Advanced Cyber Security Certification Training

Many learning platforms in the Massive Open Online Courses (MOOC) market space offer courses on a host of topics, including cybersecurity. For a keen learner, it is important to choose one that is relevant to the latest developments in the field, is taught by industry experts, and offers tangible benefits like certificates upon completion.

Taking all these factors into consideration, we would suggest that you go for this comprehensive, advanced cybersecurity course from SimplivLearning. This is because it has everything that you would want from a course on this topic.

Authoritative accounts consider the GIAC Security Expert (GSE) the toughest certification to earn in cybersecurity. This is something CompTIA itself admits, and so, we should take this claim seriously.

One of the reasons for which this is so is that several qualifying exams, such as GSEC, GCIA and GCIH, are a prerequisite for taking up this certification, and these qualifying exams themselves are no cakewalk. The GIAC Security Expert (GSE) is a very senior level certification.

There is no set, prescribed elevation as far as certifications in cybersecurity go. However, most professionals who want to take up a career in cybersecurity usually start with the CompTIA Security+ certification. This eases them into the profession, and it is normal to go for higher certifications following this.

Cybersecurity is not dependent on coding. Yet, it always helps to have a good amount of knowledge of coding, because it could come in handy as you advance in your career in cybersecurity.

Cybersecurity certifications are usually offered at three levels:

-       Associate degrees, which take two years to complete;

-       Undergraduate degree, which takes four years, and

-       Master’s degree, which takes two years after under graduation.

You don’t need all these to merely get started, but it is good to have an Associate degree, although even this is not mandatory. After this, you can fast-track your cybersecurity career by augmenting your qualifications as you go.

Yes. But it is always a good idea to have the necessary qualifications. This is because the industry always respects those with additional qualifications. Certifications are invaluable for cybersecurity, or for that matter, any field of IT.

For those who want to make a career in cybersecurity, but are just beginning to find their feet in the profession, the most basic position to get started is Help Desk Technician, followed by Network Administrator.

Well, let us look at some statistics to determine whether cybersecurity is a good career or not:

-       In 2019, more than 7000 cybersecurity breaches exposed around 15 billion data records globally

-       As the amount of data increases exponentially, so does its vulnerability to breaches

-       The number of exposed records goes up almost three times every year

Because of these facts, the need for cybersecurity professionals could not be any more acute. It is estimated that the US alone requires around half a million cybersecurity professionals right now, as of 2023 beginning.

And what about the size of the global cybersecurity market? Valued at over $160 billion in 2019, it is expected to reach over $360 billion by 2025.

Considering these facts, cybersecurity is undoubtedly a star profession.

Any cybersecurity course is good so long as it is offered by a reputable learning platform, has the latest syllabus, is taught by experts in the field, and offers a valid certification to validate your learning, which you can use to get a good job.

The point to bear in mind is that what we are passionate about is easy, and what we don’t like is drudgery.

As for whether cybersecurity courses are difficult, we could have a varied answer. CompTIA’sSecurity+ certification is at the bottom level of difficulty, while the GIAC Security Expert (GSE) is the culmination of many tiers of tough exams. So, it all depends upon which level we are talking about.

Surprisingly, not all cybersecurity jobs need programming or coding. Still, this being one of the prime areas of IT, it is a plus to have a good idea of programming.

This question again has a broad answer. The pay levels vary by domain expertise, qualification, and experience. Overall, coding pays slightly more than cybersecurity.

A data scientist earns more.

CompTIA estimates that at an annual average salary of a little over $167,000, the CRISC (Certified in Risk and Information Systems Control) is the highest paying certification in cybersecurity.

You can earn three types of certifying qualifications in cybersecurity:

-       Certificate: Independent of your domain knowledge or academic qualification, this gets you into the field

-       Certifications: What you earn to grow into the profession once you have already entered it

-       Degrees: Formal educational qualifications that you earn from a college or equivalent institution.

Each of these has its own criteria and requirements. All the details can be had from this CompTIA page.

Advanced cybersecurity, as the term indicates, is high level cybersecurity which covers all the areas of this subject. The all-round areas of cybersecurity are included in this study. These are some of the comprehensive topics that come under the canopy of advanced cybersecurity:

-       Identifying vulnerabilities

-       Identity and Access Management (IAM)

-       Writing Secure Code

-       Application security

-       Software security testing

-       Security processes for businesses

-       Phases of a cyberattack

-       Password protection

-       Increasing software security

-       Endpoint security

-       Network security

-       Password security

-       Penetration tests

-       Mobile Security

-       Protecting Web Applications.

Cybersecurity and coding are two different areas, and hence, it is not logical to compare the two to each other. However, technology experts rate cybersecurity harder than coding for one prime reason: a cybersecurity professional has to have a good grasp of coding in order to infiltrate code and prevent attacks.

On the other hand, the programmer does not need to understand cybersecurity as part of her job.

By any stretch of imagination, a big yes. The cybersecurity professional’s job is similar to that of a doctor managing an ICU. She cannot slacken her utmost attention on her job for even a split second. Just like how even a momentary loss of attention on the part of a doctor in an ICU can potentially result in endangering a patient’s life, one small slip from a cybersecurity professional can cause inestimable loss to the organization.

This makes the job of a cybersecurity professional extremely stressful, but also proportionately exciting and rewarding.

The irony of the cybersecurity profession is that although it is a high demand, high paying, highly stablejob, people are leaving it. Stress is the primary reason for this. So, the key is, for those who love the challenge of this high pressure job, the idea of quitting never arises.

The role of the Chief Information Security Officer (CISO) is considered the highest position in the area of cybersecurity. With a few years of experience, CISO's in top companies make almost $300,000 a year, which of course, is a very broad figure.

Well, that depends on one’s own definition of happiness. If your idea of happiness is taking up stressful challenges and meeting them and earning a fat paycheck, then, you can certainly be very happy in cybersecurity.

The job of a cybersecurity professional is undoubtedly stressful, but most of them handle it. This could be their idea of happiness.

Yes, because the median average salary is $117,000 for this profession.

Almost every part of their job is a challenge for cybersecurity professionals, because their challenges could arise from just any area of vulnerability. By and large, the top three generally agreed challenges of cybersecurity relate to attacks on/about:

-       Ransomware

-       Cloud

-       Software.

It is not difficult to get a cybersecurity job, because this area is in high demand, and there is a critical need for filling up positions. However, it is harder to stay in this job than to get one.

The three major types or levels of cybersecurity are:

-       Application security

-       Network security

-       Cloud security.

As we have seen, cybersecurity is a very broad area that encompasses all the aspects of security. Roughly, it spans the following 7 areas or types of security:

-       Application

-       Network

-       Cloud

-       Mobile

-       IoT

-       Endpoint

-       Zero trust. 

This being a critical, round-the-clock activity, cybersecurity is a tough and stressful area of work. Those in this area of work cannot afford to lower their guard for even a moment.

Cybersecurity is not math-intensive per se, like say, Machine Learning. However, since math is the foundation for all technologies, a good grounding in math can help understand cybersecurity concepts better and can be very useful in helping to resolve issues.

No, but coding is a greatly valuable skill for a cybersecurity professional, because a core part of their job is to infiltrate code, something that knowledge of coding can facilitate very hugely.

It depends on what you are focused on. A degree or certification in cybersecurity narrows your specialization to just this area, while having a degree in computer science opens up many more, broader avenues. You can of course, choose to specialize in any selected area of your choice in computer science if you wish, but a cybersecurity professional is expected to be good all round.

So, choosing either of these fields is a matter of purely personal choice. One fact that one can say with certainty is that both these areas are in extremely high demand, and are expected to grow drastically in the years to come.