What To Learn For CyberSecurity: Foundations Of CyberSecurity
There are multiple topics that make up the foundations of cybersecurity. Understanding these key concepts should be the initial goal when working towards a career in cybersecurity, as the security-related information to both exploit and secure systems can then be introduced into each topic.
Working in the Cyber Security Industry
Working within cybersecurity is a multidisciplined profession that involves an understanding of how different technologies work, why they can be affected by vulnerabilities, how these issues can be exploited, and how these threats can be fixed.
Your initial learning objectives should be to understand the fundamental concepts of how different technologies work. This information can then be applied to different fields within cyber security, different job requirements, and allows more flexibility and adaptability to different scenarios.
While cyber security and learning about vulnerabilities can be considered an independent topic for each of the below categories without first understanding the topics themselves it can be difficult to understand and overlay the necessary security information.
Before diving into security tools and training, it is recommended to first learn the key concepts of the below topics. This will help with understanding how and why issues exist, how they can be exploited, and how it is possible to remediate vulnerabilities.
Foundational Topics For Cyber Security
Network Technologies and Communication Protocols
One of the fundamental topics for starting a career in cyber security is understanding how devices connect, communicate, and transfer data.
Different technologies have been established to allocate devices with a network address, route communications around the world, and reliably transfer data.
Multiple protocols exist for different purposes and types of network communication, over time, as the method of communication has been analyzed, vulnerabilities have been identified in how these systems operate.
Authentication Systems and Protocols
Authentication systems are a constant target for attack and a concern for anyone who wants to set up secure access to their information and services.
There are a variety of different authentication technologies that have been developed for devices, services, network protocols, and web applications.
These authentication mechanisms have undergone improvements over time as different technologies have developed and security threats have been identified.
Understanding how these security threats occur and how they can be targeted for exploitation, involves understanding the fundamentals of how the technology works.
Operating Systems And Commands
The world doesn’t run on one operating system but is a combination of different devices and technologies working and communicating together.
Over the course of any career in cyber security, there will likely be requirements to work across multiple device types and operating systems.
It is common that devices will need to be accessed remotely or worked with at the command line, for management purposes, configuration, or exploitation.
How it is possible to gain access to devices, and the commands needed to review a device, change settings, or extract information are important to understand to accomplish many tasks.
Forensics And Data Storage
When evaluating the security of devices it is important to understand how data is collected and stored and how this data can be accessed and retrieved.
Different devices have different file systems and storage mechanisms. Authentication information can form part of this data storage, and there are different technologies in place for temporary storage and permanent storage.
Depending on the devices, there are different techniques available to extract information and recover information which can be used as part of a security assessment or as part of a forensic investigation.
Cloud Computing
Cloud computing has become a large industry in itself, with some benefits and drawbacks in comparison to more traditional network technologies.
Within cloud services, there are multiple technologies, combining networking, databases, authentication systems, applications, and more. In addition to the potential security issues that come with these technologies, there are also specific vulnerabilities that have been identified in different cloud platforms.
How these cloud environments work, enables a modern business to operate and provides management of their assets. It is important to understand these platforms so that the associated risks can be identified and managing vulnerabilities associated with these platforms can be conducted.
Cryptography
When data is stored or transferred it is often encrypted for security purposes. Many authentication mechanisms make use of a hash function to store passwords in a secure manner.
Each process also has multiple variations, with some using weaker security standards than others. Vulnerabilities and security weaknesses have been identified within these solutions over time.
The differences between encryption, encoding, and hashing, and how each operates are important to understand so that the security of data can be evaluated, weaknesses identified and recommendations for improvement provided.
Programming
As you progress within the field of cyber security it is likely to encounter a requirement to automate a small task, review the code of an existing tool, develop your own tools, or conduct a security review of someone else’s programs.
Being able to understand different programming languages, recognize and assess functionality, and develop your own code can drastically improve your flexibility to carry out tasks and also increase your ability to identify security issues within existing programs.
Databases
There are different types of databases and data storage solutions which are used for different purposes. Some of the common types of databases use a specific Structured Query Language (SQL) to perform data lookups, queries, updates, and data creation on large datasets.
Many technologies make use of databases to store their data, including web applications and authentication systems. Securing a database is vital to a system’s security as an organization’s critical data and authentication information is often accessible through a database.
Vulnerabilities have also been identified within databases over time. Some issues directly affect the database itself, whereas other vulnerabilities such as SQL Injection, exploit how other technologies interact with a database.
Web Applications
A common security risk for any company is their website. Web applications have developed over time to become a complex mix of different technologies working together to provide an improved user experience.
The technology involved with web applications doesn’t end with the user interface but also has a variety of technologies working behind the scenes to ensure secure communications, authentication systems, data storage, and other functionality.
Understanding what these technologies are, how they work together, and how vulnerabilities are introduced from user input in the web applications’ user interface is important to developing your career in cyber security.
Risk & Compliance
A large part of the cybersecurity industry is being able to understand how vulnerabilities can occur, how likely these issues are, developing risk strategies, and taking preventative steps to avoid these issues. Managing vulnerabilities and risks is also a large part of many different compliance standards.
Risks can be variable for different companies depending upon the technologies they use, the sector they work in, and an organization’s information assets.
Maintaining an overview of the types of vulnerabilities that exist is important when completing a comprehensive risk assessment for a company, defining which risks can impact organizations, what the latest threat landscape is, and what preventative steps the company can take.
Laws And Regulations
Depending on the company and the industry, there are many legal and regulatory considerations that need to be taken into account when taking steps to set up security measures and protect client data.
Where these regulations are not followed, organizations can be subject to penalties and fines which can negatively impact their reputation.
When conducting a security assessment, there are also legal issues to navigate to ensure that all the correct permissions are in place to allow a security test to take place, and ensure it cannot be considered as illegal activity such as hacking.
When working within cyber security it is important to maintain a working knowledge of what these legal and regulatory requirements are, to protect yourself and also the organization you work for.
Where To Learn Cyber Security
There are many sources of information available to learn cyber security online for free as well as many paid for qualifications and certificates.
A cyber security awareness course can often be a good introduction to potential risks if you have no prior experience with cybersecurity topics, as an awareness course can cover many topics related to risk, security, and threats.
Freely Available Resources
The following information on freely available courses is available to start learning with a cybersecurity program and begin preparing for your career.
Paid For Certification Programs
If you have the funds available, there are also different certification paths to follow to either build upon your existing knowledge or to start from scratch, learning the fundamentals of IT skills before developing into cyber security.
Cyber Security Courses and Degrees
Many colleges and universities offer degree and master’s degrees focusing on cyber security. This can allow you to refine your skills through a dedicated course and cybersecurity module.
Developing Practical Expertise
Practical experience with tools, techniques strategies, and technologies is an important part of the educational process for computer security, rather than only learning the theory.
There are multiple platforms available that allow users to begin learning for free and understanding the principles of cyber security and how to apply the knowledge learned from the above topics.
These resources have developed freely available modules and challenges for students of cybersecurity to develop their practical skills.
Bug Bounty programs can also be used to develop your practical skills and conduct tests against real-world systems. However, with any bug bounty, there is great importance to adhere to the rules of the bounty program and understand the terms and conditions for each program.
Conclusion
If you are interested in a career in cyber security, it can be a rewarding and high-paying industry. There is also a skills shortage for qualified individuals, which combined with some training within the foundations of cybersecurity, can help with easy access into the industry.
One of the common questions with cyber security is, “Do I Need A Degree For Cyber Security“. With most positions the answer is typically No, you don’t need a degree to work in cyber security.
Another common question is “How Long Does It Take To Learn Cyber Security“, which can depend upon many factors, including your current knowledge of computer science and cybersecurity.
While a certificate and qualifications can often help develop your core skills, especially with some junior and beginner roles, the most important part of developing your career is experience, which will inevitably come from time in the industry.
If you can demonstrate your understanding of some of the foundations of cybersecurity and use freely available tools and resources to develop your practical knowledge and skills, starting your career doesn’t necessarily require a heavy price tag or multiple years in a degree.
