The cyber security industry is seeing explosive growth as a result of increasing, almost insatiable demand and a series of training programs that are able to deliver skilled professionals to handle more than just basic virus removal and anti-scam services. There are many facets to cyber security that can either lead to a deep-level specialization, a well-rounded general security expert, or a journeying technician who can take on new positions with a bit of calibration.
Here are a few parts of cyber security to both understand the many responsibilities of the industry, as well as the different opportunities you may be able to specialize for personal satisfaction and a unique presence in the job application pile.
Anti-Phishing Campaigns
Cyber security isn't always about defeating viruses or tracking down hackers. Decades into the advent of home computing and internet, there's still a huge demand for defeating con artists who make their way into businesses and organizations with words alone.
The world of spam artists and scammers continues to be a problem because of human nature and problems with how new hires are trained--and the fact that not all people can be skilled technicians. Many people still believe the old style of fake lottery or "you can keep some of the money by transferring this unclaimed inheritance" scams, but there are more angles to the problem than just answering a scam email.
Confidence (Con) artists utilize clever ways to trick people into giving information, giving access, or otherwise acting favorably to the scammer by using social engineering. Social engineering can be anything from calling a business phone with a known, easily-frightened new employee who would do anything to stay out of trouble, or pretending to be a vendor looking for payment in an office that is known for signing paperwork without checking.
As a cyber security anti-phishing professional, it's your job to provide both training and monitoring for businesses that are targeted by scams. You need to be firm enough to tell a board member that they're the victim of a trick, able to explain how the trick works, and be able to monitor employees who fall for the trick if they seem to be following a scammer's lead outside of the company.
Virus Research And Business Hardening
Computer viruses are still a problem, and you'll need more tools than a virus remover and active scanner.
As a cyber security professional, you'll be scouring the internet for the latest news in infiltration, hacking, and exploits. Do you enjoy reading blogs about cyber security exploits, or find yourself wanting to know more about the threats that appear every day across the internet? When you're skilled at this job, you may end up writing your own blog just to keep track of your own discoveries.
In some cases, cyber security researchers are responsible for the fixes as well. For many professionals, finding patterns and looking up trends is the biggest part of the job. Knowing where a particular threat comes from, how it performs the job, and what the intentions are behind the virus can give a lot of material for defensive hackers to build a fix, and you'll still have a vast web of other threats to discover.
Contact a cyber security careers professional to discuss available jobs and career paths to take charge of your tech future.
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