With the frequency and severity of cyber-attacks continuing to rise, Cybersecurity is becoming more important every day. No organization is safe from the looming danger of data breaches that have now become a daily occurrence. It is a known fact that there is a shortage of Cybersecurity professionals. Learn the 2021 cyber security skills to build your career in this field.
Due to the increase of cyber attacks, companies seek out professionals who can protect their websites and servers from harm. Organizations are in desperate need of infosec employees and are readily waiting to snatch them off of the job market. All you need are the right skills. This article will highlight the key skills that you need to be in demand for the vast scope of cyber security jobs.
Hard skills
First of all, one should have a solid foundation of the core technical skills related to the administration and management of operating systems, network and the use of virtual machines. Proficiency in programming in various languages (Java, C/C++) and scripting languages (PHP, Python, shell) is a must because they need to apply penetration testing. They need to give developers suggestions on how to edit code according to the outcomes of fuzzing and vulnerability assessment.
One should be aware of all the attacks utilized by malicious users and must prevent them from succeeding at all. A cybersecurity specialist should have an understanding of how network routers, firewalls and how switches work. In-depth knowledge of open source applications, Linux OS, wireless technologies, web application technologies, social engineering, physical security and database modelling are also some of the basic hardware requirements for a job in this domain. All these requirements might sound boring, but trust us that all these requirements are interlinked and will be beneficial.
For Beginners:-
If you are a beginner and wondering where to start learning this vast collection of skills, we recommend enrolling for our Ethical Hacking and Information Security Analyst courses. This will provide you with a professional base to dive into the cybersecurity field. Getting back to the hard skills, specialists also have a set of tools that they use for vulnerability testing frequently. These are kept organized and updated. When an ethical hacker dons a black hat for pen testing, they may also need to write and inject code for attacks such as SQL injection and Cross Site Scripting(XSS). One also needs to know what kind of servers and web explorers are vulnerable to. This will help in specifying which type of security attack such as phishing and ransomware.
With the advancements in Machine Learning, organizations are trying to integrate its applications in the security sector. Using Machine Learning and Artificial Intelligence to detect security flaws is much faster and efficient than a normal anti-virus scan. Along with these, Cloud security and Internet of Things(IoT) security are the current focus of the infosec industry as they are rapidly evolving and offer massive benefits. At the same time, they have various security loopholes which were neglected for far too long. Professionals of cybersecurity, novices and veterans, should have the zeal to integrate these skills as it is the future of the security domain.
Soft Skills
In addition to these skills, one should have the skills to work methodically and produce detailed reports. They must be eager to learn about the new developments in the field and adapt to the changes accordingly. Communication skills are necessary as one has to convey the complicated security issues to the management in layman’s terms efficiently. Other than this, the cybersecurity workforce needs to be innovative and ready to collaborate with other people when necessary. These soft skills help lay the groundwork for a long-term career in the infosec industry. One should never neglect such soft skills.
Stay with the Trend
To overcome the shortage of cybersecurity professionals and stay ahead of hackers, organizations do hire, train and retain people with the necessary skills. To summarise, the fundamental skills required in this industry are risk management, networking basics, situational awareness and toolkit maintenance. This is to ensure are up to date with the current vulnerabilities of the systems and web applications. Also one needs the knowledge of the common standards, practices and procedures around security.
