When it comes to job prospects in technology and beyond, the cybersecurity business continues to be a potential source of growth. While many industries faced declining potential owing to the financial turbulence and uncertainty of the global pandemic, the cybersecurity industry took off. Remote work security hazards, rising cybercrime, and other factors contributed to a surge in demand for cyber professionals.
According to a recent World Economic Forum survey, cybersecurity is the topmost priority of US-based enterprises. However, the lack of human resources with the appropriate expertise to fill cybersecurity positions is still a concern for the industry. This is the right time to finesse critical cyber security skills and pursue exciting opportunities in the market!
Areas and Career Opportunities in Cybersecurity
Once you enter the cybersecurity industry, your career can take any direction since the non-linear industry extends you various options for gaining expertise. Given the current times, technology has flexed its branches to every field possible, be it management or medicine, which has increased the requirement for cybersecurity experts.
When people think of cybersecurity as a career, most imagine red team cybersecurity experts or ethical hackers that try to break in and examine network and system security. But that only touches the surface. There are various branches and specialties within the area, typically classified into two parts: security and risk administration and infrastructure services.
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Security and Risk Administration
Security and risk administration entails ensuring businesses follow security rules and legislation, conducting regular risk assessments to discover weaknesses in tangible assets, software, and data. Pen test or Penetration testing and compliance are essential positions in this category. In fact, compliance has grown to be so crucial that several businesses now have an entire team dedicated to data security and privacy governance.
Some regular job roles in Security and Risk Administration:
- Information security analyst
- Penetration tester
- Cyber security analyst
- Security compliance analyst
- Data security and privacy analyst
- Security Specialist
Infrastructure Services
Companies put a lot of emphasis on their networking infrastructure. Cybercriminals can access and exploit confidential databases if they are not adequately protected. Cybersecurity experts must design VPN connections, firewalls, application security, and other systems to avoid security incidents and data leaks.
Cyber security jobs responsible for securing the base infrastructure services:
- Security operation center analyst
- Security architect
- Cryptographer
- Security infrastructure engineer
- Cyber security engineer
- Cloud security engineer
Skills required for Cyber Security
Cybersecurity as a career might appear highly inclined towards mathematics, but cybersecurity experts are masters of many trades. Proficiency in technical and management skills such as programming, system architecture, project management, audit, etc., is essential for cyber security professionals to juggle their versatile roles.
Technical knowledge of cyber security:
Networking:
Networking is a crucial cybersecurity skill where you must understand networking fundamentals, including data transfer from one machine to another, Open System Interconnection Models, and so on.
System Administration:
System Administration is a skill that cybersecurity professionals must master. It teaches you how to retrieve or recognize the details of malware activity. For instance, how to control what happens after downloading malware on Windows or retrieving files from a machine without recognizing the user access details.
Linux:
Linux software is used on most network devices and security equipment, which helps collect data assets and undertake security hardening.
Ethical Hacking:
Ethical hacking requires white hat hackers to sneak within organization systems through unethical paths to navigate potential loopholes, improve the faulty system and strengthen the overall design.
Authentication and authorization management:
The fundamental notion of restricting access is the starting point for preserving data privacy, security, and accessibility. A job in authentication and authorization ensures precisely that.
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Management Skills of cybersecurity:
Awareness program:
Since human errors are the major cause of cyberattacks, employee and customer awareness training programs are the key components of any cybersecurity strategy. A profession in this field entails creating compelling and informative curriculums to educate people about cyber threats to induce behavioral changes toward enhanced security.
Audits and Compliance:
Cybersecurity primarily focuses on maintaining balance and finance. Many rules and regulations, such as Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard and Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act, establish cybersecurity standards for authorized businesses. Experts in this occupational category are responsible for achieving, verifying, and maintaining compliance with those rules.
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Mitigating risks caused by the third party:
Companies must consider how their contractors and associates can affect their security infrastructure since their relations are connected to their systems. Numerous security flaws result from attackers penetrating one company’s network and then utilizing that information to hop across to another connected company’s network. Experts in this discipline assist in verifying and managing third-party security to guarantee that associates do not pose a risk to the company.
Project management:
Technology and process components are included in any security plan. To guarantee that innovations are successfully implemented, excellent project management procedures are required for design and implementation.
Career Opportunities in Cybersecurity
Here’s a list of options that can be opted for by an individual seeking a career in cybersecurity:
Officer in charge of information security
This executive role is responsible for establishing and managing a company’s cybersecurity structure, policy/planning, and implementation. This role necessitates technical expertise as well as management experience.
Forensic computing
Forensic experts are investigators who work with company authorities or law enforcement to build together a description of how a computer or computer system was hacked, followed by a data, network, or breach of security.
Responder to computer security incidents
The duties of this job include recording the attack and planning a reaction. When a breach of data or hacking is found, incident responders are the first to intimate in an organization or a firm since they collect the data of the malware activity.
Cryptographer
A cybersecurity cryptographer is a modern take on a historical subject. Cryptographers develop and decode encoded software and services using mathematics and programming code.
Investigator of cybercrime
Cyber crimes are distinct and can occur remotely, in virtual environments, or after complex synchronization among numerous nodes or hotspots. After a breach or cyberattack, cybercrime investigators serve as cyber detectives and catch the fraudsters who shall be served with punishment.
Malware analyst
Malware analysts have an essential and continually rising function in the cybersecurity hierarchy. This important position is a mix of security engineers, digital forensics specialists, and programmers that delivers in-depth intelligence following a cybersecurity event.
Penetration Tester
A prominent career in cybersecurity is penetration tester or ethical hacker. Companies or organizations hire penetration testers and ethical hackers to find and improve system loopholes to resist unauthorized access.
Begin Developing Your Cybersecurity Career
Cybercrime is evolving in the digital age, and organizations require cybersecurity specialists who can build secure infrastructure and networks while training others about quality standards in cybersecurity. upGrad offers a Master of Science in Computer Science in collaboration with IIIT Bangalore to equip learners for this dynamic career.
The certification program prepares candidates for present and future tech fields by covering industry-related topics. Furthermore, the program emphasizes multiple case studies, real projects, and global academics delivered by subject matter experts.
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