How to Move into the Cybersecurity Field

Every day there are new cyber attacks on businesses located throughout the world. These tales appear in the media, usually once they’re stopped, although some of the larger ones are reported on as they’re taking place. Who is in charge of stopping the hackers and protecting companies and their information systems? Cybersecurity specialists are the ones who handle all of this and more.

How can you end up in this growing field? There are several steps that you need to take.

What Exactly is Cybersecurity?

The name of the industry doesn’t necessarily give away everything that the job entails. There’s more to it than just stopping hackers. People working as cybersecurity specialists:

• Create Secure Servers – It’s the job of a cybersecurity specialist to keep a company’s information safe and secure. This requires them to use a number of encryption protocols and more in order to create secure servers, keep cloud-based data safe and more.
• Develop Guidelines to Keep Information Secure – Ensuring that information stays as secure as it’s supposed to is the job of everyone who works for the company. It’s up to cybersecurity specialists to put guidelines and procedures into place, educate all employees on how to avoid phishing attacks and inform them about what secure passwords look like.
• Stop Attacks in Progress – When a company’s database and servers get hacked, the cybersecurity specialists need to step in and stop that attack while it’s still in progress. There are many methods that they can use since the goal is to prevent a disaster.
• Repair the Damage After an Attack – Once the attackers are out of the system, the cybersecurity employees need to work with IT in order to get the systems running securely once again.

Do You Need a Degree to Work in Cybersecurity?

While having a degree in cybersecurity or a related field, like criminal justice, can help, you definitely need to have some experience with computers and coding. A degree can teach you the many different protocols that you’ll need to know, as well as some of the coding and other related skills, but if you already work in a related field, like IT, then you’ll have plenty of knowledge in these things.

Getting a Cybersecurity Job

In order to move into the cybersecurity field, whether you’re switching from IT or have gone to school to get a degree in criminal justice, you’ll need to start with getting to know others in the field. An internship can go a long way towards helping with this, providing the knowledge and experience needed to help you get a job in a cybersecurity department.

Consider Studying Cybersecurity at Dean College

If you want to learn more about cybersecurity and criminal justice, consider enrolling in our Criminal Justice degree program. You’ll gain the knowledge that you need in order to succeed in this fast-moving field. Request more information, today.