These days, most companies need to store their information safely and ensure that they are safe from malicious hackers. This is a complex and vital service because any form of data breaches could cost a company millions of dollars in recovery expenses. Therefore, the need to hire cybersecurity engineers has significantly grown. But how in-demand is cybersecurity engineering? Let’s find out.
What Is Cybersecurity Engineering?
Cybersecurity engineering is the process of protecting data by creating security policies for digital information and improving the security infrastructure. Cybersecurity engineers play a huge role in the IT department by protecting data and modifying existing security software—a crucial aspect of a business operation.
Differences between Cybersecurity and Information Security Analysts
When it comes to data security, most people get confused between two roles; cybersecurity and information security analysis. Although they both aim to protect a company’s data, they work rather differently. While cybersecurity engineers handle the information that is stored digitally, information security analysts protect all kinds of information that are valuable to a company, regardless of whether or not they are stored in a digital infrastructure.
The Demand for Cybersecurity Experts
According to the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES), the number of cybersecurity programs has risen by 33%. This could give us an idea of how in-demand this trend is. Besides, it is logical to think that cybersecurity engineers would be sought-after these days due to the growing importance of data protection.
This could be the reason why there are so many people trying to switch careers to the cybersecurity field. On top of that, most cybersecurity engineers receive a high salary. According to Zip Recruiter, the average salary of a cybersecurity engineer in San Francisco is $125,000 annually.
Why Cybersecurity Is In-Demand?
One of the major reasons why cybersecurity is in-demand is because the possibilities of malicious attacks or safety breaches have increased over the last couple of years. Every day the number of devices that are connected to the internet increases, therefore a successful hacking can give the perpetrators access to a lot of personal data and sensitive information.
Now, just think about the IoT trend. Today, even security cameras are connected to the internet. Therefore, hackers can easily manipulate them no matter where they are. This increases the possibility of robbery and other crimes for any company. Cybersecurity experts seem to be the solution to this problem and this is why so many companies put a lot of effort into finding the best cybersecurity engineers.
Another reason why cybersecurity engineering is in-demand is that most financial transactions are made online which leaves them vulnerable to digital attacks. Therefore, banking companies are the ones that need cybersecurity the most. In order to protect their customers’ data and money safely, they need to have top-notch security systems in place.
This also isn’t optional. Having a well-secured digital system is required by the government. All companies need to protect their data through all possible means.
Where to Study Cybersecurity
To become a cybersecurity engineer, you need to understand the fundamental principles of online security and have some programming background. If you’re very new to this field, you’ll probably want to pursue a bachelor’s degree in cybersecurity, or you can opt to enroll in a cybersecurity bootcamp.
Most bootcamp programs last less than six months and they’ll give you all the tools you need to master the subject matter. Besides, they’re more focused on practice and employment, which will help you land a job easier.
Conclusion
Cybersecurity engineering is highly in-demand these days. The fact that we use our smartphones and internet-powered devices for almost everything, including bank transactions, leaves us vulnerable for any attack. Therefore, it makes absolute sense for companies to allocate a bulk of their resources to cybersecurity.