyber­se­cu­ri­ty bachelor’s!

15. Southern Illinois University Carbondale

South­ern Illi­nois Uni­ver­si­ty in Car­bon­dale offers a BS in Infor­ma­tion Sys­tems Tech­nol­o­gy online and on-cam­pus. The degree pro­gram focus­es on com­put­er appli­ca­tion skills before mov­ing into more spe­cial­ized skills and abil­i­ties. That ensures that stu­dents are well-versed in the use of com­put­ers and the risks asso­ci­at­ed with the use of the Inter­net or net­work systems.

The way South­ern Illi­nois Uni­ver­si­ty in Car­bon­dale stands out from oth­er pro­grams is the focus on giv­ing stu­dents hands-on expe­ri­ence through com­put­er activ­i­ties. Stu­dents explore trou­bleshoot­ing, main­te­nance, and net­work com­mu­ni­ca­tions through­out the pro­gram to gain valu­able skills that work with their long-term career goals.

What We Like: South­ern Illi­nois Uni­ver­si­ty in Car­bon­dale offers schol­ar­ships to stu­dents in the Infor­ma­tion Sys­tems Tech­nol­o­gy degree program.

Degree: BS in Infor­ma­tion Sys­tems Tech­nol­o­gy Online and Campus

Is a Cybersecurity Degree Worth It?

For indi­vid­u­als who have an inter­est in com­put­ers and pos­si­bly prob­lem solv­ing, earn­ing a degree in cyber­se­cu­ri­ty could be worth it Those who are ques­tion­ing is a cyber secu­ri­ty degree worth it may be sur­prised to know just how much earn­ing poten­tial and job oppor­tu­ni­ties are avail­able. For instance, the need for indi­vid­u­als in cyber­se­cu­ri­ty will grow by 32 per­cent from 2018 until 2028, as not­ed by the Bureau of Labor Sta­tis­tics (BLS). This is much quick­er than aver­age when com­pared to oth­er pro­fes­sions. Plus, the earn­ing poten­tial of this par­tic­u­lar degree path is high. The BLS’ sta­tis­tics note the aver­age infor­ma­tion secu­ri­ty ana­lyst earns a medi­an annu­al salary of $98,350, which is equiv­a­lent to $47.28 per hour. The U.S. Depart­ment of Home­land Secu­ri­ty revealed that typ­i­cal IT-relat­ed jobs tend to earn a per­son a min­i­mum of 50 per­cent more than a job in a pri­vate sector.

Indi­vid­u­als who earn a degree in cyber­se­cu­ri­ty may find employ­ment in a vari­ety of fields, includ­ing with a busi­ness or the gov­ern­ment. Some peo­ple find jobs in retail, insur­ance, or health­care. Basi­cal­ly, any­where that has pri­vate infor­ma­tion being stored or shared may require the skill of an indi­vid­ual trained in cybersecurity.

While it’s clear that the answer to “is a cyber secu­ri­ty degree worth it” is yes, it’s vital for a stu­dent to choose the cor­rect degree path. The best cyber secu­ri­ty online degree gives stu­dents the keys to their career. Indi­vid­u­als have more oppor­tu­ni­ties with a bachelor’s or master’s degree as opposed to a cer­tifi­cate pro­gram. Com­plet­ing a bachelor’s degree pro­gram with cyber­se­cu­ri­ty accred­i­ta­tion bet­ter pre­pares a stu­dent. A pupil who com­pletes an under­grad­u­ate pro­gram with cyber­se­cu­ri­ty accred­i­ta­tion learns a vari­ety of infor­ma­tion that helps the indi­vid­ual gain oppor­tu­ni­ties in more areas.

Whether you want part-time or full-time enroll­ment, new stu­dents and sea­soned cyber­se­cu­ri­ty pro­fes­sion­als alike should con­sid­er the admis­sion require­ments. Many pro­grams will take trans­fer cred­its for gen­er­al edu­ca­tion and pre­req­ui­sites. Cred­it hours from an asso­ciate degree will mean much more than a high school GPA toward meet­ing your high­er edu­ca­tion requirements.

Course­work for the best online cyber­se­cu­ri­ty pro­grams will include:

  • Cyber­crime
  • Infor­ma­tion assurance
  • Com­put­er forensics
  • Cyber­se­cu­ri­ty management
  • Eth­i­cal hacking
  • Soft­ware development
  • Iden­ti­fy­ing cyber threats
  • Cyber law
  • Cryp­tog­ra­phy

Stu­dents will learn to find vul­ner­a­bil­i­ties in a com­put­er net­work, pro­vide cyber defense for any sort of oper­at­ing sys­tem, and more. Good pro­grams will also include ele­ments of crim­i­nal jus­tice and busi­ness admin­is­tra­tion, key parts of suc­cess in com­put­er secu­ri­ty and oth­er cyber­se­cu­ri­ty jobs. A career path as a sys­tems admin­is­tra­tor, secu­ri­ty engi­neer, or oth­er job in the cyber­se­cu­ri­ty field will reward you for years to come.

Is Cybersecurity the Same as Network Security?

When com­par­ing net­work secu­ri­ty vs cyber­se­cu­ri­ty, it’s impor­tant to under­stand that these two areas of inter­est are sim­i­lar. How­ev­er, the main dif­fer­ence between cyber secu­ri­ty and net­work secu­ri­ty is that cyber secu­ri­ty focus­es on stor­age and tran­sit while net­work secu­ri­ty revolves around the IT infra­struc­ture. In terms of net­work secu­ri­ty vs cyber­se­cu­ri­ty, net­work secu­ri­ty is a sub­set of cyber secu­ri­ty. On the oth­er hand, cyber secu­ri­ty is a sub­set of infor­ma­tion security.

As a major dif­fer­ence between cyber secu­ri­ty and net­work secu­ri­ty, cyber secu­ri­ty focus­es on pro­tect­ing sys­tems con­nect­ed to the inter­net, such as soft­ware and hard­ware. It revolves around pro­tect­ing data against cyber­at­tack­ers. How­ev­er, net­work secu­ri­ty focus­es on a network’s data.

Gen­er­al­ly, a per­son can work in either net­work or cyber­se­cu­ri­ty with a cyber­se­cu­ri­ty degree. They both make around the same amount as well.

Why is Network Security Important?

For those won­der­ing why is net­work secu­ri­ty impor­tant, many homes have a router with one or more devices con­nect­ed to it. In busi­ness­es, a net­work exists so indi­vid­u­als with­in the busi­ness may share infor­ma­tion and com­mu­ni­cate. It’s pos­si­ble for cyber crim­i­nals to inter­fere with the net­work and gain access to valu­able infor­ma­tion that they can tam­per with.

To answer why is net­work secu­ri­ty impor­tant, a per­son must under­stand that hack­ers are becom­ing more and more savvy and are able to obtain all types of infor­ma­tion. The impor­tance of net­work secu­ri­ty also takes into con­sid­er­a­tion about sab­o­tage and data loss. A hack­er could dis­close infor­ma­tion to the pub­lic that could harm a busi­ness. Although indi­vid­u­als may take steps to pro­tect data, such as with encryp­tion, more is often nec­es­sary. This requires the skill of some­one who attend­ed school for cyber­se­cu­ri­ty. The impor­tance of net­work secu­ri­ty pro­fes­sion­als doesn’t just deal with know­ing how to pro­tect sen­si­tive data either. Some­one in this area of inter­est is also knowl­edge­able about cor­rect­ing issues once they occur. The best online schools for cyber secu­ri­ty pro­vide learn­ers with that knowledge.

Relat­ed Rankings: 

25 Best Bach­e­lor’s in Cyber Secu­ri­ty Degree Programs

10 Fastest Online Bach­e­lor’s in Cyber Security

10 Most Afford­able Online Bach­e­lor’s in Cyber Security

15 Best Online Train­ing and Devel­op­ment Programs