Hardly a day goes by without some sort of cybersecurity news. Often, it’s bad news – an organization somewhere has been breached and the information of thousands of users has been compromised.
For those who work in cybersecurity, keeping current on cybersecurity news and developments is essential. You can learn something from each new threat and attack. Threat intelligence is collected and disseminated continuously to help cybersecurity teams manage risk and prepare incident response strategies.
If you’re trying to break into the industry, the requirement to stay up to date on cybersecurity developments starts now. You need to be aware of current and evolving threats, attack methods, popular targets, the origin of attacks, the costs of breaches, as well as the tools and practices employed in fighting threat actors.
(ISC)² just published a guide for jobseekers, How to Get a Cybersecurity Job, with plenty of actionable advice for those trying to jump-start their cybersecurity careers. One section, “Stay Current on the Cybersecurity Industry and Profession,” stresses the importance of knowing what is happening in the cybersecurity space.
Dynamic Environment
Cybersecurity is dynamic. Attackers constantly refine their methods in their relentless attempts to bypass security controls and technology. It is a never-ending cat-and-mouse game between attackers and defenders, and the defenders – cybersecurity professionals – cannot afford to let up. They must always be learning.
Too much is at stake – proprietary business information, confidential user data, applications and databases that if corrupted can cost thousands or millions of dollars to recover. Ransomware attacks have become especially bold and virulent. The Coastal Pipeline attack caused gas station lines harkening back to the 1970s. The company paid $4.4 million in ransom, but at least half of it was recovered by law enforcement. Meanwhile, attacks against hospitals have increased; a recent report revealed that 48% of hospitals have had to disconnect their networks in the past six months because of ransomware.
Understanding what attackers are doing, and finding ways to counter their tactics, is simply part of the job for cybersecurity professionals. The (ISC)² jobseeker guide lists sources of information and digital communities where you can learn this type of information.
As a jobseeker, learning and updating your knowledge of the profession and the industry helps get your foot in the door of your next employer. It allows you to demonstrate knowledge of the profession and articulate nuances between threats, threat attackers, and the concepts of risk and risk management.
It also enables you to keep up with new and existing technologies and practices employed in risk mitigation. Lastly, becoming acquainted with cybersecurity-related web resources, news sites and digital communities teaches you the language used by those in the field. As you learn the vocabulary, you will be much more effective in demonstrating to potential employers that you understand the job and its responsibilities. And that may just be the thing that gets you the job.