Information Security Analyst Education Requirements

With billions of pieces of sensitive information now being stored in digital formats rather than in a secured and well-monitored location, companies have needed to find new ways to ensure that their data stays safe. Information security analysts are the workers who make sure that their employer does not fall victim to this phenomenon. It's a tricky task that takes a more diverse skill set than one might first assume - you can qualify for such a job by earning a degree in cybersecurity and paying special attention to certain key competencies.

What Do Information Security Analysts Do?

If hackers are the home invaders of the digital security world, then information security analysts are the monitored alarm system that alerts the police of the threat. Using their knowledge of computer systems, analysts map out the existing security infrastructure of a company and try to discover exploits in their systems that hackers might use to get in.

They also monitor the system for vulnerabilities and conduct audits to determine what went wrong in the event of a breach. They then compile detailed and thorough reports concerning what they've found so that others can make use of their research too. If they are hired early in a company's life cycle, they may also be responsible for helping to establish initial security software and protocols.

As an analyst, your job is not to personally resolve threats - that's up to the security administrators and engineers. Rather, your role is to forecast what will need to be done and brainstorm ways to make that happen most effectively. Once you've done that, you pass this information on to those who have the real decision-making power, mainly managers and executives. These people will usually defer to your expertise, and over time, you should see a noticeable improvement in digital security at your workplace thanks to your suggestions.

The Importance of Communication

As mentioned above, analysts are not generally expected to perform interventions themselves. You need to be able to strategize and retrieve the relevant data, yes, but those skills will only get half the job done. You should also be able to assign meaning to it and convey this meaning to others in a way they can easily understand.

A report is no good to anyone outside your specific realm of expertise if it's littered with jargon and figures that are given no context, or is phrased with poor grammar. The same goes for speech that rambles and is constantly paused while you attempt to gather your thoughts.

This means that analysts must not only be proficient in cybersecurity practices and lingo, but also have some added mathematical and rhetorical abilities too. While it's not impossible to pick these things up through other means, good cybersecurity degree programs will include courses in the curriculum that are specifically meant to let you develop these skills under the guidance of experts who can really help you to shine.

Keeping One Step Ahead

For the most part, cybersecurity is an all-or-nothing endeavor. All it takes is one hack to create an onslaught of financial losses and negative publicity that can be very difficult for a company to recover from. With so much on the line, employers don't want to have to wonder about whether you know the latest security technology and techniques - they want to know you can keep your knowledge base up to date with minimal prompting and ensure they stay safe from even the most recently-pioneered threats.

A degree not only teaches you technical knowledge, but also attests to the fact that you know how to learn about challenging concepts and apply them. If you did it once, you can probably do it again, and that fact gives your employers confidence in your ability to keep up with the fast rate of change in this tumultuous field.

Are you interested in the world of cyber security? If you want to earn a Bachelor of Science Degree in Computer and Information Science with a Major in Cyber and Network Security, ECPI University offers this degree program at an accelerated pace. For more information on this exciting degree, connect with a friendly admissions counselor today.

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