Internet crime and security seem to be getting worse. What are big companies doing to stop it?
Almost every time you get online, you’re a witness to online threats from hackers and scammers, and new countermeasures employed by software developers. Even after billions of dollars have been invested in cybersecurity, organizations still are challenged to halt online threats. The challenges of cybersecurity are inherently much more involved than just data recovery. We will not only explain why, but also identify the possible careers in cybersecurity for grads.
One of the major hurdles to effective cybersecurity management and practices is that this is not a purely technical problem. Economics and human psychology also come into play creating a complex blend of issues that come under a general umbrella of cybersecurity.
Cyberspace operates under different rules than the physical world, where concepts of distance, borders, and proximity all break down on a nodal internet network. With distances greatly reduced, threats can come from literally anywhere. Borders are comprised of routers and firewalls, and proximity refers to connected devices or resources, so physical locations are no longer relevant.
Physical-world security models simply do not work in cyberspace. Federal governments can manage border security in the real world but on the internet, everyone’s network is on the border. Comprehensive legal and policy frameworks have yet to be developed for cyberspace, which raises many questions such as: what standard of care should companies have with our personal data, who is responsible for software vulnerabilities, what government actions are acceptable, and how are individuals and companies held accountable across digital borders.
With social engineering being the top method of system infiltration, the human has become the weakest link in the security chain, further compounding the difficulty in managing cybersecurity threats.
With the threats and level of sophistication of cyber-attacks constantly increasing, there will always be a demand for professionals in this field. Information security experts are also in high demand as personal identity theft reaches unprecedented highs. Big data is big money and the number of businesses that thrive and profit off personal data is growing by the day.
According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the demand for information security experts will rise by 18% in the next seven years. It goes without saying that graduates with a bachelor’s or master’s in cybersecurity or related fields will have no problems finding a well-paid position in this lucrative and cutting-edge career.
You can work as an information security analyst who is responsible for implementing measures to protect networks and organizations from cyberattack and its aftermath with RAID recovery. Other positions include computer and information research scientists, and systems managers, who will use their expert analysis and forensics to reverse engineer and diagnose events that could pose a danger to an organization’s digital assets.
The role of a cybersecurity professional is of great value to all organizations that use computer networks for their business operations. Earning a degree in this field will virtually guarantee a long list of open positions from companies seeking to secure themselves from this ever present and increasing threat.
If you spend more on coffee than on IT security, you will be hacked. What’s more, you deserve to be hacked – Richard Clarke.
(Suzanne Hite is a former publications editor serving the technology services sector).
