Posted: April 27th, 2022

The Cyber Security Profession

The Cyber Security Profession
Computer Sciences and Information Technology
I need an organized Research Report on the field of Cyber Security as a profession. The page length is 8 pages (not including reference page, table of contents and cover page). Out of those 8 pages, one whole page can be devoted to pictures, charts, or graphics. It can either have one whole page of graphics, or there can be possibly 4 graphics that take up a quarter page each spread throughout the report.

The topic of the report is to connect to the cyber security profession. The report will incorporate elements of design such as headings, white-space and a table of contents. All outside sources must be credited with in-text citations throughout the report and with a list of References or Works Cited at the end of the report. You must use either MLA or APA Style for crediting sources.

Executive Summary 3
Introduction 4
The Development of the Cyber Security Profession 5
Current Methods to Enter Into the Cyber Security Profession 8
Conclusion 11
Recommendations 12
References 13

Executive Summary
The cybersecurity field has grown in importance due to the increasing threat of cybercrimes in the digital environment. Organizations must invest in proper cybersecurity mechanisms to avoid exposing their information to malicious parties. Nonetheless, the number of cybersecurity professionals is still low, thus meeting the increasing demand for professionals. This is worsened by the fact that the available ones will lack the proper skill set to meet the evolving security challenges. This research paper has hence explored the development of the cybersecurity profession, discussed the methods of entry into the profession, and the fundamental skills required. Notably, the paper also discusses recommendations that different stakeholders could incorporate to increase the number of quality of skills for aspiring cybersecurity professionals.
Introduction
The cybersecurity field never experiences a shortage of frightening data. For instance, as of 2015, an estimated 254 publicly disclosed data breaches occurred, thus exposing an estimated 160 million records of individuals’ personal information (Oltsik, 2020). The trend has been increasingly consistent that in 2019, there were an estimated 7098 publicly disclosed data breaches (Vijayan, 2020). The data breaches in 2019 exposed personally identifiable information for an estimated 15.1 billion individuals. These data breaches have involved external hackers, malicious insiders, and accidental or negligent users within the systems (Vijayan, 2020). These statistics indicate that the security landscape is becoming very challenging. With this increasing trend, it only indicates that the number of events is expected to continue growing. The number of records will continue to be uncovered. Ultimately, many system users will have to deal with either losing or the mishandling of their information by their malicious perpetrators.

Figure 1: Information Security Jobs experiencing a 28% growth rate as of 2018, which faster than the industry’s average growth rate at 7%(Cook, 2018).
Notably, with the looming cybersecurity challenges, degrees centering on cybersecurity have become very popular. The field is exploding with opportunity as cybercrime becomes a priority to each online individual. Organizations are increasingly investing and planning to spend more on cybersecurity. This means that many cybersecurity professionals who need to be part of these initiatives will be required. Cybersecurity professionals are supposed to be a perpetual battle on cybercrime. They will need to apply their available resources to out-think cyber-attackers’ activities and protect their systems against anything that could cause website defacement. This is a daunting task for the cybersecurity professionals considering the attackers work around the clock to find and exploit any system vulnerabilities. This will require professionals who have the right skills that can be gained through learning and practical skills.
This research paper intends to explore the development of the cybersecurity profession to understand further its prerequisite skills and knowledge required in the current digital environment.
The Development of the Cyber Security Profession
Cybersecurity alludes to the technologies and techniques that are improvised to protect information and computer systems from theft, compromise, or attacks. This field also encompasses the unauthorized or criminal utilization of electronic information, attacks, viruses, or malicious codes that are charged on computer systems or networks. The field has grown to be a national and organization priority as it is a determinant of the well-being of respective systems. A cybersecurity workforce must be built, which will consist of professionals with unique skills to tackle the evolving cybersecurity challenges.
As the domain of cybersecurity has evolved, so has the cybersecurity profession in terms of the skills and knowledge required. In the early 1950s, organizations, specifically, government agencies, identified the potential risks that were affiliated with the utilization of computers. At the time, the National Security Agency’s TEMPEST Specification and the United States Communications Security (COMSEC) would raise awareness of the issue. In the 1960s, it was clear that the computers were heading towards becoming a mass-market phenomenon and not just for the companies with extensive financial resources. The systems were now evolving to meet the growing demands. However, evolution would demonstrate design flaws in the growing number of computer science researchers. The early discoveries that were happening were primarily academic, but any evident flaws would start being exploited by parties with less noble intentions.
The technology stack needed for security purposes became complex by the day that it has gone beyond implementing firewalls and antivirus programs (CompTIA, 2017). These two are still fundamental for the protection of the systems, but the advancement in technology increased how systems were compromised; thus, further security measures are needed. To this effect, the cybersecurity field would bring in more disciples, such as risk analysis, compliance management, and end-user education. These disciplines play a distinct and significant role in building the cybersecurity profession. For instance, risk analysis and compliance management would be focussed on safe operations within digital environments. In contrast, the end-user environments focus on raising security literacy within the environments one will work in (CompTIA, 2017). However, organizations are still stating that they are still dealing with skill gaps, especially in terms of the in-house workforce or the third-parties lacking the expertise to handle the evolving cybersecurity challenges.

Figure 2: The Perception of Companies Towards the State of Own Corporate Cyber Security (Comptia, 2017).
Approximately 21% of organizations feel that they have a high level of cybersecurity understanding within their environment. This indicates that the companies believe that they still need to grow in cybersecurity, and they should assess themselves and make the required improvements. Notably, the lack of expertise is primarily driven by the workforce’s knowledge of security; the skill gaps among the security professionals responsible for cybersecurity are significant factors. Global research has been done and demonstrated that the shortage of cybersecurity professionals is at an estimated 2.936 million individuals internationally. While the number gives a visual picture of the problem of cybersecurity professionalism, their capability is more complicated than their number. This capability is concerned with the level and blends of both expertise and skills required by organizations in building their digital economies.
Indeed, the cybersecurity profession has numerous roles that range from the technical aspect of penetration testing and cryptography to a strategic aspect such as the Chief Information Security Officer. Many still consider the domain a technical one, while others consider it to be more strategic or focused on policies. Many stakeholders have also indicated that they face numerous challenges in recruiting cybersecurity professionals. The fact that companies in different sectors face a capability gap uniquely will address the challenges in different ways. Additionally, in dealing with the challenge of meeting the demands of cybersecurity professionals, there is also a further responsibility of ensuring each individual and element of an organization. The digital literacy of the general workforce is increasingly becoming important such that other professions are also focussing on developing themselves in terms of cybersecurity. Therefore, the cybersecurity profession is growing towards a more structured facet with a broad range of roles that can handle the root causes of cybercrime while potentially evolving with the nature of the specialist cybersecurity.
Current Methods to Enter Into the Cyber Security Profession
A profession in cybersecurity is divided according to one’s expertise or experience level. The first level is the entry-level roles, comprising system engineers, system administrators, web developers, technicians, network engineers, and security specialists (Sobers, 2017). The second level encompasses mid-level roles consisting of security technicians, security analysts, incident responders, IT auditors, cybersecurity consultants, and penetration testers. The third and to level in the hierarchy comprises the advanced-level roles comprising cybersecurity managers, cybersecurity architects, cybersecurity engineers chief information security officers (Sobers, 2017). Each of these individuals plays fundamental and distinct roles in ensuring that systems are protected from cyber-attacks.

Figure 3: The Demand for Cyber Security Specialist In consideration of the Top-Level Group (The Tech Partnership, 2017). The figure illustrates that the demand for each of the top-level groups has been increasing consistently.
Currently, there are three methods of entry into the cybersecurity profession field. The first is to directly graduate from college or university with a diploma, degree, or master’s degree in the field. The organization choosing to hire graduates will generally want to mold a particular workplace culture (Carnegie Mellon University, 2019). The graduates are expected to gain experience through internships or cyber competitions. The company would also choose to provide a learning experience for the graduates. The second method to enter into the profession is cross-training, where the individual has either worked in the IT department or has a tech background (Carnegie Mellon University, 2019). The IT personnel will typically deal with technology implementation and the application of security configurations to networks and systems. Their knowledge, skills, and experience provide a solid foundation to develop new cybersecurity knowledge and skills; the individual may undergo further training and obtain the industry’s certificate. Notably, the previous interactions have positioned themselves for the transition (Carnegie Mellon University, 2019). The third manner is for individuals with no technical background but has expertise applicable in a work role related to cyber-security. The cybersecurity profession has many specialty areas such as management, training professional writing legal, among others, that add to the technical areas. These individuals could use online resources that are consistent with the cybersecurity profession.
Furthermore, just like any other career, any cybersecurity professional will also desire to leverage the-r pre-existing skills and experience to incorporate emerging technologies such as blockchain development (Carnegie Mellon University, 2019). The emerging technologies present further opportunities requiring the development of unique skills developed through a commitment to specialization and professional growth. To this effect, the professional could enroll in certification agencies that provide distinct levels of expertise depending on the learner’s environment. An agency such as the International Information Systems Security Certification Consortium (ISC)² provides the advanced Certified Information Systems Security Professional or CISSP certification that is commonly requested in the present job market followed by the ISACA’s Certified Information Systems Auditor, or CISA certification (Carnegie Mellon University, 2019). The Information Systems Security Association (ISSA) is a cybersecurity organization which provides the Cybersecurity Career Lifecycle (CSCL) website that provides foundational knowledge for cybersecurity professionals to develop in their career path (Carnegie Mellon University, 2019).
Currently, the sky is not the limit for anyone who joins the cybersecurity profession as they need to continually work on their skills to fit with the evolving technology industry. Nonetheless, some skills are fundamental in the digital era. These include the detection of intrusions, the analysis and reversal of malware, programming knowledge, critical thinking skills, risk analysis and mitigation, cloud security, and security analytic skills (Roussey, 2018). Furthermore, these experts will need to have proper communication skills, technical aptitude, fundamental computer forensic skills, and problem-skills (Krakoff, 2019). Generally, a cybersecurity professional should have a well-rounded skill set that encompasses both the technical and non-technical aspects. This ensures that the individual will have a proper foundation to branch out to gain further skills and roles.

Figure 4: The different skills Required by Cyber Security Professionals and Their Level of Importance (Oltsik, 2016). This was a survey of IT professionals who had transitioned towards the cybersecurity profession.
Conclusion
It is evident that the cybersecurity profession is evolving continually due to the global environment, becoming even more digital and security risks increasing further. The evolution means that the professionals are required to develop their skills to meet these demands. Notably, there are different ways one could join either through graduating, transitioning from an IT professional, or using online resources to handle the non-technical aspects of the field. The main objective of anyone venturing into the profession is to ensure that they are continually building their skill set to ensure the tone is not ousted from the profession.
Recommendations
Apart from the dedication and commitment required by cybersecurity professionals in developing their skill set, it is prudent that other stakeholders develop a proper environment to motivate and attract more individuals to fill in the increasing demand. For instance, companies should open their work environments to other individuals who do not have the experience and provide it. The organization will need to define clearly the preferred skills required by its cybersecurity professionals. This will motivate the new professionals to fruit-focused on gaining this kind of knowledge that will help them navigate that working environment. Additionally, providing the right resources for these individuals widens their skill and knowledge capacity for the betterment of their operations.
The cybersecurity professional body should develop a framework incorporating different specialisms and sets out the comprehensive alignment of career paths in the profession (Initial National Cyber Security Skills Strategy: Increasing The Uk’s Cyber Security Capability, 2019). This would lead to a globally recognized career structure adopted across the cybersecurity sector universally. This framework is to set out certifications and qualifications together with how the two relate and are linked. Organizations and individuals will be helped in making informed choices as they seek to develop their professions.

References
Roussey, B. (2018, October 5). Must-have cybersecurity skills that make you an in-demand expert. Retrieved from https://techgenix.com/cybersecurity-skills/#:
Krakoff, S. (2019, November 22). Top cybersecurity skills in high demand. Retrieved from https://online.champlain.edu/blog/top-cybersecurity-skills-in-high-demand
The Tech Partnership. (2017). Factsheet: Cyber Security Specialists in the UK.retrieved from https://www.tpdegrees.com/globalassets/pdfs/research-2017/factsheet_cybersecurityspecialists_feb17.pdf
Vijayan, J. (2020). Third-Party Breaches — and the Number of Records Exposed — Increased Sharply in 2019. Retrieved from https://www.darkreading.com/attacks-breaches/third-party-breaches—and-the-number-of-records-exposed—increased-sharply-in-2019/d/d-id/1337037#
Oltsik, J. (2016). The State of Cyber Security Professional Careers: An Annual Research Report (Part I). A Cooperative Research Project by ESG and ISSA. Retrieved from https://www.esg-global.com/hubfs/issa/ESG-ISSA-Research-Report-State-of-Cybersecurity-Professional-Careers-Oct-2016.pdf
CompTIA. (2017). The Evolution Of Security Skills. Retrieved from https://www.comptia.org/content/research/the-evolution-of-security-skills
Cook, S. (2018). Starting a career in cybersecurity: A guide for veterans. Retrieved from https://www.comparitech.com/blog/information-security/cyber-security-jobs-veterans/
Sobers, R. (2017). Which Cybersecurity Career Is Right For Me? Retrieved from https://www.varonis.com/blog/cybersecurity-careers/
Carnegie Mellon University. (2019). Cybersecurity Career Paths and Progression. The Department of Homeland Security under Contract No. FA8702-15-D-0002 with Carnegie Mellon University for the operation of the Software Engineering Institute. Retrieved from https://niccs.us-cert.gov/sites/default/files/documents/pdf/cybersecurity%20career%20paths%20and%20progressionv2.pdf?trackDocs=cybersecurity%20career%20paths%20and%20progressionv2.pdf
Initial National Cyber Security Skills Strategy: Increasing The Uk’s Cyber Security Capability (2019).

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