Today, almost every action is handled by and made easier with the use of the internet. Long gone are days of contacting loved ones with months in between replies. Handling bank transactions and monitoring business negotiations via fax machines and letters via postal mail is a thing of the past. Now, the information people seek is one click away, and processes they need to finish can be done in real-time with results that can be recognized as quickly.
While they save time and prefer efficiency, many people risk letting their information out to the public. Countless people and organizations use the internet, and if handled incorrectly (or maliciously), unauthorized people can access this prized data and use it to profit from work they have not performed.
Technology continues to grow, and with no signs of stopping, it’s up to capable hands to ensure information is handled safely and correctly. Cybersecurity allows for this guarantee. As a result, people can continue using the internet without having to worry about exposing sensitive information.
Emphasizing this great importance, October was designated as the National Cybersecurity Awareness Month, when milestones within the field are remembered, and the efforts of every cybersecurity professional are celebrated.
This article will provide information on different ventures within the cybersecurity community and the people involved in this field. We will answer what jobs are in cybersecurity, why you should pursue it as a career, and prove that you can start a career in this field even with no experience.
You keep the internet secure, one field at a time.
The goal of cybersecurity is to ensure that internet users are protected from any and all threats to their information and to create boundaries to ensure others are safe from using every benefit of the largest digital network.
If this career path is your option, this will be your life goal, making the internet a secure area for all transactions. There are different types of cybersecurity jobs, each catering to every internet user’s security needs while ensuring your skills and interest are highly considered.
Information security is one of cybersecurity’s entry-level fields. However, generalists often begin here, learning and mastering procedures along the way. For example, information security analysts will be assigned to study data leaks and configure security protocols to ensure breaches do not happen twice.
Meanwhile, digital forensics is a specific field where cyber attacks are investigated. Hackers are harmful from a personal and professional standpoint, so cybersecurity officers within digital forensics collect evidence of hacking, assist law enforcers in investigations, and practice recovery and reinforcement procedures.
Ethical hacking is another field. With hackers gaining more traction, organizations look for ethical hackers who will expose vulnerable points in their networks and provide ways to fortify defenses in these areas. Institutions prevent actual hacking by finding hackers who will work for them.
Lastly, you can also consider threat intelligence, as the goal of this field is to prevent possible threats rather than respond to already present ones. Threat intelligence reviews past and present hackings and applies countermeasures to organizations’ systems to warrant security from these acts.
You become a guardian of the world wide web.
Like any other invention, humans initiated the creation of cybersecurity. The efforts of different people have led to everyone’s enjoyment of the world wide web without having to think if they are under prying eyes, hence the celebration of National Cybersecurity Awareness Month. Like the following people below, you can be a pillar in today’s cybersecurity foundations.
Take Kevin Mitnick, for instance. Although he’s one of the FBI’s most wanted before, Mitnick is one of the security consultants of Fortune 500 and the US government today. Though he started wrongly, the acts he committed before became the basis for preventing cybercrimes and enforcing more robust laws in crimes like these.
Robert Tappan Morris is another example of people who has changed for the better. The “Morris worm” is a program that has infected more than 6,000 computers, with costs to remove said program reaching $53,000. Today, he teaches at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, and his previous acts led to the discovery and further studies of DDoS, also known as denial-of-service attacks.
As a final example, Brian Krebs showed that cybersecurity could be for everyone if they are willing to learn. His educational background was related to international studies, but he decided to pursue cybersecurity when his computer got hacked. Today, he leads Krebs on Security, a cybersecurity blog focused on recording past and present cyberattacks and providing means to prevent them.
The previous examples never meant that you commit large acts of infamy before turning a new leaf. Rather, this proves that you can enter the field and guard people’s information, even if the only thing you have is a knack for learning new things and the determination to brave seemingly large tasks.
Why should you choose a career in cybersecurity?
You have seen the different fields in cybersecurity and the people who made cybersecurity a vital field in the workplace. But what does this work have in store for you? Here are the following reasons why you should choose this career path:
1. It is one of the most sought-after jobs today.
If you plan to walk the cybersecurity career path, you can rest assured that it will be bountiful. In an article from the Cybercrime Magazine, 1.5 million jobs for cybersecurity professionals will be vacant and available for budding and shifting professionals alike – and that is in India alone.
2. It is one of the best-paying jobs in the field of technology.
Organizations are looking for cybersecurity officers and aim to pay them well once they are in the workplace. With an average salary of $103,590, Coursera stated that cybersecurity jobs pay more than other IT jobs. But, of course, seniority and other factors could affect this salary increase.
3. You can enter the field without prior studies or experience.
A good candidate understands the work they will perform once they get the job. College degrees can always help your cause, but for those who are less privileged or have been on a different career path before, some training online can polish your job skills and provide certifications.
You can make the cyber world a better place.
At the end of the day, the internet is a place of connection. Albeit virtual, this is a venue where people enter and perform their daily tasks, enrich their minds, and enlighten their souls. Without rules kept in place, any good site will be chaotic. If you aim to be part of this community, this will be your role; to make the internet a safer place, a better place than you when you first entered it – and to keep it that way.
Cybersecurity offers job fields where you can hone your skills and find interests, all with the safety of internet users in mind. If you feel like this is too big of a task, you can learn from the people who came before you – people who chose a field they wanted and ended up helping hundreds, if not thousands, of people and organizations. Cybersecurity offers a career pathway that you will greatly benefit from. All you need is to take that first step.
ENTER CYBERSECURITY WITH ACS PROFESSIONAL STAFFING.
As National Cybersecurity Awareness Month continues, you can join the celebration by being part of the workforce that provides programs that can protect people from potential threats. Consider the internet as your area of residence and you as its officer. You definitely would not want your home in ruins, so you would protect it but all means.
Whether this is your first career or you are shifting from a different profession, we at ACS Professional Staffing can handle your intentions to the best of our abilities. Contact us today, and we will jumpstart your path as a member of the cybersecurity community!