Get to Know the Cybersecurity Role

Learning Objectives

After completing this unit, you’ll be able to:

Describe what a cybersecurity professional does.
Identify the skills of a successful cybersecurity professional.
Explain the key activities cybersecurity professionals perform.

The Cybersecurity Field

Do you like understanding how things work and then learning how to break them? Are you part detective and part researcher who loves a challenge? Does the idea of chasing adversaries on the internet and thwarting threats excite you? Then cybersecurity might be the right career for you.

As cyber threats continue to proliferate, the demand for cybersecurity professionals is far outpacing the supply. A cybersecurity workforce study by (ISC)2 in 2023, estimated the global shortage of cybersecurity professionals to be 4 million. The cybersecurity field is relevant, interesting, dynamic, and growing rapidly. Now, more than ever, is a great time to consider a career in cybersecurity.

Cybersecurity teams don’t just solve problems. Done right, cybersecurity is one of your organization’s most powerful operational and financial tools to drive down the cost of security risks.

Let’s take a look at the skill sets of a cybersecurity professional.

Required Skills

Well-rounded cybersecurity professionals need a combination of technical aptitude and business skills. Cybersecurity professionals are good at building relationships with teammates and customers while protecting digital information.

Here’s a collection of nontechnical skills a cybersecurity professional should have.

Communication
Collaboration
Planning
Research
Problem solving

A cybersecurity professional should also have a basic understanding of these technical skills.

Troubleshooting, maintaining, and updating information security systems
Implementing continuous network monitoring; providing real-time security solutions; and detecting and responding to security incidents
Knowing various platforms including operating systems, mobile devices, and cloud and wireless networks
Analyzing threat information from multiple sources
Identifying vulnerabilities and potential for exploitation
Investigating cybersecurity events or crimes related to IT systems and networks
Conceptualizing, designing, procuring, and building secure IT systems
Programming or coding
Writing up and monitoring the implementation of cybersecurity policies

A mix of these technical and nontechnical skills makes cybersecurity professionals successful—no matter their role. Cybersecurity professionals combine their pursuit for secure systems with their ability to connect the dots through technology, processes, and policies necessary to protect sensitive data. This mix produces creative solutions that secure businesses.

Key Activities

Let’s put ourselves in the shoes of a cybersecurity professional and look at the nature of their day-to-day work. Here are the tasks and activities they do to secure an organization’s systems and data.

Work with multiple teams: Cybersecurity is a team sport. It takes a team of individuals working in unison to collect and analyze cybersecurity information, research exploits, operate secure IT systems, and more. That includes everyone from the network security engineer who identifies network assets and vulnerabilities, to the chief information security officer (CISO) who secures the organization's systems and data.
Understand the role of computers and other devices in criminal activity: The global pivot to going digital has increased criminal activity significantly in recent years. Devices like computers and cells phones frequently contain vital evidence, including user data, files, call logs, location information, text messages, and more. Investigation and analysis techniques are used to gather and preserve digital evidence from computing devices.
Serve as a subject matter expert on cyber rules and regulations: Be the go-to person for understanding how to protect data and security in IT systems.
Implement cybersecurity protections: Know and implement cyber protections such as encryption, anti-phishing capabilities, antivirus, antimalware, data loss prevention, and more.
Cultivate cybersecurity awareness: Educate employees about social engineering and the implications of cyber attacks. Work with the business to understand what assets are most vulnerable to attack and follow best practices to protect them.

Cybersecurity Roles

The cybersecurity ecosystem is vast and diverse. Here is a look at a few cybersecurity roles.

Cybersecurity Role	What They Do
Threat Intelligence Analyst	Safeguard computer networks and systems. Identify threats. Collect information and analyze intelligence.
Security Operations Engineer	Identify known and unknown threats to a company’s computer systems. Understand adversary tactics, techniques, and procedures. Respond to detected incidents.
Application Security Engineer	Assess applications throughout the software development lifecycle (SDLC). Safeguard applications by identifying associated threats, vulnerabilities, and risks. Implement ongoing security testing and code review.
Cybersecurity Architect	Create enterprise information security architecture. Ensure business strategy and IT security are aligned. Design where controls will be implemented.

As you can see, each role has a different skill set and a different part to play in the security of an organization.

The roles listed above are just a few of the cybersecurity careers you can pursue. Ready to make the most of a career in cybersecurity? Check out the Cybersecurity Learning Hub on Trailhead and join the Cybersecurity Trailblazers community where you can become #SecuritySavvy and hone critical cyber skills, learn about essential cybersecurity tools, and connect with other cybersecurity professionals.

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