The Most Important Requirements of a Cybersecurity Specialist
Every day is without hearing about an incredibly destructive ransomware attack or sensitive data breach, that affects both individuals and companies across industries. Cyberattacks are becoming more sophisticated, targeting everything from personal health records to credit card details.
The job of a cybersecurity professional is to defend against these attacks by analyzing vulnerabilities and taking preventative measures. To accomplish this, they require certain capabilities, both non-technical and technical.
A cybersecurity professional must be familiar with different platforms and computer systems to stay abreast of the most recent hacking techniques. This includes a working knowledge of programming languages, forensic investigation techniques and specific tools (e.g. the ones used for digital forensics and penetration testing). For instance an analyst in cybersecurity needs to understand how IoT devices connect to the Internet and how they can be hackable.
It is also crucial that cybersecurity experts are able to identify, assess and prioritize risks for their company. This is due to the unlimited ways hackers can cause trouble can make it impossible to protect against every threat. A security expert would recognize that passwords must be long and complex, and should contain the combination of upper- and lowercase characters, symbols, and numbers. They should not include personal information such as birthdays or relatives names.
To be a successful cyber-expert you must feel empathy for the victims and perpetrators of cyberattacks. This helps them comprehend what a hacker might think, which will help them develop more effective defenses.