What are cyber security professionals?
Cyber security professionals are people with jobs concerned with solving security issues that result from digital devices connected to the internet or a network. The cyber security professional job category includes many different jobs within it, the most common being: cryptographers, security analysts, cyber policy analysts and security software developers.
How is cyber security changing?
From the early days of the internet until the early 2000s, a cyber security worker was considered to be someone who keeps computers free from computer viruses and other hard drive risks such as file corruption. Over the last decade and especially towards 2030, the increasing number of smartphone apps reliant on online data access and the increasing cyber risk to Australian individuals, businesses, government and defence has meant that cyber security is not just a technical issue but is also a people focused issue.
Cyber security professionals will increasingly need communication and collaborative skills so that various cyber security teams can work together and risks can be effectively communicated to a number of stakeholders such as parents, children, government officials, scientists and other cyber security professionals.
How is the demand for cyber security affecting other jobs?
A key component of cyber security is people. For example, at school, the security risk lies with students and teachers clicking a malicious link or using a flash drive. Due to the close connection with people, data driven cyber security requirements are changing other jobs as well.
A business analyst will also need to be a cyber security advisor in order to facilitate a company's transition towards a balance between profit and customer satisfaction with data security. Much of this balance relies on the value of the data a company or an organisation owns. Currently, there are no guidelines dictating the value of a particular dataset, but by 2030, there could be a demand for cyber security workers who also estimate the value of data owned by individuals or companies.
Hear more from a cyber security professional by visiting the careers foundation website.