How to Become a Cybersecurity Analyst

With advancements in technology, there is a rise in the demand for Information Technology professionals, who can provide security and protective services for the company’s confidential data. There is always some information, which companies do not want to fall in the wrong person’s or a competitor’s hands. Security analysts are responsible for keeping the computing and network safe and work towards the prevention of any loss of the user’s property from hacking attempts, and data breach. The demand for cybersecurity professionals has shown phenomenal growth over the last couple of years, with the job outlook to be 26% from 2016-2026 according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. The average earning potential for a security analyst can go up to $95,510/- per annum, which is much faster than the industry average for other professions.

General Functions of a Security Analyst

A security analyst is at times considered to be the security assurance expert, responsible for continuous monitoring of an organization’s networks, systems, infrastructure, applications, and digital communications. They are constantly on the lookout for any vulnerabilities, security exposures, and threats to the system, and even stop them or mitigate them, as and when required. Simply put, they are responsible for detecting and preventing any kind of cyber threats to an organization and the sensitive information stored within.

For this, the security administrator runs scans and various tests to conduct software and hardware inventories, and utilize the obtained results to address threats or vulnerabilities related to a security breach and the entire system. As security is an integral part of the IT process, therefore, security analysts are involved in all stages of information technology development and implementation. The process begins from the design and planning stage, providing assistance throughout implementation and development, and are there to help till the last process of the lifecycle as well. After this, they continuously monitor and manage the security and protection of the system, maintaining updates and keeping a tab on the latest events in technological advancements related to security.  

Most of the employers seek candidates having a bachelor’s degree in computer science, engineering, or mathematics, for the position of a security analyst. Having a security experience will be a plus when it comes to landing a good job, along with strong references, and a good work history accompanies by strong recommendations. This is a career in which experience counts, and is likely to land you the job much faster than if you only had an educational experience.

Security Analyst Skill Requirements

No matter which path you take to become a security analyst, directly applying with only an educational background, or combining it with relevant work experience to strengthen your resume, following are certain skills which you must possess:

• Develop as well as document security procedures and policies, inclusive of acceptable use, acceptable encryption, disaster recovery planning, data breach response, email and ethics, digital signature acceptance, password construction, and utilization, etc.
• The candidate will have to develop their skills for performing security audits and reviewing them using the best auditing practices knowledge and use mitigation and remediation where required.
• Understanding the process of developing and deploying perimeter security protection along with controls, such as firewalls, proxies, content filters, intruder detection, and its prevention, etc.
• Understanding access controls that include software, physical, and human security procedures and processes, role-based security, authentication and authorization, identity management, along with the optimal utilization of privileges and rights.
• Multitasking ability, along with self-motivation and optimal time management skills.
• The ability to communicate in a concise manner, along with getting the right message across to the audience.

Additionally, having knowledge and skills of programming along with an in-depth understanding of databases serves as an added benefit for the candidates. Many of the jobs that are offered by the government or military in national security as well as intelligence require a person to have TS/SCI (Top Secret/ Sensitive Compartmented Information) clearance as well.

Required Certifications

If you aspire to become a security analyst, then you should consider obtaining one or more of the following certifications, since these are what hiring managers look for when shortlisting candidates. Most of the certifications available for information security are vendor-neutral, meaning that the knowledge and skills learned through those certifications can be applied throughout the information security system, regardless of which company you work for. So which certifications should you be highlighting in your resume, you ask? Let’s find out!

CompTIA Security+

CompTIA Security Plus certification is an entry-level certification for IT Professionals having a minimum of 2 years of experience in the field. It is considered to be a highly valuable credential and serves as the foundation for undergoing other advanced level certifications.

EC Council CEH (Certified Ethical Hacker)

While the Security+ Certification by CompTIA is an entry-level certification, the CEH certification is considered to be slightly more advanced than Security+. It is designed to equip the IT Professionals with the knowledge required to recognize, identify, respond to and deal with unwarranted and sudden attempts to breach the system. Candidates learn about the different hacking practices like reconnaissance, and footprinting, system hacking, network enumeration and scanning, denial of service (DoS) attacks, malware, social engineering, and any other techniques used by hackers for penetrating the network and attempting hostile takeovers of the system.

(ISC)2 CISSP (Certified Information Systems Security Professional)

Now that we have covered the basic to mid-level certifications, it goes without saying that the CISSP is a senior level certification for those IT Professionals, having already established a career in information security. Those who hold this certification are equipped with advanced level skills, and thus are able to expertly design, create and maintain the security standards, procedures, and policies for employees as well as clients. It is considered to be one of the top 10 certifications which are in high demand and is a highly sought after certification from its introduction to date.

Responsibilities of a Security Analyst

Before opting for a job, it is very important to know what its requirements are and which tasks you will be required to perform. Following are the responsibilities of a security analyst.

• Plan, deploy and upgrade security controls and measures
• Develop procedures and protocols for securing and protecting digitals files and information against unauthorized access, alteration, or destruction.
• Monitor security access while maintaining data.
• Perform security assessments, risk analysis, and vulnerability testing.
• Conduct security audits both internal and external
• Anticipate and prepare for incidents, security alerts, and disasters, and work towards reducing the probability of their occurrence.
• Manage intrusion detection, network, and prevention systems.
• Determine the primary cause of security breaches by analyzing them
• Recommend countermeasures and other appropriate tools, and implement them.
• Develop, explain, deploy, and maintain corporate security policies
• Train other employees in security procedures
• Coordinate with external vendors regarding security plans

Career Paths

There are different career paths that a security analyst can choose from, which include;

• Security Architect
• Security Engineer
• Security Manager
• Security Consultant

After this, you may also work towards becoming a Security Director or Chief Information Security Officer.

Is Security Analyst and Security Administrator the Same?

Many people mistake the security analyst and the security administrator to the same, however, these individuals are not only different, but they are also entirely different job responsibilities. While a security analyst is responsible for analyzing data and then presenting his or her recommendation for improvement to the top management, they are not responsible for deploying those changes in all companies. Their primary responsibility is to keep the hackers at bay. On the other hand, security administrators are responsible for ensuring that the systems are in optimal condition, and thus, have the power of deploying modifications, and applying patches, along with setting up a new user for admin. This primary responsibility is to ensure that the systems are up and running.

However, both the security analyst and the security administrator report to the Security Manager.

In many companies, security analysts are referred to as a data security analyst, IT security analyst, and Information system security analyst, yet the job responsibilities remain the same for all.

Job Requirements for a Security Analyst

For any candidate, it is important to know the job requirements of the position they are aiming for. In this section, you will get to learn about the experience requirements, pre-requisites if any, and other requirements that are essential for getting this job.

Work Experience

While it is highly dependent on the organization an individual is working at, and what their information security needs are, most of the hiring managers look for candidates having 1-5 years of experience. You must be thinking why would a person with five or more years of experience want to work at this entry-level position? The answer is simple. Most of the people do not want to deal with the stress and anxiety of working as an incident responder, i.e. a person who is continuously working to thwart hacking and other breach attempts in the system. And so, they choose to work as a security analyst instead.

Education Requirements

We have brushed upon the educational requirements for becoming a security analyst, now let’s look at the degree requirements in greater detail. There are no pre-requisites to becoming a security analyst however, it is always good to have a Bachelor’s in Cyber Security, Computer Science or any such related field. Additionally, having technical degrees will be highly beneficial for you in the long run. For more information, browse our information security course catalog to check the cybersecurity classes, course, certifications, training, and any boot camps that are available.

Hard Skills

Following are the areas which you should master in order to become a security analyst.

• IDS/ IPS, vulnerability and penetration testing
• DLP, anti-malware, an-virus
• TCP/ IP, routing, computer networking, and switching
• Intrusion detection and prevention procedures and protocols, along with Firewall
• Linux, Windows, and Unix Operating Systems
• Packet analysis tools along with network protocols
• C, C#, C++, PHP, or Java Programming Languages
• SaaS Models
• Cloud Computing
• SIEM (security information and event management)

Soft Skills

For any profession, soft skills are extremely important. These include skills like writing, speaking in front of a large audience, teaching, etc. A security analyst is required to draft policies, discuss issues with the top management, and even explain how the security plans being developed will complement the overall corporate strategy and objectives. Analysts need to be creative thinkers, who can come up with out of the box solutions to prevailing problems, organizations expect them to have a curious nature, having a keen interest in the latest happenings of the security world, new technological developments and their implementation, and how they can be used for upgrading the systems of their respective organization.

Sample Resume of a Security Analyst

It is very important to have your resume do the talking for you, for it is the first point of contact for employers or hiring managers. Therefore, your resume should speak about your strong suits and how your skill set matches the requirements of the security analyst position. For this purpose, you will need to know how to draft your resume, for maximum impact and a good impression on the reader, be it the head hunter, the hiring manager, or somebody from the top management of the organization you apply for.

Here is a sample resume, that will help you understand the kind of things that should be mentioned on it. And always remember, formatting is the key. The better it looks, the more readable it is, and thus, the better your chances of being called for an interview.

Louis Reg

123 Boston Ave. • Boston, MA 11111 • (123) 456-7890 • reggie.applicant@email.com

INFORMATION SECURITY ANALYST

Objective

Identifying emerging technology capabilities to evaluate technology enhancements and to grow in my career as a successful Information Security Analyst in a prestigious organization.

Skills

• In-depth understanding of security standards along with defining and updating them
• Improving Security Threat response by working with different departments
• Identifying and addressing gaps in the security system by partnering with IT as well as other business departments
• Coordination of ongoing security amendments and upgrades

Professional Experience

XYZ Northwest, Boston, MA

Information Security Analyst                                                  February 2013 – Present

Identify the business violations if the security standards and policies and analyze them. Conduct research, analyze and troubleshoot issues in order to identify, solve, and explain the complexity of the issues being faced, to the top management.

Accomplishments

• Weekly security report generation and compilation on the system along with network access.
• Preventing unauthorized access to the system by administering and maintaining user access controls as well as procedures.

Systems Inc. Hartford, CT

Junior Security Analyst                                                                   June 2008 – February 2013

Responsible for supporting the team in security data collection along with assisting in the evaluation process of new security technologies.

Accomplishments

• Executed appropriate response measures, as instructed to security threats.
• Responded security threats with an appropriate level of urgency, as well as categorized support problems.

Technical Skills

Windows, Linux, Unix, Firewalls, Foundstone Scanner, Fortify 360, Tufin, BlueCoat, Proofpoint, Cisco VPN/ Secure, Voltage

Education

BGH Polytechnic Institute, Boston, MA

MBA (Master of Business Administration – Majors: Information Systems)              

GPA: 3.75                                                                                                                                             May 2008

ABC University, Hartford, CT

Bachelor of Science (Major: Computer Science)

CGPA: 4.0; Dean’s List                                                                                                                     May 2006

Certifications

CompTIA Security+

CISM (Certified Information Security Manager)

Activities

• Attended the Seattle Tech-Security Conference, held in January 2013
• Member of the ASIS International Puget Sound

References

References to be provided upon request.

Common Security Analyst Interview Questions

In order to be better prepared for your interview, it is essential to know which questions can be asked by your interviewer. Therefore, it is very important to have knowledge regarding the type of topics that can be covered, which can be related to your personal experience, to professional knowledge, with the concepts of information security being tested. Following are a couple of questions which will help you get an idea of the flow of an interview.

First, the interviewer will try to get to know you, and your aspirations for the future. This will usually go as follows:

• “Hi, please tell us about yourself.”
• “Why are you looking for a new position?”
• “What, according to you, are your strengths? Could you please share an example of how each strength helped you in your past experiences?”
• “What about weaknesses, what would you say they are?”
• “Where do you see yourself after five years?”

These are some of the basic questions which you can expect every hiring manager to ask at the start of an interview. Next come the technical questions, which are aimed at testing your technical knowledge. Here are a couple of examples.

• What do you think is the role of an information security analyst?
• If there was data leakage, what factor would you look for to identify what caused it?
• How would you prevent the loss of data? Any specific procedure or steps you are likely to follow?
• What are your thoughts about the 80/20 rule of networking?
• What is usually on your home network?
• How would you secure a server? What process would you follow?
• Do you think DNS Monitoring is important?
• What is WEP cracking? Can you explain the types?

These questions will give you a general idea of what to expect during an interview. Most interviewers also tend to ask about the current job you are in, your responsibilities, and experiences, and then relate it to their organization’s situations. So be prepared for those as well.

For more information, browse our information security course catalog, and find detailed explanation about all the IT certifications, courses, and training available to upgrade your skill set. 

About The Author

Account Manager (Northwestern United States) at QuickStart

Travis Hameed

Travis Hameed is an expert when it comes to navigating complex sales, and making prospects' lives easier and hassle-free. As a sales rep with over 6 years of experience, he has decided to be a part of QuickStart's blog and share his thoughts regarding the questions that he comes across frequently. When he is not helping customers with their IT skills training challenges, he loves to cook.