In this review, you’ll learn everything you need to know about the Google Cybersecurity Professional Certificate.
Google created this professional certificate program to help people without experience build job-ready skills and find work as Cybersecurity analysts. The certificate includes eight courses and takes less than 6 months to complete.
We’ve gone through the courses, and in this comprehensive review, we’ll explain what you’ll learn, what the exams look like, and whether this is a good cybersecurity certification to follow.
If you want to enter the Cybersecurity industry, this is a great certification to pursue. It will help you build the skills required to work in various Cybersecurity rules. The cost is affordable (less than $300), and the material is easy to follow yet comprehensive and up to date.
Getting a recognized certificate from Google will also make your job applications more credible and increase your hiring chances.
What is Google Cybersecurity Certification?
The Google Cybersecurity Certificate is an entry-level professional certification that prepares students for entering the cybersecurity industry as cybersecurity analysts, security analysts, cyber defense analysts, and other related jobs.
The lessons are prepared by Google employees and delivered through Coursera. Anyone can take this course and get certified without any cybersecurity experience, and no related degree is required.
Once you finish this course, you can also attempt to pass the CompTIA Security+ exam and get the industry-leading CompTIA Security certification.
Who Should Follow this Certificate?
The cybersecurity industry is growing rapidly, and companies constantly look for cybersecurity analysts.
Enrolling in this course allows you to apply for entry-level jobs, earn an annual salary of $80K – $160K, and secure a lucrative career.
What You’ll Learn?
During the 8 courses in this certificate program, you’ll learn what it takes to work as a Cybersecurity expert. You’ll know what the job entails and what tools and techniques to carry out related cybersecurity tasks.
Here is a quick overview of the certification learning objectives:
- What cyber security is and why it’s crucial for all kinds of businesses
- How to implement security controls to protect devices, people, and data from cyberattacks
- Which tools to use to identify risks and mitigate threats and vulnerabilities
- How to use Python, Linux, and SQL to perform various cybersecurity tasks
- How to find and apply for cybersecurity jobs
- How to prepare for a job interview
Time Investment and Certification
The Cybersecurity certification includes 150 hours of instructions, quizzes, and practical assessments. If you study at a rate of 10 hours per week, you can finish the course in 5 months.
To get certified, you must complete all lessons, quizzes, and assignments.
Quizzes are marked and need a passing score of 80% and above. Assignments are not marked, and you’re also given the solutions after you submit your work.
How Much Does Google Cybersecurity Certification Cost?
The total cost for the Google Cybersecurity Certification is $245. Coursera offers the course through a Coursera Plus subscription costing $49 per month. With a Plus subscription, you can access this course and many other courses (including other Google Career Professional Certificates).
On average, it takes 5 months (5 X $49) for students to complete the course and get certified.
Coursera offers a 7-day free trial to review the course material before committing to a paid plan.
Google Cybersecurity Certificate Contents
The Google Cybersecurity certification includes eight online courses.
- Foundations of Cybersecurity (13 hours)
- Play It Safe: Manage Security Risks (12 hours)
- Connect and Protect: Networks and Network Security (14 hours)
- Tools of the Trade: Linux and SQL (25 hours)
- Assets, Threats, and Vulnerabilities (21 hours)
- Sound the Alarm: Detection and Response (21 hours)
- Automate Cybersecurity Tasks with Python (27 hours)
- Put It to Work: Prepare for Cybersecurity Jobs (15 hours)
1. Foundations of Cybersecurity (13 hours)
The Foundations of Cybersecurity is an introductory course to the program. The learning material is 14 hours long but can be completed in less time.
In week 1, you’ll learn about what each course covers and what skills and knowledge are needed to become a security analyst.
In week 2, you’ll be introduced to the different cyber-attack types and what each type does.
In week 3, you’ll learn about security frameworks CIA triad and NIST and how they are used against security attacks.
In the last week, you’ll learn about Linux, SQL, and Python and their role in cybersecurity.
It is worth mentioning that the material is easy to digest for beginners. The instructors did a great job of explaining Cybersecurity in simple terms.
Here is a detailed breakdown of the lessons of the first course.
| Period | Topic | Time To Complete |
|---|---|---|
| Week 1 | Welcome to the exciting world of cybersecurity | 4 hours |
| Week 2 | The evolution of cybersecurity | 3 hours |
| Week 3 | Protect against threats, risks, and vulnerabilities | 3 hours |
| Week 4 | Cybersecurity tools and programming languages | 4 hours |
2. Play It Safe: Manage Security Risks (12 hours)
In the second course, you’ll learn about CISSP security domains. In simple terms, these are the eight different areas related to cybersecurity that a security analyst may have to deal with.
Security domains include risk management, data security, network security, identity management, and more.
As part of Week 1, you’ll also learn the story of Asley and how she became a Security professional at Google after serving in the Army. It’s an inspiring story for anyone that wants to make a career switch without having prior experience.
In week 2, you’ll learn about Open Web Application Security Project (OWASP) security principles and security audits. You’ll be given the exact framework to use for planning and executing a security audit.
As part of the assessment, you will have to complete your first portfolio activity which is to complete a controls assessment and compliance checklist to identify ways Botium Toys (a fictional company) can improve its IT security.
For this activity, and all other activities, you’ll be given step-by-step instructions to follow to complete the task. After you submit your work, you can also access the exemplar which is the ideal solution.
Here is a complete breakdown of the topics covered in this course.
| Period | Topic | Time To Complete |
|---|---|---|
| Week 1 | Security domains | 3 hours |
| Week 2 | Security frameworks and controls | 4 hours |
| Week 3 | Introduction to cybersecurity tools | 2 hours |
| Week 4 | Use playbooks to respond to incidents | 3 hours |
3. Connect and Protect: Networks and Network Security (14 hours)
Networks and Network Security is the third course on your path to becoming a certified Google Cybersecurity professional.
The course starts with an introduction to networks and how they work. Then it explains network communication protocols and network infrastructure.
In week 2, you’ll learn about firewalls, VPNs, and proxy servers, and in week 3 about DDoS attacks, IP spoofing, and other types of network attacks.
During week 4, you’ll learn about security hardening and what actions you can take to make operating systems more secure.
As part of the coursework, your task will be to create an incident report analyzing a network incident using the NIST CSF Framework.
Here is the suggested learning plan for this course.
| Period | Topic | Time To Complete |
|---|---|---|
| Week 1 | Network architecture | 4 hours |
| Week 2 | Network operations | 2 hours |
| Week 3 | Secure against network intrusions | 4 hours |
| Week 4 | Security hardening | 4 hours |
4. Tools of the Trade: Linux and SQL (25 hours)
The Tools of the Trade: Linux and SQL is the fourth course in the series and talks about operating systems and SQL.
The course starts with an introduction to operating systems and then takes a deeper dive into Linux.
It explains the Linux architecture, how to install Linux, and how to use the shell to run commands.
In week 3, you’ll spend around 10 hours learning how to carry out basic tasks in Linux, like file and user management.
In the last week of the course, you’ll learn about SQL. Topics covered include SQL queries, SQL filters, joins, and other basic SQL commands.
As part of the course assessment, you’ll have to use SQL to find user login attempts for specific dates based on the given criteria.
Here are the topics covered each week of the course.
| Period | Topic | Time To Complete |
|---|---|---|
| Week 1 | Introduction to operating systems | 3 hours |
| Week 2 | The Linux operating system | 4 hours |
| Week 3 | Linux commands in the Bash shell | 9 hours |
| Week 4 | Databases and SQL | 9 hours |
5. Assets, Threats, and Vulnerabilities (21 hours)
Assets, Threats, and Vulnerabilities is the fifth course in the Google Cybersecurity certification. The course is taught by Da’Queshia, a security engineer at Google.
The lessons build on the material introduced in the previous course and explain in detail the concepts of assets, threats, and vulnerabilities.
In week 1, you’ll build an understanding of how assets are classified, the risks associated with each category, and the security controls used by organizations to protect valuable information and mitigate risk.
In week 2, you’ll learn about data encryption best practices and how user authorization works.
In week 3, you will become familiar with common threats and vulnerabilities. You will develop an attacker mindset by practicing the threat modeling process and learning tactics to avoid security breaches.
In week 4, you’ll learn about malware, cross-site scripting, and other data security threats.
The assessment of this course includes 4 graded quizzes. You can see a couple of examples below.
The course takes 20 hours to complete and the suggested learning plan is the following:
| Period | Topic | Time To Complete |
|---|---|---|
| Week 1 | Introduction to asset security | 4 hours |
| Week 2 | Protect organizational assets | 6 hours |
| Week 3 | Vulnerabilities in systems | 5 hours |
| Week 4 | Threats to Asset Security | 5 hours |
6. Sound the Alarm: Detection and Response (21 hours)
This course teaches you what to do when an incident is detected. You’ll learn how to identify incidents and explain the incident response lifecycle, including the roles and responsibilities of cyber security professionals.
This is the most interesting course in this certification as it explains how to interpret network communications to detect security incidents using packet sniffing tools to capture network traffic. Also, you’ll get a chance to practice using IDS and SIEM tools.
Here is a list of all the lessons covered in this course.
| Period | Topic | Time To Complete |
|---|---|---|
| Week 1 | Introduction to Detection and incident response | 4 hours |
| Week 2 | Network monitoring and analysis | 5 hours |
| Week 3 | Incident investigation and response | 6 hours |
| Week 4 | Network traffic and logs using IDS and SIEM tools | 7 hours |
7. Automate Cybersecurity Tasks with Python (27 hours)
The Automate Cybersecurity Tasks with Python is the seventh course in the series, and it’s the longest course with 27 hours of content.
This is the course that you’ll either hate (if you don’t like programming) or love if you like programming with Python.
Although becoming a good Cybersecurity specialist does not require coding skills, learning how to program in Python will help you automate tasks to save time and become more efficient.
Compared to other Python programming courses, this is a relatively easy course to follow. It is suited for beginners and touches on basic programming concepts and techniques.
If this is your first time working with computer programming, you may have to spend more time practicing to improve your coding skills.
Below are a couple of examples of what the programming assignment and quizzes look like.
Here is a list of all the lessons covered in this course.
| Period | Topic | Time To Complete |
|---|---|---|
| Week 1 | Introduction to Python | 9 hours |
| Week 2 | Write effective Python code | 5 hours |
| Week 3 | Write effective Python code | 7 hours |
| Week 4 | Python in practice | 7 hours |
8. Put It to Work: Prepare for Cybersecurity Jobs (15 hours)
Once you get to the last and final course, you’ll be 15 hours away from earning your Google Cybersecurity certification.
In weeks 1, 2, and 3, you will focus on making decisions and escalating incidents to stakeholders. You’ll develop communication and collaboration skills to inform and influence organizational stakeholders. In addition, you’ll explore how to operate as a cybersecurity professional ethically.
In weeks 4 and 5, the focus is on preparing for cybersecurity jobs and completing practice interviews. You’ll learn how to craft your resume and cover letter and where to find related job applications.
The final step of this certification is to download your bright and shiny Cybersecurity certificate to enrich your CV and LinkedIn profile.
Here is a breakdown of the lessons covered in the last course.
| Period | Topic | Time To Complete |
|---|---|---|
| Week 1 | Protect data and communicate incidents | 3 hours |
| Week 2 | Escalate incidents | 2 hours |
| Week 3 | Communicate effectively to influence stakeholders | 2 hours |
| Week 4 | Engage with the cybersecurity community | 2 hours |
| Week 5 | Find and apply for cybersecurity jobs | 6 hours |
Google Cybersecurity Certification Exams
The exams for the Google Cybersecurity Certificate consist of quizzes and peer-graded assignments. There are no final exams but assignments at the end of each course.
The passing mark for quizzes is 80%; if you fail to pass a quiz, you can retake it (every 8 hours).
As you can see below, the questions for the quizzes are straightforward, and everything asked is covered in the material.
You are given step-by-step instructions for the assignments, and your job is to follow the instructions and complete a task. The submitted assignments are marked by other students, and after submission, you also get model solutions.
How Hard is the Google Cybersecurity Certification?
The Google Cybersecurity Certificate is not hard to get. It’s an entry-level certification suitable for students without a related degree or prior experience with cyber security.
The graded assignments are straightforward, and the lessons are easy to follow.
The only course that is challenging for many is the seventh course (Automate Cybersecurity Tasks with Python). From experience people with no prior programming experience may find programming courses cumbersome, especially in the beginning lessons.
Nevertheless, if you’re willing to put in the required effort, nothing will stop you from finishing this course and the other seven courses that are part of this certificate program.
Is the Google Cybersecurity Certification Worth it?
The Google Cybersecurity certification is one of the best cyber courses for beginners for several reasons.
- You can pursue the certificate without having a related degree or experience.
- You’ll build job-ready skills in an in-demand industry with more than 200K related job openings.
- You will prepare for the CompTIA Security+ certificate, which is the industry standard.
- You can access the Google Job Board and apply for jobs in various tech companies.
- Cybersecurity analysts earn a high salary compared to other IT professions.
- You get a recognized certification from Google and Coursera.
- You’ll get a chance to work with popular cybersecurity tools.
- You’ll build projects to add to your portfolio.
- You can complete the course and get certified for less than $300.
Other Google Career Certifications
The Google Cybersecurity Certification is a professional certification offered in the Google Career Certification program. The program includes eight more courses.
You can read our detailed reviews of all Google certifications to decide which is the best certification for you,
- Google IT Support Professional Certificate Review
- Google IT Automation Professional Certificate Review
- Google UX Design Professional Certificate Review
- Google Project Management Professional Certificate Review
- Google Digital Marketing and eCommerce Certificate Review
- Google Data Analytics Certificate Review
- Google Advanced Data Analytics Certificate Review
- Google Business Intelligence Certificate Review
You can also consider other Google Certifications covering a range of subjects.
Other Cyber Security Certifications Worth Pursuing
- IBM Cybersecurity Analyst – this is the best alternative certification for beginners in Cybersecurity. The courses are created by IBM and take around 3 months to complete.
- Best Cybersecurity Courses – If you want to explore more options, there are the most precisions Cybersecurity courses in the market.
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