In our high-tech world, it’s becoming more important for businesses to invest time and effort into ensuring security. Think about it: Every bank, every business, and everyone’s favourite devices and applications require a high level of security. Without this security, hackers can sneak in like thieves and steal vital information to make money from.

A cyber security analyst is someone who guards the gates against cyber attacks. Ever heard of major information breaches like Adobe, eBay, Yahoo, and many others? With each new breach, the need arises for more cyber security analysts to guard the gates. In the next ten years, it’s suspected that there will be a rise in demand in cyber security analysts following the previous years rise in demand. It’s a great time to learn cybersecurity and enter into this amazing career field.

What is a Cyber Security Analyst?

A cyber security analyst is someone who ensures the security of networks and systems throughout a business or application. You can consider them much like police officers who help patrol the neighbourhood to keep everyone safe.

The popular Amazon show Mr.Robot has turned many people onto the idea of hacking and cyber security. In the show, the main character is a security engineer who designs and creates cyber security applications.

Cyber security analysts, instead, are overseers of the security system. They are alert to any issues, ensure the security of the network is complete, and monitor for any suspicious activity. If something does happen, they identify the issue, perhaps alert their team to try to recover from the issue, and in the end try to ensure that the same attack doesn’t occur again.

Skills Needed

Cyber security analysts are considered entry-level cybersecurity jobs. Because of this, some hard skills are traded off for soft skills:

• A background in computer science, mostly basics in cybersecurity and networking.
• Know a little coding, at least one language in the specific field.
• Strong communication skills to convey ideas and working together with teams.
• Problem solving skills, both with figuring out what the issue is and how to prevent the same issue from occurring again.
• Information management and conveyance.

Benefits

Cyber Security Analysts, despite their entry-level position, enjoy great benefits. They are a vital position in every business where failure can cause far greater problems.

• Starting salary is around £35,000 or higher a year.
• The median salary is around £50,000 a year, with the highest 10% of analysts earning over £70,000 a year.
• Job security is high due to the great demand for cybersecurity professionals, and there are always options for advancement.
• Businesses and providers vary, but health benefits are often great.

The Day in a Life

We will exemplify what we consider to be an average day in the life of a cyber security analyst. However, these positions often vary due to the new demand and ever-changing landscape of cybersecurity.

One thing you should consider is that cyber security analysts often don’t work a typical 9 to 5 job. There always has to be an analyst working every hour to be alert to any attacks. These people might be the lowest totem on the pole, or simply someone who prefers working nights. Expect work hours to vary from the average working hours when starting.

Start of the Day

Upon arriving at the business, a cyber security analyst can enjoy the comforts the company gives to its technology employees. This could be nice coffee and quick bites to eat for breakfast.

Upon arriving at their station in the IT department, a cyber security analyst will first check for the notes and updates from the previous shift. These notes will be on a common messaging application like IRC, Slack, or other business-focused platforms.

Depending on what occurred before their shift, an analyst’s job can suddenly change. We’ll touch on this in the second part of the day.

If there is no immediate threat to the system, they might check up on the latest security updates, news, and blogs for any new information relevant to cybersecurity. This on the job upskilling is vital for analysts to stay on top of what new threats are out there as cybersecurity is always evolving. This is also a time for them to study up on new ways to defend against threats.

Later In the Day

Lunch can be a pleasant affair if there is no immediate threat, and people take their lunches in shifts to always be watching the system for attacks. It’s rare, but some threats can come right when someone starts on their soups.

Threats can happen anytime, and they occur in both short bursts and long sieges. If there is a threat and it is still incoming, an analyst will need to be alert or assess the damage. Their main roles here is to try to stop the threat, ensure the security of information, and try to track where the threat is coming from. If they are successful in finding the attacker’s location, they can contact the proper authorities and create a plan to defend against similar attacks.

If there isn’t a threat, a cyber security analyst can do a variety of job duties. They can ensure security for their company by checking password strength and send notifications for updates, write up proposals for more defensive measures, and even probe their system to check for weaknesses.

If there is an ongoing attack, they might stay longer. If not, they will wrap up their day by leaving notes and messages for the next shift about possible attacks, threats, and what they found during their shift.

Become a Cyber Security Analyst

Knoma is a knowledge market founded on ensuring people can develop the skills to enter into the careers they want. We offer flexible payment options towards our cyber bootcamp that provides cyber security training for everyone. It supplies the knowledge of cybersecurity to help you become a cyber security expert in a short period of time.

Explore Cyber Security courses on the Knoma Marketplace here.