Cybersecurity 路 Free
Cybersecurity for Small Business
Protect a small business without a security team: the owner's role, phishing and payment fraud, passwords and MFA, devices and Wi-Fi, ransomware and backups, customer data under data-protection law, and what to do in the first hours of an incident. Built on public lessons from the FTC, CISA, the FBI and Professor Messer.
Inside the course
From the lessons
Start with security
FTCvideos
The owner's job in cybersecurity
StaySafeOnline.org
Phishing and scams against your business
FTCvideos
Passwords, MFA and who can log in
Professor Messer
Devices, Wi-Fi and remote access
FTCvideos
Ransomware and backups
FTCvideos
Lesson frames belong to the creators named in the Credits below and are shown from YouTube.
What you will learn
Explain why small businesses are attacked and set the owner's priorities; recognise phishing, business email compromise and common scams, and stop fraudulent payments; set a password, MFA and access policy; secure laptops, phones, Wi-Fi and remote access; build a backup scheme that survives ransomware and prove it with a restore; handle customer data in line with data-protection law, using India's DPDP Act 2023 as the worked example; and respond to an incident, including reporting to the authorities (in India: CERT-In, the 1930 helpline and the Data Protection Board).
- Explain why small businesses are attacked and rank the risks to your own
- Lead security as an owner: responsibilities, budget and policies
- Recognise phishing, scams and business email compromise, and stop fraudulent payments
- Set a password, MFA and access policy staff will follow
- Secure laptops, phones, Wi-Fi and remote access
- Build ransomware-proof backups and calculate data loss and restore time
- Handle customer data under data-protection law (worked example: India's DPDP Act 2023)
- Respond to an incident and report to CERT-In, 1930 and the Data Protection Board
For you
Taking Cybersecurity for Small Business from the United States
- Free in the United States, as everywhere, and self-paced: lessons, notes and the final assessment are open at any hour, so your time zone and shift pattern do not matter.
- The optional certificate for learners in the United States is a one-off US$23.99. What you get for it
- Plants across the Americas most often run Allen-Bradley, Siemens and Inductive Automation; each has its own free course to take next.
- See automation and engineering jobs in the United States, and what the industry looks like in Houston, Detroit and Chicago.
- EDWartens also has a regional site for the United States, for classroom training and local support: edwartens.com/us.
The course project 路 about 8 hours
Securing a 25-person travel agency: asset inventory, risk register, security baseline, incident response plan and staff training record
Act as the person the owner has asked to make a small business safer. Build the asset inventory, score the risks, write the security baseline staff will follow, write a one-page incident response plan with Indian reporting routes, and record the staff training. The sample pack shows each document for a travel agency in Kochi that handles passports, payments and customer bookings.
Sample document pack, 5 documents, filled in for the scenario
- Asset inventoryAsset inventory: Meher Travels and Tours, Kochi
- Risk registerCyber risk register: Meher Travels and Tours
- ProcedureSecurity baseline: rules for staff and settings for IT
- PlanIncident response plan: one page
- Training recordStaff security training record: October 2026
Read inside the course and download as a workbook. The project is optional practice, marked when you submit it; the certificate needs only the modules and the final assessment.
Course content
9 modules 路 25 lessons 路 2h 46m
In order, at whatever pace suits you. Each module ends with a practice task that builds on the last.
- 01Start with security4 lessons10m
- 02The owner's job in cybersecurity1 lesson31m
- 03Phishing and scams against your business4 lessons9m
- 04Passwords, MFA and who can log in3 lessons18m
- 05Devices, Wi-Fi and remote access4 lessons25m
- 06Ransomware and backups3 lessons22m
- 07Keeping customer data safe3 lessons11m
- 08When it goes wrong2 lessons27m
Requirements
- Who it is for
- Beginner. No technical background is needed. Written for owners, managers, office administrators and the person who ends up looking after IT in a business of 5 to 100 people.
- Software
- None required. You will review the settings of the email, accounts and devices your business already uses.
- Hardware
- None.
Software you need
Nothing to install
You will review the settings of the email, accounts and devices your business already uses.
Cybersecurity for Small Business at a glance
Cybersecurity for Small Business is a free, self-paced online course from EDWartens for small business owners, office managers and the person who looks after IT. It has 9 modules and 2h 46m of video lessons by US Federal Trade Commission (FTC), Professor Messer, National Cybersecurity Alliance (StaySafeOnline) and others, with written notes and worked problems, a practical project with a document pack and a 15-question final assessment (pass mark 60%). Learning is free with an account; an optional certificate with a public verification code is issued when you pass. Last updated 27 September 2026.
All course factsHide course facts
- Price
- Free, for good. No trial, no card. The only paid item is the optional certificate, a small one-off fee.
- Who it is for
- Small business owners, office managers and the person who looks after IT
- Format
- 9 self-paced modules, 2h 46m of video, written notes, a practice task per module and one final assessment.
- Level
- Beginner. Beginner. No technical background is needed. Written for owners, managers, office administrators and the person who ends up looking after IT in a business of 5 to 100 people.
- Brand
- Vendor-neutral
- Software
- None required. You will review the settings of the email, accounts and devices your business already uses.
- Hardware
- None.
- Certificate
- Optional EDWartens Certificate of Completion, verifiable by code. Not a vendor credential.
- Video lessons by
- US Federal Trade Commission (FTC), Professor Messer, National Cybersecurity Alliance (StaySafeOnline), America's SBDC, FTCvideos, StaySafeOnline.org, FBI (Federal Bureau of Investigation), WM Regional Cyber Crime Unit, VASBDC (independent creators, credited below)
- Language
- English
- Last updated
- 27 September 2026
A shareable EDWartens certificate
Finish every module and pass the final assessment, and the optional EDWartens certificate is yours. It carries a unique verification code on a public page anyone can check, so it stands up when a recruiter looks it up. See it below.
The course itself stays free whether or not you ever buy one.
Stuck? Ask a practising engineer
A free course usually means a comment section and hope. This one does not. Every module has an Ask-your-trainer panel that reaches the same engineers who teach our paid programme: people who commission panels for a living, not moderators.
Pairs well with
Cybersecurity 路 FreeCompTIA Security+ (SY0-701) Exam PrepPrepare for CompTIA Security+ SY0-701 with Professor Messer's complete free video course: every exam objective across the five domains, with EDWartens notes, worked calculations, practice questions and an optional security project. Exam preparation only: the EDWartens certificate is not the CompTIA Security+ certification, which is earned only by passing CompTIA's exam.
PLC programming 路 FreeSiemens TIA PortalFrom zero electrical knowledge to a working, simulated S7-1200 program, for nothing.
PLC programming 路 FreeSiemens TIA Portal in Three HoursThe first three hours of the Siemens TIA Portal course, cut to end on a win: what a PLC is, how it is wired, a project configured in TIA Portal, and your first ladder program running in simulation. Finish it in an evening or two, earn a certificate, and carry straight on into the full course.
PLC programming 路 FreeTIA Portal: Build a MachineOne machine, start to finish. Take a bottle filling line from a written specification and an I/O list to a structured S7-1200 program with a fill station, a capper, a reject sorter and an operator screen with alarms, then test it against a written record and archive it for hand-over. The lessons are the reference; the machine is yours, and it is what you submit.More free courses: Free cyber security courses 路 Free IT security and SOC analyst courses
Learner reviews
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Reviews here are written only by learners who have finished every module of Cybersecurity for Small Business, and they are published exactly as written. Finish the course and yours will be the first.
Common questions
Who is the Cybersecurity for Small Business course for?
Owners, managers, office administrators and the person who looks after IT in a small business, whether a shop, clinic, agency, practice or workshop. No technical background is needed.
Many lessons are from US organisations. Does it apply in other countries?
Yes. The FTC, CISA and FBI lessons teach habits that work anywhere. EDWartens' notes add national law and reporting throughout, using India as the worked example: the DPDP Act 2023 and Rules, CERT-In's 6-hour reporting, and the 1930 cyber fraud helpline.
Is this a Security+ course?
No. Some lessons come from Professor Messer's Security+ SY0-701 series because they explain topics clearly, but this course is not exam preparation and is not affiliated with CompTIA. EDWartens has a separate Security+ exam prep course.
Will it make my business compliant with data-protection law?
It explains the main duties and gives you a practical starting point. It is not legal advice; for a business with large volumes of personal data, take advice from a lawyer.
How long does the Cybersecurity for Small Business course take?
About 6 hours of video lessons, notes and practice questions, plus about 8 hours if you do the optional project. You work at your own pace.
What is the project in the Cybersecurity for Small Business course?
You make a 25-person travel agency safer: an asset inventory, a scored risk register, a security baseline, a one-page incident response plan with national reporting routes, and a staff training record. A sample pack shows each document.
Is the Cybersecurity for Small Business course really free?
Yes. Every module, the notes, the project and the final assessment. The only paid item is the certificate, if you want it.
What certificate does the Cybersecurity for Small Business course give?
An EDWartens Certificate of Completion, issued when you pass the final assessment, with a number anyone can verify on our site. It is not a vendor or government certification.
What you walk away with
Your certificate for Cybersecurity for Small Business
Finish the course, pass the final, and this is the document with your name on it.
Verifiable by anyone
Adds to LinkedIn in one click
QR code on the certificate
Names what you can do
A permanent link
Earned, not attended
Learning is free. The certificate is optional.
Add it now and pay only when you have finished the course, or come back for it later. One-off, US$23.99, with a receipt.
Issued by EDWartens, the training division of Wartens, as a Certificate of Completion for this self-paced course. Sold by Wartens Ltd (England and Wales). It is not a vendor certification, a university award or a CPD-accredited activity, and it does not certify competence on live equipment. Delivered electronically; see the refund policy.
Credits
Who made the video lessons
The video lessons in this course were created by the people below, not by EDWartens. Every lesson streams from its creator's own YouTube channel; EDWartens neither hosts nor sells that footage, and the creators are not affiliated with EDWartens and do not endorse this course. What EDWartens wrote is the study plan, the notes, the practice tasks and the assessments.
- US Federal Trade Commission (FTC)the Cybersecurity for Small Business and Start with Security series: basics, phishing, scams against small businesses, secure devices and paper, secure remote access, ransomware, storing information securely and data breach response
- Professor Messerthe CompTIA Security+ SY0-701 lessons on phishing, password attacks, multifactor authentication, password security, wireless security settings, endpoint security, backups and privacy
- National Cybersecurity Alliance (StaySafeOnline)the CISA Cyber Essentials videos, including Chapter 1 on the leader's role
- America's SBDCthe Cybersecurity Basics session for small business owners
- AttentionMechanismthe review of a practical small-business security stack used before the final paper
- Consultants Like Usthe explainer on the FTC Safeguards Rule
- FBIthe warning on business email compromise scams
- Virginia SBDCthe session on protecting a small business, used in the incident module
- West Midlands Regional Cyber Crime Unitthe Small Business Guide from a UK police cyber crime unit
- FTCvideos9 lessons in "Start with security", "Phishing and scams against your business", "Devices, Wi-Fi and remote access", "Ransomware and backups", "Keeping customer data safe" and "When it goes wrong"
- StaySafeOnline.org2 lessons in "Start with security" and "The owner's job in cybersecurity"
- FBI (Federal Bureau of Investigation)a lesson in "Phishing and scams against your business"
- WM Regional Cyber Crime Unita lesson in "Ransomware and backups"
- VASBDCa lesson in "When it goes wrong"
If you are one of these creators and would like a lesson removed or credited differently, write to info@wartens.com.