Cyber Security is a new buzzword in the market, especially in the IT world, as concerns regarding online crimes and threats rise. The past few years have seen various malicious attempts through spyware, ransomware, and other trojans that constantly threaten the IT infrastructure.
Cases like Petya, Legion, and the latest Pegasus have worried organizations and businesses about their data and resources security. This holds specifically true for organizations like banks and for those dealing in cryptocurrency and blockchain. Thus, to ensure their systems are safe, companies are now hiring Cyber Security professionals to make computer systems robust and immune from cyber attacks.
According to one of the reports by “Markets and Markets Research,” the cyber security industry is currently valued at $217 billion and is expected to touch almost $350 billion by 2026. This projects a rough Cumulative Annual Growth Rate (CAGR) of 9.7% every year. This increasing growth is motivating more and more IT grads to go for a Cyber Security Certification now.
There is an increasing demand for candidates skilled in Cyber Security, whether they are recruited for just Ethical Hacking or any other purpose. Multiple online websites offer such courses now, training students in skills like Networking, Hacking, Software Security, Cryptography, OSI Model, IDS Firewalls, Trojan Backdoors, etc.
Skilled candidates get to work in job roles Network Administrator, Cloud Security Engineer, etc. According to Payscale, The average salary of a cyber security professional in the USA is $91,000 and ₹7,14,000 in India. With relevant experience, this can go up to around 20 lakhs per annum.
Let’s read in detail what Cyber Security is and the top job roles available in this domain worldwide. We will also talk about the best recruiters hiring for cyber security roles and the skills they expect from you.
What is Cyber Security?
Defined at an elementary level, Cyber Security protects computer systems and networks from theft, data leaks, or misuse of any kind, whether tangible or intangible. This misuse or theft can be with respect to hardware, software, or even electronically saved data. The need for cybersecurity arises due to impending threats from cybercriminals, hackers, and various malware floating on the Internet.
As per the classification by IBM, cyber security measures can be classified into seven main categories:
- Critical Infrastructure Security: This involves focusing on the entire infrastructure, involving the computer hardware, application software, networks interlinking them, and all other assets.
- Network Security: This stage involves solely focusing on networks, including wired and wireless networks like Wi-Fi.
- Application Security: Cyber Security experts should also check the various applications they are running on the systems, even if they are pre-installed or run without the Internet. Analyses would also assess what actions are being performed by applications and what all data they are accessing.
- Cloud Security: The majority of the companies are now on the cloud today, so this becomes an important level. Customers share their data with a company, expecting them to keep that properly encrypted.
- Information Security: Data is the key, and information needs to be protected at any cost. An important initiative was taken in the UK through the GDPR.
- End-User Education: Experts not only need to check for malware but also train others to do so. Awareness should be spread about how to deal with phishing emails and other suspicious communications.
- Disaster Planning: In the case of sudden outbursts of global threats, companies and cyber security professionals need to stay prepared.
What are the Best Cyber Security Jobs?
Recruiters are aggressively looking for cyber security professionals, as there is significantly less availability of such professionals. Thus, it becomes essential to properly groom yourself with adequate skills to easily fetch a job. The table below shows the top Cyber Security jobs worldwide which are being offered right now.
| Job Profile | |
|---|---|
| Cyber Security Engineer | ₹6,17,000 |
| Cyber Security Analyst | ₹5,32,000 |
| Cyber Security Lead | ₹4,55,000 |
| Analyst: Information Security | ₹5,70,000 |
| Embedded Cyber Security Lead | ₹6,83,000 |
| Security Analyst- Risk and Compliance | ₹4,90,000 |
| Security Researcher | ₹6,12,000 |
| IoT Engineer | ₹9,97,000 |
| Cyber Security Consultant | ₹8,00,000 |
| SAP Cybersecurity Engineer | ₹9,07,000 |
Which are the Top Companies Recruiting Cyber Security Professionals?
Cyber security people find a place everywhere, starting from newly established startups to top MNCs and various tech giants. Some of the best companies hiring cyber security professionals are listed below.
- Apple
- IBM
- Amazon
- Capgemini
- TCS
- PWC
- Microsoft
- Wipro
- Deloitte
- American Express
- Adobe
- Accenture
- Nissan
- E&Y
- Siemens
These companies offer job roles full of diversity, which often also come with many perks.
What are the Skills Required to Become a Cyber Security Professional?
The market is competitive, and thus you need to make sure you have all the skills which recruiters look for in a prospective employee. The information below shows some of the most desired skills in a cyber security candidate.
- Ethical Hacking: Ethical Hacking is primarily the practice of intentionally breaching a company’s system after gaining their permission. This attempts to identify possible vulnerabilities that real hackers might target and thus remove them, making the system immune.
- Cloud: As almost 90% of organizations are on the cloud, cyber security experts need to manage cloud platforms and encrypt data there.
- Networking: Cyber guards need to know about different networking concepts, OSI models, DNS concepts, IP addresses, firewalls, and allied concepts.
- SIEM Management: Professionals should be skilled in Security Information and Event Management (SIEM) tools.
- Communication Skills: Cyber Security expert is a crucial job role, and thus, you will have to communicate with various people. Therefore, having good communications skills is an added perk.
Apart from these, you should also know about Artificial Intelligence (AI), Blockchain, Computer Forensics, and some other soft skills.
If you are interested in this field and want to be a cyber security expert, go for an online course from Simplilearn, Udemy, Coursera, and many more. So do not waste time and hurry up now! These courses offer essential skills required for cyber security roles and sometimes also assist students in getting a job.
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