What Should I Learn To Get Into Cybersecurity

Cybersecurity is a field that has grown a lot in the last decade. This does not come as a surprise, due to the increase in the frequency of cyber-attacks and the need to address these attacks, which cause millions in losses. In the contemporary world, where information is everything, we humans depend a lot on electronic devices to maintain data for us. Thus, the need to secure our data and devices becomes all the more important.

Every individual needs to hone the skills to protect themselves and their data in the virtual world. Learning a vast subject like Cybersecurity can be a daunting task, but it is easier to approach the issue by considering the end-in-mind, and why you want to learn the subject. This can apply to an individual who wants to learn it as a hobby or a professional who is planning to change or upgrade his career path.

Let's start by breaking down Cybersecurity into its verticals, or "areas of interests," that one might want to concentrate on and venture deeper. The description and skills required to thrive in that area will be briefly discussed in this blog.

Network Security

This person is responsible for configuring, initializing, and deploying various types of networks and their related devices. These devices include but are not restricted to routers, switches, firewalls, and Virtual Private Networks (VPN). He also must identify loop-holes in the configuration of the above-mentioned devices, along with periodic diagnoses and remediation of these vulnerabilities. He must create security policies for the proper functioning of networks.

A network security engineer must be well versed with the basics of networking, its devices, and protocols. Professionals in these fields must be proactive in developing and implementing network solutions. Knowledge in programming is not a compulsion but is an added advantage. For starters, the Cisco Certified Network Associate (CCNA) course is a great place to learn the basics of networking. CCNA Security is another course which deals with the basics of security in networking

Endpoint Security:

This is an approach to the protection of computer networks that are remotely bridged to client devices. The connection of laptops, tablets, mobile phones, and other wireless devices to corporate networks creates attack vectors for hackers to get into the network, and it is the job of an endpoint security engineer to make sure that doesn't happen.

A professional aiming to pursue this path must have immense working knowledge in the operating system, how they connect to the network, and other technologies that an endpoint interacts within that corporate network. He is responsible for maintaining the policies and requirements for a device to be a part of that corporate network.

Penetration Testing:

They are highly skilled security specialists who are authorized to hack into an organization's network or systems to find vulnerabilities. Their typical job roles are to hack into systems, networks, and applications to file reports on the vulnerabilities. These jobs demand in-depth knowledge of computer skills, scripting and programming, report writing, and problem-solving.

Auditing:

This involves conducting audits and raids to ensure that an organization follows the set of rules, policies, and guidelines that they have agreed to adhere to. Auditing requires extensive knowledge of the inner-workings of various security policies (ISO 27001) and best practices in conducting an audit.

Digital Forensics:

This is a relatively passive field in Cybersecurity that deals with the analysis of digital evidence that can be found in a crime scene. It involves handling digital evidence, seizing, analyzing the evidence, and converting this evidence into a form that is acceptable by the court of law.

This vertical in Cybersecurity demands skills in handling and extracting data from any kind of electronic device. It also requires a great deal of knowledge in handling evidence found in the crime scene and maintaining the integrity of the data found in that particular device.

Having read about some of the major verticals in Cybersecurity, it is now a cake-walk for the reader to pick an area of interest and work his/her way along the upward spiral by harnessing the skills required to excel in that vertical. To learn more about this subject matter, Cybrary, one of the fastest-growing online learning platforms built especially for cybersecurity enthusiasts, is a great place to start. This website contains various courses and career paths with more in-depth insights on Cybersecurity.