Cyber security has an integral role in the digital era. Digital data, ranging from social media accounts to high-end and sophisticated data, is protected digitally by the efforts of cyber security experts. Cyber security has seen an increasing demand for a while, and this trend is expected to increase. It is concurrent with the expanding variety and intensity of cyber threats. As cyber threats evolve and reliance on technology advances with time, the demand for cyber security experts is bound to increase. A cyber security degree can be a game-changer for imaginative people who can think outside the box and design novel solutions to problems.

This article will discuss some essential things that entail a cyber security degree. Knowing these specific details will help you make an informed decision regarding this field.

  1. Cyber Skills Development

Cyber skills are an essential part of the degree. These skills include the operating systems, their complexities, and the networking system. You learn the working of the networks and, finally, be capable of recognizing potential security gaps in a particular system. Additionally, with object-oriented programming, you can plug these security gaps before they can be misused.

  1. Digital Forensics

You can think of cyber security as digital forensics. In cyber security courses, you are taught and trained to trace any unauthorized access attempts by hackers. Then, by tracking and analyzing the potential security gap and data breach, the system can protect itself from similar attempts. It may sound complicated, but there are online cyber security management courses that don’t require any background to learn cyber security, and you can understand the art of digital forensics.

  1. Creative Analysis and Thinking

Along with hard skills like routing and switching, network protocols, and scripting, cyber security students are also taught to think imaginatively and utilize mathematical abilities, communication skills, and human psychology to get the best security system possible. 

Cyber security requires a combination of hard and soft skills. Where hard skills teach you how to secure a system and plug security gaps, soft skills are essential in training you to find existing and potential security gaps. They also help digital forensics since you will deal with human-made viruses and software.

  1. Forecasting Potential Problems

Forecasting cyber security-related problems and developing protective measures in advance is a critical skill for cyber-security students. It is a crucial skill; as Benjamin Franklin said, “Failing to prepare is preparing to fail.” 

A cyber security engineer must be aware of any shortcomings in the network that can be exploited by malware and viruses and place adequate protective measures to ensure they don’t create a bigger problem. 

  1. Governance, Risk, and Compliance (GRC)

GRC and cyber-security are complementary, and GRC can be an efficient tool in your arsenal. First, governance relates to the decision-making process when selecting vendors and making other management decisions. The criteria in decision-making come under its purview. A robust governance model can boost cyber-security exponentially by devising and implementing proper vetting systems. Data like corporation reputation, history of cyber-security, and other factors play a role in structuring a well-protected network system.

Secondly, regarding risk, A GRC system can assist IT and cyber-security in correctly mapping out the system, detailing the network’s risks, and prioritizing them according to the threat level. Finally, adequate steps can be taken to protect against any cyber-attacks. Risk mitigation is an important thing to learn in cyber-security courses, and a cyber-security expert must be prepared for any circumstances.

Finally, compliance covers the legal aspects of the business. Specific protocols and regulations must be built into the network to ensure no unexpected breach or a weak point can be used to hack into the system. GRC can investigate the grid and reveal any compliance issues. With compliance in mind, systems must have a built-in reporting system that automatically generates reports about any unexpected activities to ensure cognizance of the defenders.

  1. Root Cause Analysis (RCA)

RCA, since its inception, has been widely used in every field. It can be implemented efficiently in cyber-security as well. RCA is a formal effort that determines and documents the leading or root cause of an incident and takes preventative and protective measures to ensure it doesn’t happen again. 

It is counterproductive for an organization to combat the same digital threat consistently. Additionally, it is detrimental to its reputation as well. Hence, a cyber-security expert must be taught how to perform RCA and ensure organizational digital security.

  1. Proactive Threat Hunting

Proactive threat hunting is an integral part of cyber-security experts’ jobs. In this digital era, threats are ever-evolving, and it is impossible to protect the network from every danger. Proactive threat hunting involves a focused approach that looks for any cyber threats that got past your security defenses. 

Several techniques are employed for this purpose. Hypothesis-driven investigations involve identifying the Tactics, Techniques, and Procedures (TTP) of the latest attackers using crowdsourced attack data. After identifying a new TTP, the threat hunter actively looks for similar attack patterns in their system. Another approach is to leverage Tactical Threat Intelligence and catalog known indicators of compromise (IOCs) and indicators of attack (IOAs) associated with the latest attacks. This data can then sweep the entire network to uncover ongoing malicious activities or attacks. The third approach involves Advanced Analytics and Machine Learning. Combining these powerful techniques allows large amounts of data to be analyzed efficiently and easily. Any suspicious data or activity can then be detected, which cyber-analysts can explore to identify threats in the system.

  1. Security Auditing

Along with developing and maintaining networks and systems, as discussed before, a cyber security course will also teach you how to audit a security system. It involves mainly the same steps discussed, but data evaluation and presentation skills come into play here. How well you can convince your client regarding the threats to their system depends on your soft skills and the cyber-security tools used in the process.

A comprehensive cyber-security course will prepare you on the various tools for security auditing and how to evaluate and present the data to make it look as legitimate as it is.

Conclusion

Cybersecurity is a growing field, and it is constantly evolving. A cyber-security degree teaches you and prepares you for a successful career in this booming field. Significantly, root cause analysis, GRC, and threat hunting are essential to keep a system safe for extended periods.