According to the BLS, in the next ten years, the cybersecurity industry will grow by at least 31%. This means that it’s a great time to get into the cybersecurity field. We live in an increasingly connected society. Due to the rising number of cyber threats, organizations will always look for cybersecurity expertise.
A career as a cybersecurity specialist will likely be full of unique challenges and problems for you to solve. On top of that, depending on your certifications, you can also have a vast range of different jobs to choose from.
This article explains exactly why cybersecurity careers are in such high demand right now.
The COVID-19 Lockdown Has Made Cyber Security Skills More Important
The ongoing COVID-19 pandemic has led to a significant number of employees working remotely, connecting to their office networks online rather than in-person. This shift has complicated network infrastructures necessary for many job functions, presenting new avenues for cyber threats. The alterations induced by the pandemic provide additional avenues for malicious actors to exploit, especially amidst the chaotic adjustments many workplaces are navigating. This scenario has elevated the demand for adept cybersecurity professionals within organizations that might not have prioritized such roles before. Current cybersecurity practitioners find a broader spectrum of job opportunities due to this heightened demand.
Ransomware is Still a Big Problem
Ransomware is malware that encrypts your files. You will then have to buy and send a cryptocurrency such as bitcoin to the attacker if you want your files to be decrypted.
While ransomware attackers target all kinds of people, they like to target companies as they’re more likely to pay. When faced with a choice between paying a few thousand dollars to an extortionist or losing their whole business, the choice is simple for most business owners.
A good cybersecurity professional can take various measures to safeguard companies against this kind of attack. For example, they could help set up end-to-end encryption or automated backups.
The institutionalization of cryptocurrency is currently going sky-high. This means there’s never been a better time to be in the ransomware business. Due to the potential to make huge amounts of cash, more bad actors will likely get into ransomware attacks.
This is great news for cybersecurity professionals as protecting against this kind of attack is important to business.
The Internet of Things Will Help Cybersecurity Careers
The “internet of things” means that devices such as coffee makers, fridges, and blenders will be connected to your home internet network. While this offers many exciting possibilities for users, it also opens up many potential routes for cyber attacks.
With the internet of things, hackers could potentially gain control over your whole household. This could do unprecedented damage to your life. Maybe they could turn down the temperature in your fridge and cause your food to spoil. Perhaps they could listen to confidential information through the microphone on your voice-activated coffee maker.
It’s unclear how exactly attackers will try to exploit the internet of things, but they inevitably will. The more devices in the home capable of connecting to the internet, the more cybersecurity professionals will test their security.
With the anticipated surge in the Internet of Things (IoT) adoption, it’s probable that the need for cybersecurity professionals will markedly increase in the forthcoming years.
Cyber Attacks are Becoming Geopolitically Significant
As the whole world has started connecting to the internet, cyberattacks from foreign powers have become more common. Now, countries are taking more measures to protect against them.
Working as a cybersecurity specialist for the government could be a great career. You get all of the challenges and excitement of a cybersecurity career while getting some great government benefits.
Companies Rely on Legacy Systems
Companies worldwide are making the critical mistake of relying on legacy software. Legacy software is software that the developers no longer support. Using this software is considered to be a massive security risk to many.
When the developer still supports software, potential security flaws will be found and patched out. When software is no longer supported, these flaws are not corrected.
Eventually, the knowledge of these exploits becomes common knowledge among hackers. This makes it extremely risky to run the legacy system.
Despite the risks, many companies insist on using outdated software. Often this software is critical to running the whole operation. Generally, companies do this because they want to save money or because they want to avoid the considerable task of migrating to a new system. Smaller companies may not even realize how much risk they are facing.
Instead of upgrading to a new system, some companies like to bring cybersecurity experts to patch up security holes in a legacy system. If you learn how to secure these old systems, you could earn a lot of money as a security consultant.
The Laws Are Changing Surrounding Data Protection
It seems that the old days of companies getting away with being careless with customer data will soon be over. Governments worldwide are introducing legislation that holds companies accountable for data security.
This means that many companies are looking to recruit network security specialists to ensure customer data is appropriately safeguarded. Data breaches are likely to result in large fines, so companies will spend a lot of money hiring the best cybersecurity consultants.
Unlike with legacy systems, companies don’t have the option to delay when it comes to complying with the law.
Almost All Financial Transactions Are Moving Online
In the past, if you wanted to steal a large amount of money, you would rob a bank by taking the cash by force. These days, you can steal such an amount of money without even leaving your desk.
This is because financial transactions are moving almost entirely online. Traditional forms of security such as bank vaults and security guards, are ineffective against the new cyber threats.
As a cybersecurity pro, you’ll have the necessary skills to help ensure online transactions are 100% safe and secure.
Many Individuals Are Technologically Illiterate
Despite how ubiquitous the internet and computers are in our everyday lives, many people don’t understand how they work. This makes them the perfect target for hackers and viruses.
It seems unlikely that society will become more technologically literate any time soon. This can be considered excellent news if you plan to get into a cybersecurity career.
Companies Don’t Have Security Culture.
Many companies think that having a yearly seminar on cybersecurity is enough to keep your company secure. In reality, you need to have an ingrained security culture if you want to safeguard your company against cyber attacks.
This laid-back attitude towards developing a security culture means that cyber attack disasters will continue to happen for the foreseeable future.
Social Engineering Will Always Be a Factor
No matter how good anti-virus software or firewalls get, people will still get their accounts hacked. This is because many hackers rely on social engineering rather than hacking.
Social engineering involves tricking a victim into giving up access to an account rather than doing it by force. As a cybersecurity professional, you’ll not only have to safeguard computer systems. But, you’ll also have to protect people against social engineering attacks.
Social engineering threat means that it’s unlikely hackers will ever be stopped, even if there are huge leaps forward in security software. This is excellent news for people in cybersecurity careers as it likely means there will always be work that needs to be done.
Protecting against social engineering attacks can be exciting work. It means you need to get inside the head of a potential attacker.
A Promising Career
As you can see, cybersecurity careers are looking very promising right now, and there are no signs that it is going to change any time soon. The COVID-19 crisis means that we’re relying on the internet more than ever. Many of these societal changes are likely to remain after the situation ends.
If you’re interested in learning more about some other great career types, check out our blog pages for some more information.