Cyber security online: Learning paths, jobs and career opportunities

Cybersecurity explains what it is; it is the act of providing security against any online threats. To put it in a more lucid way, cybersecurity refers to the act of using certain software, systems and human expertise to keep critical information of a particular company safe. Here the data refers to the ones stored on the company servers.

Cybersecurity has become an important part of all our lives today owing to the increasing influence of the internet. This is why you can consider a career in cybersecurity, where the scope is immense to become an ethical hacker and serve for the better.

People wondering about the benefits of cybersecurity or the various aspects of the same can read on below to find out.

What Are The Benefits Of Cybersecurity?

Implementing cybersecurity practices has a lot of benefits, such as: -

• Protection of sensitive data of a company
• Increase in the reputation of an organization in the eyes of its stakeholders
• Having a safeguard against unauthorized users
• Increasing the productivity rate of an organization by preventing cyberattacks (attacks on the system’s software etc.)

What are the Basic Elements or Concepts Of Cybersecurity?

Now, cybersecurity as a field operates based on quite a few key or core concepts, namely: -

DDoS or Distributed Denial of Service

DDoS essentially refers to a system or method of blocking or disabling a web service by inundating or weakening it by sending a lot of web traffic towards it. Generally, this is a practice followed by hackers to hold the system hostage in exchange for some ransom.

CASB or Cloud Access Security Brokers

CASB refers to the cloud-based software that acts as a middle layer or gate between a cloud-based consumer and a cloud-based service provider. It essentially prevents threats by recognizing or identifying the risk to the company’s systems.

IoC or Indicator of Compromise

IoC refers to the instances where data that is not supposed to exist in a system is uncovered or found by running the usual data checks, which are routine practices.

IR or Incident Response

IR refers to the response of the system cybersecurity managers or software to the threat. Usually, some of the methods include first isolating the system software, then locking access to the system, running diagnostics etc.

IAM or Identify Access Management

IAM essentially refers to the degree of access granted to the users of a particular company or organization’s systems based on their position in the hierarchy. 

SIEM or Security Information and Event Management

SIEM refers to the data funnel that channels or funnels all data of an organization, whether internal or external, to a centralized or otherwise depot wherein it is continuously analyzed for security threats.

SOC or Security Operations Centre

SOC refers to the central command-like aspect of any cybersecurity management software or setup of an organization or company. It is the central place from which all commands are issued as regards the correct steps and practices.

UEBA or User and Entity Behavior Analysis

UEBA essentially refers to the close and continuous scrutiny of users who access the system of an organization concerning their behavior. This scrutiny is quite useful to map anomalies in their behavior if any.

APT or Advanced Persistent Threat

APT refers to the consistent or continued presence of an intruder in the system network to harvest valuable and sensitive information like Intellectual Property, employee credentials etc.

MSSP or Managed Security Service Provider

MSSP essentially refers to an all-around management enterprise that overlooks and watches over the security management systems of the company or organization in question.

What are the Professional Avenues For Cybersecurity?

The career scope in cybersecurity is growing and will expand even further in the coming years. You can now complete a course in cybersecurity and find employment in a host of areas. Some of the prominent ones are as mentioned below –

• Digital forensics analyst 

Essentially playing the role of a forensic examiner in the world of technology by applying knowledge of network, mobile, cloud-based etc., forensics. 

• Malware analyst 

These professionals essentially act as the first responders to any major cyberattacks. They concentrate on locating and flushing out the malware or malicious software as their first response.

• Blue Team professional 

Blue team professionals essentially act as all-in-one cyber-defender, meaning that these professionals possess a higher or wider degree of knowledge to tackle any problems head-on.

• Incident response team member

These professionals essentially respond to the threat while it unfolds, similar to malware analysts, but while malware analysts search for the malicious software, incident response team members search for the puppet masters or malicious attackers.

• OSINT Analyst 

These professionals essentially act as researchers for a cyberattack threat; that is, they look up and collect data on the attacks to better advise their clients on their best course of action, similar to consultants.

There are many other cybersecurity professional roles, such as becoming ethical hackers, which you can explore based on their particular skill sets or even after learning about cybersecurity.

Parting Thoughts

Now, if you are interested in entering this field, you can do so by completing a cybersecurity course available online as well as offline. In this regard, two courses from Imarticus Learning need special mention.

The Post Graduate Program in Cybersecurity includes an industry-standard curriculum and placement opportunities. Also, the Advance Certification Program in Cyber Security from IIT Roorkee offers the platform you need to build your career in this field.