IT Career News is starting a new series called Your Next Move. These articles will look inside at the roles related to CompTIA certifications. Each article will include the role's responsibilities, qualifications, related job titles, and salary range. As you consider the next move in your IT career, check back with CompTIA to learn more about your job prospects and how to get there.
If you like to scope out vulnerabilities in your network and stop cybercriminals in their tracks, then becoming a cybersecurity analyst may be an excellent next step for you.
What is a cybersecurity analyst?
A cybersecurity analyst detects cyber threats and then implements changes to protect an organization in the following ways:
- Manages and configures tools to monitor activity on the network
- Analyzes the reports from those tools to identify unusual behavior on the network
- Proactively identifies network vulnerabilities through penetration testing, vulnerability scans, and vulnerability assessment reports.
- Plans and recommends changes to increase the security of the network
- Applies security patches to protect the network
The role of a cybersecurity analyst varies depending on company size. For example, at a small company, information security analysis and intrusion detection may be part of a larger IT role held by one person. A medium-sized company may have one full-time information security analyst who handles intrusion detection, firewalls, and antivirus software. An enterprise-level cybersecurity analyst may work in a security operations center (SOC) on a team that centralizes cybersecurity efforts. A SOC team likely has several tiers of SOC analysts that monitor, detect, contain, and remediate IT threats and report to a SOC manager.
How to become a cybersecurity analyst
Most companies hiring a cybersecurity analyst seek someone with a bachelor's degree in computer science, cybersecurity, programming, or a related field. Many cybersecurity analysts previously worked as network or systems administrators. Certifications like CompTIA Network+, CompTIA Security+, CompTIA PenTest+, and CompTIA Cybersecurity Analyst (CySA+) can prove that you have the skills to be a cybersecurity analyst.
CompTIA Security+ covers the core skills needed to support security operations, which is a key skill for security analysts. Security operations include continuous security monitoring, vulnerability management, security alerting, identification of potential security issues, and mitigation. They also involve the ability to report and communicate security incidents to the proper channels.
Job titles related to cybersecurity analyst
- Threat intelligence analyst
- Vulnerability analyst
- Cybersecurity specialist
- Information security analyst or administrator
- Security administrator
Will your next move be a cybersecurity analyst? If so, check out CompTIA Cybersecurity Analyst (CySA+) to get the skills to get you there.