EXCEL IN A CYBERSECURITY CAREER

The digital world is growing at an unprecedented rate today, and growing along with it is the number of cybercrimes. Now every individual, organization, and government are highly vulnerable to various kinds of cyber threats only because of their increased reliance on the internet for all of their day-to-day tasks. Therefore, organizations across industries around the world are looking to invest in skilled and certified cybersecurity professionals who have the right cybersecurity skills to protect their organization’s digital infrastructure and customer’s data.

The latest Cyber Seek report noted that around 572,000 new cybersecurity jobs were opened between September 2022 and August 2023. Not only that around 1.18 million vacant positions were filled in the same period. So, you can figure out, if you have the right skills and expertise, then there is no shortage of opportunities in this cybersecurity career path.

In this article, we will discuss the top skills you will need to advance in your cybersecurity career. We will explore both, core-technical and essential non-technical skills that will help you move towards success in this domain.

Core technical skills

It is important that every cybersecurity professional should be equipped with the right set of core technical skills as it helps them analyze and implement different types of cybersecurity measures properly.

1. Networking and System Administration

This is the most basic requirement if you are looking to get into a cybersecurity career. Having a knowledge of networking will help you understand the technical aspects of data transmission and how to secure them. You should have a better understanding of firewalls and intrusion detection and prevention systems, which you can learn in-depth from specialized cybersecurity certifications like CompTIA Security+ and Certified Cybersecurity General Practitioner (CCGP™) from USCSI®.

2. Expertise in Operating Systems

As a cybersecurity professional, you will have to work with various devices and with various operating systems. Therefore, it is highly recommended that you have a strong knowledge of Windows, Linux, MacOS, and other operating systems.

You must also be familiar with Kali Linux which is mostly used for ethical hacking and penetration testing. It will offer you several tools to perform penetration testing, security research, forensics, and other cybersecurity tasks.

3. Scripting

This refers to knowledge of various programming languages like Python, Bash, Powershell, R, etc. These programming languages are used to automate different repetitive security tasks such as vulnerability scanning or log analysis. So, having this skill will help free up your valuable time to focus on more strategic work. You must know that security automation has the potential to improve security incident response times by up to 30% as reported by Ponemon Institute.

4. Cloud Security

Now all organizations are moving to cloud computing because of several features it offers like scalability and easy maintenance. So, as a cybersecurity professional, you must be good at cloud security concepts such as Identity and Access Management to provide access to resources only to authorized professionals.

You can learn and validate your skills in all these fundamental concepts through the best cybersecurity certification programs.

Apart from these core technical skills, you need to be good at other advanced cybersecurity skills as well. This includes:

5. Penetration testing and vulnerability Assessment

Penetration testing or ethical hacking refers to simulating an attack on an organization's networks and system with proper permission and authorization. This act of breaching the organization’s security is done to identify vulnerabilities and rectify them before an actual attack happens.

6. Incident response

No matter how strong your organization’s cybersecurity efforts are, cybercriminals will find a way to exploit it somehow. So, the effectiveness of your cybersecurity measure lies in how promptly you can respond to incidents. The incident response includes a defined set of procedures for detecting, containing, eliminating, and recovering from cyber-attacks.

7. Digital Forensics

This refers to the investigation of cybersecurity attacks and the collection of important data related to incidents. Digital forensics professionals use their cybersecurity skills and expertise to preserve, analyze, and make reports out of digital evidence that can be used in legal proceedings. The report can also help plan future cybersecurity measures and strategies.

There are several specialized cybersecurity certification programs that will help you master these advanced and specialized cybersecurity skills. For example, a Certified Ethical Hacker (CEH) will help you learn and validate your ethical hacking and penetration testing skills.

Non-technical and Soft-skills

The above-mentioned technical skills will help you perform your daily cybersecurity tasks efficiently. But you must also be good at following non-technical skills.

· Critical thinking and problem skills to properly understand, analyze, and respond to innovative cyber threats.

· Communication skills to clearly convey complex technical concepts to non-technical audiences.

· Passionate about continuous learning so that you upgrade yourself regularly and remain updated and relevant to the industry.

Conclusion

If you are aspiring to a career in cybersecurity, then having a knowledge of these basic and advanced cybersecurity concepts is a must. So, enroll in top cybersecurity certification programs, browse through free online courses, and video lectures on YouTube, and start your cybersecurity learning journey now.