It’s rare to learn of a ransomware hack which has led to a click to read data breach or a devastating effect on businesses and people across all sectors. Cyberattacks are becoming more sophisticated and attack everything from credit card data to personal health records.
The job of cybersecurity professionals is to protect against such attacks by looking for weaknesses and taking preventative steps. To do this effectively, they need certain skills in both technical and non-technical areas.
A cybersecurity professional must be knowledgeable of various platforms and computer systems to stay abreast of the most recent hacking techniques. This includes understanding of programming languages, forensic investigations and specific tools (e.g. the ones used for digital forensics and penetration testing). A cybersecurity analyst, for example requires knowledge of how IoT devices are connected to the Internet and are susceptible to hacking.
It is crucial that cybersecurity experts are able to recognize and assess risk in their company. It’s impossible to defend yourself against every threat because hackers can use an endless number of ways to cause trouble. For example, a security professional should be aware that passwords should long, complex and include an array of upper and lowercase letters, numbers, and symbols, and that passwords should not contain personal data such as birthdays or a family member’s name.
To be a successful cybersecurity expert it’s crucial to feel empathy for both the victims of cyberattacks as well as the perpetrators. This will help them understand what a cyber-hacker may think. They can then put together more effective defenses.
