I have been talking about various Cyber Security job opportunities for freshers since last four articles. In the last week’s column, I talked about Cyber Security Engineer and Cyber Security Administrator job opportunities of the top ten entry-level jobs in cybersecurity discussed in first column. In this column, I am going to talk about two more entry-level jobs in cybersecurity – Cyber Security Auditor and Cyber Forensic Expert, giving an overview of the job features/responsibilities, skills, qualifications, certifications, salary, job titles and career progressions.
Brief Introduction of Cyber Security Auditor Job Opportunities :-
A Cyber Security Auditor or IT auditor or cyber auditor or security auditor plays an important role in ensuring the security of an organization’s systems by designing and conducting audits. They work with various divisions, departments and affiliates of the organization depending on the size of the organization to explore the status of existing cyber security systems and online security systems and to analyze and verify that the systems are working effectively.
Cyber Security Auditor’s main responsibilities and duties include :– conduct an independent or internal review of security controls and information systems, test the security and effectiveness of individual components of cyber security defenses, analyze/investigate any recent breaches or security concerns, evaluate internal security systems, controls and policies, and ensures compliance with relevant laws, regulations and write detailed reports to concerned department heads defining audit results, required changes, cost-benefit analysis of implementing those changes to the organization.
For this post he/she should preferably have Bachelor’s/Master’s degree in Computer/Law related subject, mainly they should have various operating system, networking and system administration, security tools/utilities knowledge, digital forensics, database, legal and project management skills. In addition, they should be good at non-technical skills such as analytical thinking, problem solving, communication, team spirit and keen vision.
Industry certifications like ISACA’s Certified Information Systems Auditor (CISA), CompTIA Security+, Certified Information Security Manager (CISM) and Certified in Risk and Information Systems Control (CRISC) can help them get a better job/salary. They can expect a salary of 5-15 lakhs in the first year for this job. Here they can start from Cyber Security Auditor and move up to the post of Senior/Lead Security Auditor, Cyber Security Manager/Consultant/Vice President.
Brief Introduction of Cyber Forensic Expert Job Opportunities :-
A Cyber Forensic Expert or IT Forensic Expert or Digital Detective, is responsible for finding, collecting and evaluating any possible evidence of cybercrime from the organization’s computers, networks and other related information sources and IT equipment. Moreover, they have to extract all the evidences and relevant information found in the manner prescribed by law and present them in prescribed format to prove the crime and are responsible to find out the security deficiencies in the organization’s systems, network and prepare strategies for its elimination.
Cyber Forensic Expert is responsible for detecting and responding to cybersecurity threats received and security breaches that have occurred. They are also responsible for teaching, assigning work and supervising the work of junior or new forensic experts in their team. A Cyber Forensic Expert can specialize in three disciplines, i.e. Cyber Security Analysis, Mobile Forensics and Network Defense Analyst.
For this post they should preferably have Graduation/Post Graduate Degree in Computer/Forensic related subject, mainly they should have various operating system, networking and system administration, security tool/tools knowledge, digital forensics, database, legal, hacking and project management skills. In addition, they should be good at non-technical skills such as analytical thinking, problem solving, communication, team spirit and keen vision.
Industry certifications such as GIAC Certified Forensic Analyst (GCFA), Computer Hacking Forensic Investigator (CHFI), GIAC Certified Forensic Examiner (GCFE), Certified Ethical Hacker (C|EH) and Certified Information Systems Security Professional (CISSP) can be helpful to get higher salary/better job. For this job they can expect a salary of 6-15 lakhs in the first year. They can find jobs in government (police, defense, college) and private (cyber security consulting, law, IT) organizations. Here they can start as Cyber Security Forensic Analyst and move on to Senior/Lead Forensic Analyst, Cyber Forensic Expert/Specialist/ Manager/Consultant/Scientist post.
Where can we learn these cyber security skills?
You can learn the above mentioned technical and non-technical skills in either offline or online mode. You can learn in offline mode in colleges (Karnataka and India) and also in online mode as part of diploma, degree, post graduation or certification course, such courses are also available to you for free (YouTube, udemy, simplilearn etc.) but to prove your knowledge learned to prospective employers, you may need to do certifications for your preferred job mentioned above.