Cybersecurity professionals can get the best jobs on the market by acquiring advanced skills. These are the most important cybersecurity skills you should have to succeed.
Due to cybercrime's increasing threat and skills gap, cybersecurity professionals are in high demand.
To be successful in cybersecurity, professionals must have the right skills and knowledge to get the best jobs. Here are the most in-demand cybersecurity skills by 2023.
Cybersecurity encompasses everything you need to know about preventing cyberattacks, how to identify and mitigating threats, as well as recovering data from those who have lost it.
However, anyone who is self-motivated and has the necessary cybersecurity skills can be able to pursue a lucrative career in cybersecurity.
These are the top ten cybersecurity skills that employers seek to hire for those looking for cybersecurity jobs:
System Administration and Network Skills
For cybersecurity professionals, a solid knowledge of network protocols is a prerequisite. A working knowledge of network protocols, including TCP/UCP and HTTP, ICMP and DNS, as well as network security devices functions such as firewalls (IDS/IPS/WAF), proxy, and DNS, is a prerequisite for becoming a cybersecurity professional.
You will be responsible for creating secure network architectures that are resistant to cyberattacks. Understanding IT infrastructure is crucial for creating, implementing, and protecting interconnected networks. Employers will require IoT security skills as more IoT devices are connected to the Internet.
You must be able to work with most operating systems including Linux and Windows using both graphical and command-line interfaces.
Additionally, you should have a good understanding of Windows Active Directory. You also need to be familiar with Kerberos cybersecurity protocols that use cryptography to make sure that only authorized clients have access to secure servers.
Cloud Security Skills
Cloud security skills are crucial for building an architecture that allows secure interactions between cloud applications and the cloud.
Organizations need professionals who are skilled in security for hybrid and public cloud platforms like AWS, Azure, and GCP. As more businesses move to containerized workloads they will also need to be familiar with Kubernetes.
Stan Black, CISO of security firm Delinea, explains that a hybrid security engineer today must be able to protect all the hard targets from the past, as well as code scripts, and know the basics of Azure, AWS, and GCP. They must also be skilled in Docker DevOps and Kubernetes.
It is essential to be proficient in the modern security tools for cloud, privileged access, and identity management as well as in real-life implementations of concepts such as zero-trust or least privilege to operate in today's environment.
Gartner's Hype Cycle for Cloud Security 2021 stated that most cloud security breaches are caused by user errors rather than cloud service provider mistakes.
Cybersecurity professionals must be able to create and implement security controls that protect an organization’s cloud infrastructure. You will require a Web Application Firewall (WAF), and Identity and Access Management expertise (IAM).
IAM technologies like multi-factor authentication and passwordless authentication, single sign-on, privileged access management, and privileged authentication management are crucial in preventing most data breaches due to credential theft, social engineering, and other methods of compromising accounts.
Application Security Skills
Burning Glass predicts that the demand opens a new window for software developers and engineers who can design and build secure online apps and will grow by 164% in the next five years.
Employers are seeking professionals who can create, maintain, and update secure apps.
There are many apps within an organization, including those that are used by different functions and teams. Candidates will need to be able to work with software and app development methodologies and understand common security threats and how to mitigate them.
Penetration Testing
You should have a solid understanding of operating systems, network security, and application security. However, you also need to be familiar with hacking tools and techniques.
To protect organizations against malicious attacks, you must understand how hackers think.
Penetration testing is essential for any organization that holds sensitive data. Hackers use hacking techniques to examine an organization's security systems and find weaknesses.
They attempt to hack into the system in the same way as a hacker. The cybersecurity team will use the test data to improve protection strategies and fix potential vulnerabilities.
You would be able to use standard penetration testing tools like Jawfish, Metasploit, and SQLMap.
Management Skills and Risk Assessment
A cybersecurity skill set includes risk assessment. Risk assessment is a process that identifies security weaknesses in your system and works to mitigate them. Part of the risk assessment is penetration testing. Artificial intelligence is another option.
Artificial intelligence-powered systems can be used to collect data from millions upon millions of nodes across networks and analyze the data in real time to identify patterns of suspicious activity.
AI tools are being used to detect data malware, phishing attempts, and social engineering scams.
It is important to have an in-depth knowledge of Security Incident Monitoring (SIEM), technologies. Splunk is a SIEM software that collects data from various access points. These data are used to proactive facilitate risk assessments and security operations.
Digital Forensics and Incident Response
After a data breach occurs, you will need to be proficient in digital forensics to investigate it. Digital forensics is the process of looking at data to identify the source of cyberattacks and to plan how to prevent them from happening again. You must not only be proficient in programming and networking but also have critical thinking skills.
You will need to recover data lost, determine the origins of the attack and improve cybersecurity defenses to prevent it from happening again.
Digital forensics includes malware analysis, image capture, and incident response analysis. You would be a great asset if you are proficient in EnCase and Helix as well as FTK, XRY, XRY, and XRY.
Programming and Database Languages
Programming is a prerequisite for all cybersecurity skills. Many employers require programming proficiency in at least one of the following languages: C++, PHP, and Python.
These languages will enable you to identify an attacker's strategy and allow secure interactions between apps and the cloud.
Linux Skills
Security professionals almost always need to have Linux skills. It is open-source and can be modified to enable users to scan networks and access services that are not available in proprietary operating systems. Linux is an example of this, which was specifically designed for penetration testing and digital forensics.
Data Security Skills
You will be responsible to oversee and develop your company's data security program as a cybersecurity professional. You will manage audits and assessments that measure the effectiveness of data security controls and then report back to management the results.
Many countries require that organizations protect customers' data. They impose strict penalties for those who fail to do so, regardless of whether they are in action, obsolete hardware or software, or lax protocols.
Organizations must adhere to data security regulations, such as the General Data Protection Regulation, PCI, HIPAA and NIST, CPRA, and Sarbane-Oxley, to avoid reputational damage and possible penalties. Many employers require that candidates are familiar with at least one of these regulations.
To be able to handle any threat to an organization’s data such as ransomware, phishing, and DDoS attacks, beginners in this field must also know how to configure, run, and maintain databases.
This area requires knowledge of programming languages to manage data storage and access, as well as data privacy and security in compliance with local regulations.
Leadership Skills for Business
Cyberattacks can be stopped by the user. You must raise cybersecurity awareness among your company's employees. Your users must understand how to recognize suspicious behavior and protect themselves and their organization from cyber-attacks.
The average employee can easily fall prey to social engineering and unsafe browsing habits. This could put companies at serious risk.
Non-security employees must trust their cybersecurity teams to see behavior change. This trust can only be built when cybersecurity teams have the business leadership skills (excellent verbal, written, influence, and emotional intelligence) to build it.
Your employer will likely expect you to work with a team of professionals. This means that you must be able to communicate effectively with others to find weaknesses in the system and create a defense plan.
The most important leadership skill that you can have is problem-solving, identifying security problems, and finding ways to defend against them.
Summary: Cybersecurity Skills Remain in High Demand
According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (USBLS), despite reports of mass layoffs in the tech industry, cybersecurity jobs will increase by 33% over the next ten years.
Black says: "These skills are still in high demand. However, skilled individuals in the space continue to command strong pay packages, even in industries that are becoming more conservative in spending. These skills are unique and will help you get to the top of your resume.