Preamble
The world is moving from the 4G infrastructure to 5G, and experts are gloomy in context to the unknown sphere we are about to enter. The world is incapable of dealing with 4G cyber threats. According to a report globally in the year 2018, more than 130000 cases of cyber-attacks and breaches were registered in organizational as well as critical governmental architecture. Experts are skeptical about what the next will be and are advising to focus on learning the implications of 5G in detail before we are set to move towards it. It is like knowing the depth of the sea before diving, and that calculative Risk is inevitable.
The article deals with the effectiveness of the current arsenals of Cybersecurity. It is true that whoever starts the trend will be leading the next world, hence every developed and developing nations are trying their level best to compete with their counterparts. Complete Cybersecurity and internet censorship are more important than having nuclear power.
Governments and businesses are collaboratively working towards the cause of concisely. We, humans, are so much into the internet that it feels like livening in with primal instincts if we abstain from using technology. The paradigm and the landscape will surely mutate, and companies like Microsoft, IBM are progressing to invest in zero trust architectures and prioritizing Multi-factor authentication to reshape the perpetual cybersecurity space. The mitigation of on-premise to the cloud-based platform has helped much and reduced threats to the utmost. We shall discuss further in-depth about choosing a career in Cybersecurity and what all the certifications are an aspirant or the professional’s needs to carry out to always be among the best.
Implications of the career choice
If you are an aspirant and have just graduated from college or you may be someone who is currently in high school, then it is high time for you to learn the basics of the new world order. You have to be certain that in the near future you have to study the programming languages in-depth and to understand each you take and becoming fluent should be the sole purpose. Languages like Java and C++ or JavaScript will make you the best out of all if you have proficient with them.
For professionals, it is suggestive of carrying out in-depth learning of the web applications, networking, sys administration, and penTest to have the edge over the masses. Finding vulnerabilities and assessing them requires skills and more complication is involved when you mitigate them. Experts have analyzed the trend and reported that there would be a significant ka-boom of job opportunities in the cybersecurity domain alone, and this demand will regress every other discipline in no time!
Today career pathway in Cybersecurity is basically divided into 10 domains, and the career position are as follows:
- InfoSec analyst
- Security engineer
- Penetration Tester
- Security Administrator
- Security software developer
- CISO and CIO
These job positions have different job roles, but all of them are in sync with each other. Closely understanding these domains, there are many associations of professionals and consortiums who are already in the upfront to educate and certify the capabilities of an InfoSec professional.
These non-profit organizations not only preach the best practices, methods, and technologies but also keep their certified professionals ahead in the game with continuing education programs and meetings and conventions. They also tend to develop managerial capabilities and other soft skills in a professional to bear with the management and match the demand of the clients, prospects, and protect the customers.
Certifications
The article lays a plan and a blueprint for the readers to look closely at and understand the values of each of the certifications crucial to the cybersecurity space.
CompTIA Security+
This certification is considered an entry-level certification in the realm of Information security. This certification vaguely introduces an aspirant to the big picture of the Cybersecurity. It is like the kindergarten of the cybersecurity certifications. This certification is rendered by CompTIA that stands for The Computing Technology Industry Association. The association has its presence in IT domains since 1982, and for 38 years, it is serving the IT industry with its great courses and certifications that make the best out of an individual. It has more than 18 certification programs in its portfolio, and these certifications can be sub-grouped further with the levels in the hierarchy.
A professional aspiring to be a cybersecurity expert needs to undergo either Network+ or Security+ or both, if possible, to prove his mettle in the domain. The security+ certification is accredited by ANSI and engages the professional in entry-level roles restricted to network security knowledge base.
A professional is advised to have at least three years of experience with this certification in the network security space to be eligible for the next certification that will transmute him further.
Certified Ethical Hacker
When a professional is sound enough to look for the vulnerabilities in the system and can use his knowledge to tackle malicious hackers, then he ought to carry out this certification by the EC council. The international council of Electronic Commerce Consultants is eminent for its offerings in IT security. It also offers other known and ANSI accredited certifications like CHFI, CCISO, and CND.
The USP of this certification is that it focuses more on the latest malware and uses new tools to emerge out from the attack. It hones professional penetration testing skills to its zenith.
Certified Information Security Manager or CISM
with some more years of experience with CEH, a professional should look for some managerial role in the InfoSec realm. And CISM by Information Systems Audit and Control Association or ISACA, in short, makes the professionals more intuitive and expert in risk management, security governance, program development, and incident management. This certification will enable a professional to earn more than $120000 per annum. A professional is advised to have work in all the above or at least two of the domains listed.
CISSP
Now, this is the right time for an individual to go for this gold standard elite certification. This certification is provided by (ISC)2. This certification requires expertise in 2 domains out of 8 listed domains in the cybersecurity space. The professionals should have a minimum of 5 years of experience in working in these two or more domains to be eligible for this certification. The domains in the certification exam are as follows:
- Security and risk management
- Asset security
- Security architecture and engineering
- Communication and network security
- IAM
- Security assessments and testing
- Security operations
- Software development security
The examination is one of the toughest examinations in the world that involves psychometrics, scenario, and performance-based question items that totals to 100-150. An applicant needs to score a minimum of 700 out of the total 1000 marks to pass the exam with a stipulated time frame of 3 hours. It has non-linear exams that are conducted on different languages, and this exam would constitute of 200-250 questions to be answered within 6 hours.
After successfully clearing the certification exam, the candidate is expected to further continue his education in the form of CPEs and PDIs. These instruments a certified professional to be on the top of the game. With this certification, a professional is expected to earn a salary of more than $145000 per annum, with a significant increase in his career position and responsibilities as an upper-level manager in the IT department.
CCSP
Certified cloud security professional, this certification marks the end of the journey, and any professional with this ideal course of the journey is regarded as invincible in the Information security domain. The certification builds expertise in protecting critical assets in the cloud. The certification validates professional expertise in designing, managing, and securing data, applications, and architecture.
This is the premier certification in the cloud security domain and is vendor-neutral and equally tough as CISSP but focusses deeply in the Cloud infrastructure. Candidates after completing the CISSP are advised to seek this certification. The domains it includes are as follows:
- Cloud concepts, Architecture, and design
- Cloud data security
- Cloud platform * infrastructure security
- Cloud application security
- Cloud security operations
- Legal, Risk, and compliance
It has a lenient prerequisite that entails an applicant to have at least 5 years of full-time work experience in the field of Information Security with the CCSP CBK domain. The exam constitutes of 125 questions that are performance-based on scenarios. The exam has a time frame the same as CISSP of three hours. And a professional has to score a minimum of 700 out of 1000 to pass the exam.
Bottom line
If a reader is focused on having a career in the IT domain, then this article has laid the cornerstone for his certification needs. This article deals with professionals also who are amidst their career in Information Security. The article has formulated the industry expert advice and made this exclusive career plan for aspirants. Though other domains also have their demand in context to the uncertain future, and the advent of 5G cloud computing remains the most reliant and challenging option. Meanwhile, with 5G, much other domain would see a drastic change for sure, but cloud computing is already in a transitional phase and has a global reach that will appreciate manoeuvre in the professional’s life.
