How to Make Money from Cybersecurity?

Introduction

Cybersecurity courses in India are mostly designed to help students achieve two purposes: to fuel their curiosity to learn more and to help them earn more money, as professionals.

Before the article begins, it is essential to mention that security is a field that attracts wealth.

The reason is straight and simple- as technology is developing, so is its abuse.

Hence, more and more people are opting to learn cybersecurity.

Since the area is not saturated yet, students have high chances of succeeding without having to be god-gifted- something that is not similarly true for other fields in technology.

An introduction to cybersecurity, no matter how basic, contains the initial stepping stone to build a strong foundation.

This blog explores the possibilities of a prosperous career. It talks about the skills that one might need, in what capacity, and in what areas can they be used to garner higher credibility, and hence, earn more money.

The skills needed to become a cybersecurity expert

A career in cybersecurity is hardly a cakewalk. Although it is in high demand right now, it can be a challenge to work as a professional without a grip on the required skills.

A security engineer can and should acquire multiple skills. But here are four important areas that they must touch base upon.

Risk management

Risk management is one of the major aspects of working as a cybersecurity expert.

Risk analyses are expensive procedures performed to develop the digital immunity of an organization.

Needless to say, companies, irrespective of their size and functionalities, are willing to pay handsomely to get the job well done.

Risk analysis identifies all the possible threats a company might have within a stipulated period and goes to nullify them through various approaches. Hence, an organization will look to hire an expert to ensure they are well-protected.

The knowledge of networks

A cybersecurity professional must have extensive knowledge of networks. A lot of their work is based on securing the private and public networks that an organization uses regularly. Hence, acquiring this particular skill is essential to not only land high-paying jobs but also to succeed as a security engineer.

Awareness of the current environment

The awareness of one’s environment and the trends in the industry is more important than is given credit for.

Black hat hackers depend on their surroundings to decide who their target will be and how they will be tricked to fall into the trap. The fraudulent activity also depends upon the trending scamming techniques.

For example, if a banking fraud is in trend, hackers are more likely to try and steal transaction details from a company.

This awareness can go a long way in setting up a security system or suggesting robust protection strategies in an organization.

Tools management

Cybersecurity skills are a lot about being able to use and manage several tools simultaneously. Cybersecurity is an amalgamation of various concepts and sub-fields, each of which requires its tools.

Hence, as a cybersecurity professional, one must be sufficiently well-versed with their management.

Skills needed to make more money

The aforementioned skillset refers to the minimum knowledge that a cybersecurity professional must-have. However, given the cybersecurity demand in the market, it is essential to acquire the following skills too, if one wishes to become an expert and earn more money from cybersecurity.

Extensive knowledge of programming languages

Programming languages are crucial to implementing the concepts of cybersecurity. The ones like JavaScript, HTML, and Python lead the table because of their versatility, basic use, and automation powers respectively. Needless to say, they are often misused to exploit or create vulnerabilities in a system. Therefore, it is imperative to have a good hold on the languages for a successful career by taking up cybersecurity courses from top universities.

Intrusion detection

An intrusion detection system is an application or software that helps to recognize any possible threats to a network. This could be in the form of violations of policies or any suspicious activity.

Such software immediately detects the anomaly and reports it to the security management software or its parent application, thereby alerting everyone concerned and hence avoiding a mishap. A knowledge of such applications to have a bright future in cybersecurity. All companies that have a digital presence or use the web for their requirements use such software. Hence, in-depth knowledge can help one to earn money from their clients.

Analysis and reversing of malware

Analysis and reversing engineering of malware is a little trickier than the ones mentioned above. This is a cybersecurity skill that experts are expected to have and beginners are not.

Hence, to ensure one can establish themselves as an expert, it is crucial to understand this topic. Reversing malware involves breaking down the software code into its basic modules and understanding the mechanism that goes into it. Companies pay handsomely for such services but one must first concentrate on being an expert here to claim that amount.

More certifications make more money

Cybersecurity certifications are more useful than they are given credit for. The ones that are globally acclaimed can go a long way in consolidating the reputation and credibility of an expert in the domain. It is also crucial to remember that there are various types of cybersecurity certifications to choose from. An expert in the making must select a good mixture of all kinds of certifications for maximum impact.

8 recommended certifications for anyone looking to work with cybersecurity are as follows:

1. Systems Security Certified Practitioner (SSCP)
2. CCNA Security
3. GIAC GSEC
4. White Hat Hacking
5. Certified Informations Systems Security Professional (CISSP)
6. CCIE Security
7. Offensive Security Certified Professional (OSCP)
8. GIAC Security Expert (GSE)

Knowledge of blockchain and cryptocurrency

A career in cybersecurity becomes more promising with the knowledge of cryptocurrency.

Given the noise that Bitcoin has recently made, leaders predict that crypto will be a huge market in the latest future. It can thus be easily inferred that such a technology-driven cauldron of money will have malicious forces trying to achieve their negative motives in the process. Here, cybersecurity professionals will play a pivotal role. Anybody who can guard money, a truckload of that actually, will be a superhero and will be paid accordingly.

Here are a few services that a cybersecurity professional can provide in blockchain to earn more money:

1. They can ascertain strong authentication and identification of devices to be used for blockchain
2. They can work to remove vulnerabilities from the main blockchain technologies
3. They can secure blockchain communication routes

Services that a cybersecurity professional can provide to safeguard their clients from cryptocurrency crimes are as follows:

1. Protection against phishing
2. Keen eye on trading platforms (and preventing their breach)
3. Identification and protection from fallacious registration forms
4. Being aware of third-party applications and the data they are collecting
5. Protection from malware

Bug bounty participations

Bug bounties are great places to acquire cybersecurity skills and knowledge. The concept of these bounties are simple- find bugs in software and suggest or create ways to block them. Needless to mention here that the winners often earn handsomely in such tournaments. Interested people can get all the latest updates from the following sources:

1. HackerOne
2. BugCrowd
3. Hacken.io
4. Bitcointalk announces bug bounties regularly
5. Twitter is an excellent source for bug bounty participation requests and information.

Freelancing as a cybersecurity expert can earn one more money

Freelancing is one of the most powerful methods to earn money in cybersecurity.

Not only can one charge based on their preferences, but they can also take up multiple projects depending on their schedules. As an employee, a professional seldom has the freedom that a freelancer does.

Hence, more and more people are moving to this sort of career arrangement.

Moreover, as cybersecurity demand skyrockets, more companies will prefer to hire freelancers over full-time professionals to reduce their costs. In that light, freelancing as a cybersecurity expert will be an explorable future for many.

Conclusion

The objective of the article was to enunciate the importance of cybersecurity in the world and the kind of wealth this demand can generate. However, without proper education, this information is rather futile.