The field of cybersecurity is rapidly expanding. There are many positions that are open and waiting for qualified people to fill them.
Cybersecurity is a field of technology, methodology, practice, and research that focuses on protecting electronic information, as well as the systems supporting it, against compromise and attack. Cybersecurity covers all types of cybersecurity, including local and networked computers as well as hardware and software. It also includes private and public organizations, domestic and international threats, domestic and international relations and intentional and accidental events.
As a society we have become highly dependent on computers, networking and data stores. This dependency has made us more vulnerable to data system compromise or loss. This has led to a growing demand for security personnel who are skilled and experienced in management and implementation of security.
Competency areas
The ISO/IEC 27001 and 2702 definitions of cybersecurity include:
Security policy
Organisation of information security
Human resource security (i.e. employment practices)
Asset management
Access control
Cryptography
Security in the physical and environmental realm
Operation security
Communications security
Acquisition, development, and maintenance of systems
Supplier relationships
Management of information security incidents
Management of business continuity
Compliance with regulations and policies
As you can see there are many areas of concern for cybersecurity professionals. Security job positions in smaller organizations will require expertise in all areas of concern. A team of cybersecurity professionals might be assembled by larger organizations with a lot of staffing. Each member will be a skilled practitioner in a single topic. Do you prefer to be a generalist with some knowledge and skills in several areas or a specialist in one area? Both of these options have both positive and negative consequences.
Requested Knowledge Areas
Many of the current cybersecurity positions require knowledge and experience in one or several of the following areas:
Information and data security
Firewall management
Administration of IDS/IPS
Network and network security
O/S security
Cryptography
Protocol security
Secure and defensive programming
System configuration
Audit log analysis
Machine learning (ML), and generative adversarial network (GAN).
Cloud services
Forensics
Incident response
These areas of concern and interest are not for job applications that can be filled immediately. These areas of interest could shift if you spend six months, six years learning new skills.
Find out What’s Hot on the Marketplace
Researching a career path or changing careers is a first step in finding out what opportunities are available. An initial assessment of the job opportunities will give you a better understanding of the types of positions available and the minimum requirements required for each type of job.
Start with a job site such as indeed.com. Use keywords such as “cybersecurity,” or “security” to find the right job.
You should take the time to review all the job listings that were found through this search. After reviewing the job listings, choose the position or title that appeals to you. This could be cybersecurity manager, database security administrator or security policy chief, security training instructor, or quality assurance in security systems.
Next, search again using your chosen title or position. You will find other organizations that are looking for applicants for this position.
