Businesses today are realizing how significant it is to protect themselves from cyber threats that come from outside or within. With so much at stake, the importance of cybersecurity cannot be ignored in this advanced technological era.
Before we begin, let us highlight what cybersecurity should mean to your business. If you think your firm is safe with a simple antivirus software along with one or two firewalls, you are highly mistaken. Gone are the days where the whole company could rely on the expertise of one IT guy. From startups to successful businesses, all must educate their team regarding basic engineering scams that can corrupt or steal a company’s private data in any manner possible.
According to the statistics of a survey, 72 percent of companies believe that their center of security operations is their most important department. Therefore, all businesses must know how critical it is to appoint staff that is well-equipped with the best cybersecurity certifications needed to ensure that a company is always ready to deal with persistent cyber threats.
Numerous organizations have witnessed several challenges regarding cybersecurity breaches, which is why they are looking forward to appointing professionals with the best cybersecurity certifications. Cybersecurity professionals are required to work alongside engineers and developers to build comprehensive security that identifies threats concerning miscellaneous disciplines.
Therefore, the need for better security systems has installed an active demand for cybersecurity officers in the job market. There are several training opportunities and certifications being provided that can highlight a career pathway today.
Here are the top 7 certifications that are in demand.
Certified Information Systems Security Professional – CISSP
This is a high-level certification that is offered by ISC2 International Information Systems Security Certification Consortium. People equipped with CISSP certification have the command to make significant decisions to secure the company’s data. They have expert knowledge through which they can handle and develop security procedures.
Certified Ethical Hacking (CEH)
Certified Ethical Hackers CEH is administered by the EC-Council International Council of E-Commerce Consultants. The credentialled professionals ponder over all the hacking mediums that can be manipulated by hackers both internally and externally. Every company has essential data they cannot compromise on, and for that, the CEH professionals can ensure that the information is safe. The task is to highlight and avoid any unwanted penetration within the system of the firm that might corrupt or erase a company’s sensitive data.
This intermediate-level certification equips participants with the skills that will assist them in handling several areas like system hacking, scanning networks, worms, sniffers, trojans, social engineering, session hijacking, footprinting, reconnaissance, wireless networks, honeypots, web applications, firewalls, penetration testing, and evading IDS.
Certified Information Security Manager – CISM
CISM is aided by the Information Systems Audit and Control Association- ISACA. CISM professionals have the knowledge to develop, manage, and oversee the confidentiality of the firm. They highlight all the potential areas within a firm that are prone to threats. They contribute to relevant data that helps build current security practices. Certified Professionals work alongside IT experts to improve, control, and manage systems. This certification is designed to cater to IT professionals, which, in return, will make them capable of maintaining an enterprise-level security of the firm.
CompTIA Security+
A globally recognized certification, CompTIA Security+ credentials have a solid command over the technical skills that are required to build and monitor security systems along with several similar disciplines. United States Department of Defense certifies CompTIA Security+. It equips professionals with higher-level technical and operational skills that are required to keep a company safe from all sizes of cyber threats.
SANS GIAC Security Essentials – GSEC
SANS GIAC Security Essentials certifications provide a comprehensive study regarding security concepts that form the basis of further technical development of security systems. The technical expertise learned under this certification helps in achieving better security job roles.
SANS GIAC Security Essentials professionals have command over several disciplines that include, access authentication, password management, mitigating wireless and general attacks, access controls, ICMP, cryptography fundamentals, critical public infrastructure, Linux, network protocols, network mapping, etc.
Offensive Security Certified Professional – OSCP
The next certification that lies in our list is the Offensive Security Certified Professional Certification. This is the area of study revolving around penetration testing and life cycle. It gives a sound overview of ethical hacking credentials. People who are Offensive Security Certified Professionals have the skill set that helps them identify vulnerabilities in respective systems designed to safeguard data. They can highlight common breaches concerning PhD-scripts, Python, and Bash scripts, etc. Hence, OSCP is no doubt a significant certificate for the aspiring cybersecurity professionals.
Certified Cloud Security Professional – CCSP
Certified Cloud Secure Professional is a middle-level certification that is provided by the International Information Systems Certification Consortium. CCSP certification is designed to improve the skillset of IT professionals who already have the necessary command over security systems. Moreover, people who have control over IT architecture, governance, risk and compliance, auditing, cloud engineering, etc. can enhance their skillsets by completing this certification.
The verdict
The objective of every certification is the same; to provide maximum safe-keeping against the outside, inside, and mediocre cyber threats. However, every discipline that these certifications work under is unique. If you are looking forward to adopting one of the certifications, remember to check whether the respective certification is authorized in your country. Moreover, one can also research which certification is in high demand in a certain region so that it can help him/her find better job opportunities.
The skillset and level of dedication might differ in some of these certifications. If you do not have any prior knowledge concerning Information Technology, you might want to start with a basic-level certification, which would form the basis of your further studies. Resources are available at respective institutes and colleges to assist individuals in any way possible. You can also navigate online to look for better resources that could help you strengthen your command over the respective course.