Questions arise, especially among novices, about the essential skills for a successful career in cybersecurity— is technical knowledge enough for a successful career in cybersecurity?
Quite honestly, a career in cybersecurity is so hazardous as minor issues can sometimes lead to big disasters. The career demands one need to have excellent logical reasoning, keen eyes to details and a couple of soft skills. We have compiled a list of top skills that are required for a successful career in cybersecurity.
1. Technical knowledge
For a successful career in cybersecurity, technical knowledge is the ground. Technical knowledge may include anything from the ability to configure a network to install a firewall. Technical knowledge may vary from job to job with the rise of security threats. Recruiters usually determine the skill sets that they think they need.
Technical knowledge can be subcategorized as ‘conceptual technical knowledge’ that relates the experiences such as knowing the ports numbers of various protocols or the ability to subnet. Unlike educational efforts, this specific skill can be honed by continuous self-study.
2. Honing logical reasoning
Being a cybersecurity professional, you must possess troubleshooting ability. However, you need to hone logical reasoning. Of course, it comes with experience. Giving priority to technical knowledge will never be enough unless you come up with solutions. It is safe to say, the career of cybersecurity vastly depends on problem-solving.
3. Pace up with the latest trend
Cybersecurity is evolving rapidly and hence you need to pace up with the flow. The career urges you to continually learn new information and a sense of resourcefulness.
As a cybersecurity professional, you must maintain the habit of learning every day. It can be solved with a mixture of curiosity and being a knowledge-hunter.
4. App security and malware protection
As a cybersecurity professional, you must be familiar with the possible security threats and find areas for development. However, you must adhere to advanced privacy tools. Knowledge of latest attack trends and malware is essential to excel in this field.
5. Digital forensic and auditing
Digital forensic seems separate from cybersecurity, but two are linked with each other. It is always a reward for cybersecurity experts if he or she has a clear understanding of digital forensics. The understanding of digital forensics and auditing comes into place when the system is breached or recovering compromised data. You might already realise why cybersecurity programs include digital forensics and auditing as part of their curriculum.
Soft skills that are needed for a successful career in cybersecurity
1. Customer service skill: It is a myth that many think cybersecurity experts do not require strong communication skills. Being a cybersecurity expert, you may often need to communicate technical information to non-technical people. If you are the boss, you most likely have to communicate with a large group of audience.
2. Self-starter: Being a self-starter is always boosting especially when your work is not group work. You are paid for your ability to solve problems and lead the job independently. Moreover, being a self-starter, your team has trust within you to submit work within deadline.
3. Ability to lead projects
You never know when your company entrusted you to complete a job within a set timeline. It may be anything from upgrading a program, leading a penetration test or serving as the lead for a specific customer. Your ability to manage projects is determined when you manage the resources that the project requires.
