How to Become a Cyber Security Engineer

Cybersecurity engineers are professionals who use their primary skillset to protect computer and networking systems from potential hackers and cybercrimes. With the increased use of technology within the organization, it has become vital for organizations to protect their data from potential threats. So, growing demand has been seen in the last few years for Cybersecurity professionals.

So in this article, we will discuss the essential points for individuals to build their careers in and around the Cybersecurity area.

Gain essential skills to defend your organization from security threats by enrolling in our Cyber Security Training.

The need for Cyber Security Engineers

Cybersecurity engineers are essential because they protect sensitive data, personal information and important health information from being tampered. Cybersecurity is increased due to the utilization of cloud services like Amazon Web Services(AWS) to store our critical data.

Cyber attacks on cloud services are increasing due to their bad configuration. Nowadays, simple firewalls and antivirus software are not enough to protect your organization from cyber threats. So to protect your organization from cybercrimes, you need an expert i.e. certified cybersecurity engineer.

A certified cybersecurity engineer not only protects your organization but also guides your employees on detecting cyber crimes. As cyberattack can occur at any level of your organization, your employees should be aware of that.

Based on the report of cybersecurity ventures, by 2021, 3.5 million cybersecurity job openings will be there. Companies like Microsoft, IBM, Cisco, Amazon(Amazon web services) are hiring cybersecurity engineers in huge number. 

Related Article: Cyber Security Frameworks

Cyber Security Engineer Career Requirements:

The following are the requirements that need to be fulfilled before becoming a professional cybersecurity engineer.

• An individual should have a full-time graduate-level education in a computer science discipline or in any other discipline.
• Should have a supporting experience which involves Computer systems and networks
• Should be proficient in communication, i.e. both oral and written
• Should have excellent analytical skills and problem-solving skills.
• Should have a working knowledge about few industry-standard networking tools, i.e. network analyzers etc
• Should have undergone a professional cybersecurity training. 

Usually, most of the companies offer jobs for individuals who have some sort of work experience, not necessary to have relevant experience. Still, they look for genuine work experience so that it will be easy for them to offer the proper job role to you. 

As per Payscale, a cybersecurity engineer earns about $95,021 per annum (US). Overall, the total payment could be expected between $62k - $140k. The amount can include your base annual salary, bonuses, overtime pay, profit sharing and other forms of incentives.

Certifications essential for a Cyber Security Engineer:

The list of certifications for a cybersecurity engineer are mentioned below:

• CEH: Certified Ethical Hacker
• GCIH/ GCIA/ GSEC: GIAC Security Certifications
• CISSP: Certified Information Systems Security Professional
• CCNP Security: Cisco Certified Network Security Professional.

Getting basic knowledge about Cybersecurity

Students who have completed their graduation in computer science and IT disciplines must have studied the following subjects: 

• Cryptography
• Unix and Network Security
• Database designing and administrative activities
• Computer forensics and digital forensics
• Information systems
• Information technology security
• General computer sciences

By learning these subjects, you can acquire fundamental knowledge about the cybersecurity course.

During their last year of graduation, students have to do a real-time project. This is one of the most important phases of learning; during this phase, every student will understand the topics and also gets a practical exposure towards the real-time applications of security.

Related Article: Cyber Security Certifications

Acquiring the Skills required for CyberSecurity Engineer

After completing the education phase, students can join any active group who focuses on shaping future cybersecurity professionals. One such group is ISSA, Information Systems Security Association.

Another organization that is into shaping future cybersecurity professionals is ISCC, i.e. Information System Security Certification Consortium. They offer certifications for cybersecurity professionals.

The following table describes the courses that everyone needs to be aware of to become an expert in Cybersecurity.

Skills that a cybersecurity engineer must posses

• Knowledge on cybersecurity practices.
• Knowledge on latest developments of Cybersecurity.
• Good command on programming languages like Python, Java, C++, etc.
• Expertise in TCP/IP stack and the OSI Model.
• Assessing system changes to detect security issues.

Responsibilities of a Cybersecurity Engineer

The main job of Cybersecurity is to protect the networks and systems of an organization from cyber threats. To accomplish this job constantly, cybersecurity engineers should perform specific tasks. They are as follows:

• Solving security issues by employing new and effective methods.
• Checking networks and systems for security violations and intrusions.
• Identifying weaknesses and vulnerabilities by carrying out network scans.
• Identifying irregular behaviour of systems.
• Installing the required software to enhance intrusion notifications.
• Developing automation scripts to handle and monitor incidents.
• Giving suggestions to management about security enhancement.
• Giving feedback regarding modifications in hardware and software needs.
• Making the network users aware of information security.
• Suggesting enhancements in legal, technical areas as they are related to data security.
• Submitting results and responses to management.
• Scheduling and applying new security strategies.

Checkout Cyber Security Interview Questions

 Career path for a cybersecurity engineer

Jobs, like network administrators, system administrators, are entry-level jobs in the cybersecurity field. While representing these job roles, you should acquire the required certifications to become a security architect. Security architects job is to develop complicated security structures and make sure that works properly.

After gaining experience as a security consultant, an employee turns into a security consultant. Security consultant’s job is to assess the security risks and directs the organizations to protect their physical assets.

After security consultant, penetration tester/Ethical Hacker and Chief Information Security Officer(CISO) are the senior-level job roles in the cybersecurity domain. Certifications like CEH(Certified Ethical Hacker), CISA(Certified Information Systems Auditor) are required to achieve these jobs.

Conclusion:

As you have read, the career path to becoming a successful Cyber Security engineer is not that easy. It takes a lot of effort and also a commitment from the individual to get proper education and understand the theoretical concepts of security and security prevention.

So make sure to follow these guidelines and also follow active groups which will help you to motivate yourself to achieve this degree. To gain more knowledge on cybersecurity you can attend cybersecurity training