The (ISC)² 2022 Cybersecurity Workforce Study reported that 3.4 million more workers are required to meet the global cyber security skills gap. This is a huge employment opportunity, but do you know what knowledge and skills you need to develop your career as a cyber security professional?
Given the complexity of cyber security, it’s not surprising that UK cyber security professionals have a bewildering range of job titles and responsibilities.
Identifying the skills and qualifications required for a successful career as a cyber security manager or a specialist role like a security operations analyst can be a challenge.
What is cyber security?
Cyber security focuses on protecting computer systems from unauthorised access or being otherwise damaged by cyber attacks.
It’s a multidisciplinary field, so cyber security professionals need extensive knowledge and experience in a broad range of IT systems and methodologies.
Their roles are usually technical and require a strong understanding of the threat landscape, detection/monitoring, technical protection, risk management and cyber incident response.
What is CyBOK?
CyBOK (Cyber Security Body of Knowledge) is a comprehensive free information resource designed to guide and support the training of cyber security professionals in the UK.
Funded by the National Cyber Security Programme, CyBOK aims to define the foundational knowledge needed by every individual with a generalist or specialised cyber security role. This includes existing information currently found in textbooks, academic research articles, technical reports, white papers and standards.
CyBOK is compiled by 115 cyber security academic and industry experts around the world. Version 1.1 was released in July 2021 and consists of 21 Knowledge Areas in the following groups:
- Human, Organisational and Regulatory Aspects
- Attacks and Defences
- Systems Security
- Software and Platform Security
- Infrastructure Security
Routes to a cyber security career
CyBOK is endorsed by the UK Cyber Security Council, an independent and self-regulatory body for the UK’s cyber security profession.
As proposed in the National Cyber Security Strategy 2016-2021 policy paper, the Council aims to develop, promote and manage nationally recognised standards for cyber security.
The UK Cyber Security Council provides a Careers Route Map of the qualifications and skills required to fulfil cyber security roles across 16 specialisms.
Drawing on the information defined in CyBOK, these specialisms include a diverse range of roles such as cyber security management, secure operations, testing, incident response and secure system development.
How do you start your cyber security education?
As a member of the UK Cyber Security Council, IT Governance is committed to using CyBOK as a guide to develop its portfolio of cyber security training courses.
Our Certified Cyber Security Foundation Training Course focuses on providing a complete introduction to cyber security threats, cyber security controls, security frameworks and incident management.
The Certified Cyber Security Practitioner Training Course builds on the basics and teaches the skills required to deliver infrastructure, application, information and operational cyber security.
