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What Do I Need to Learn Cybersecurity

By: Miguel Angel Saiz

August 13, 2020

Nowadays, computing has occupied all aspects of our lives, and businesses have increased their dependence on IT solutions.

What is Cybersecurity?

Cybersecurity is the practice of protecting networks, systems, and programs from attacks. These cyberattacks are usually aimed at accessing, changing, or destroying sensitive information and interrupting normal business processes.

Why is cybersecurity important?

Currently, the world is hyperconnected, which is why a lot of private information (economic, financial, medical, political) is online and susceptible to being stolen by an attacker. If a company lost all its information, credibility would be compromised, customers would stop trusting, and that company's profits would decrease.

Hackers are all over the world, and their ability to steal information from anonymity is immense. This is why companies and governments must take all possible precautions to safeguard the information.

In recent years, the demand for people with cybersecurity skills has grown exponentially. CSOs expect that the number of cybersecurity job openings will hit 500,000 by 2021 in the USA, and more than 3 million cybersecurity jobs will be open worldwide in the same year.

How can I start in Cybersecurity?

It's not a requirement to have an engineering degree to work in this field. Many ethical hackers have been hired by companies, without any university degree, because they have the requisite background of knowledge and skills.

There is no designated path, and many ethical hackers do not take a traditional one. In order to face the new threats that arise every day, it is necessary to constantly stay updated with new technologies and the latest security trends.

The main knowledge domains to learn are:

Databases: are organized collections of data. Here, all the program information is stored. It is important to understand how it is stored and how it can be removed.
Networks: a group of computers that communicates with each other, including capturing and analyzing network traffic. Understand how computers and devices talk to each other, protocols, the OSI Model, and routing.
Programming: the process of designing and building an executable computer program that accomplishes a specific computing result. Scripting is vital to performing security tasks.
Operating Systems: are the core sets of software on devices that keep everything together. Operating systems communicate with the device's hardware. Configuring the security of an operating system and fixing the vulnerabilities found is one of the main tasks of cybersecurity (Linux is the most popular OS).

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Is it necessary to have certifications?

Even though becoming a professional security expert does not require a formal education process, getting certificates is important to demonstrate your skillset. Cybrary is the best way to prepare and study for these certifications, receiving knowledge from world-class professionals.

After gaining a good foundation in the concepts identified above, obtaining certifications is one of the most widely chosen ways by professionals to demonstrate their skills.

When recruiters analyze potential Cybersecurity candidates, they often consider certifications an important element of excellence and quality. We will examine five CyberSecurity certifications that today, we consider leaders in the field of information security:

CEH (Certified Ethical Hacker): is a training program for an information security professional who systematically attempts to inspect network infrastructure, with the consent of its owner, to find security vulnerabilities that a black hat hacker could exploit.
CISM (Certified Information Security Manager): is a certificate that demonstrates knowledge in information security governance, program development and management, incident management, and risk management.
CISSP (Certified Information Systems Security Professional): proves you have what it takes to effectively design, implement, and manage a best-in-class cybersecurity program.
CISA (Certified Information Security Auditor): is a highly valued certification for IT professionals seeking to practice information security, audit control, and assurance.
CompTIA Security+: is a base-level certification for IT professionals new to Cybersecurity. Candidates only need two years of IT experience to complete it.

Conclusion:

Motivation is one of the main elements for starting in Cybersecurity, especially for those who lack technical knowledge. With these certifications, your professional profile will grow, and you will be better situated in the labor market. Learning through Cybrary is a great way to gain this knowledge and get hands-on practice through our laboratories.

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