‘White hackers: Cyber risk specialists

As a result of the spread of the latest technologies and the internet, companies have a large amount of information which, in addition to processing and using, is also necessary to protect from criminals. Thus, the work of cybersecurity specialists has gained special importance.

The task of cybersecurity specialists is to create a safe environment for data use, to predict possible actions of criminals in advance, and to prevent them. It is customary to say that a cybersecurity specialist must first "crack" the protection of a technological product and thus determine the vulnerabilities and develop a strategy and defense systems to eliminate them—which is why he is also called a "white" hacker.

The demand for this profession is high both in large financial and IT companies, as well as in government agencies and the defense sector where their main task is to protect national security and prevent threats to the state system. Their work becomes more valuable in the context of the increase in cyber crimes and cyber terrorism cases in the world.

Narrow specializations

The multifaceted field of cybersecurity has a number of narrow specializations:

• Architecture and politics. They create and implement secure architectural solutions for technological products, as well as translate standards, business processes, and frameworks into internal policies
• Data loss prevention. They implement and manage security software, such as virus detection systems on servers.
• Governance, risks, and compliance (COMPLIANCE). They measure and assess risks, conduct internal audits of compliance with best practices and standards.
• Authentication and access management. This team manages authentication and access, preventing unauthorized access to confidential data.
• Incident response and root cause analysis. They identify, analyze, and respond to emerging security threats by taking appropriate actions. These professionals are also forensics experts and can identify how the attack was carried out; thus they are able to gather legal evidence that can be used later in court proceedings.
• Penetration testing. They deliberately carry out a cyber attack on the system, exposing vulnerabilities and weaknesses
• Secure software development and operations (Secure DevOps, or DevSecOps). They perform systems management in the data center or cloud networks. They securely install, configure, and run systems and programs, especially those related to security.
• Safe software development. Many companies develop software for sales, others—for internal use. In both cases, the task of these professionals is to create and test products with minimal vulnerabilities.

Professional skills

Cyber security is one of the IT professions that require the most experience and professional skills. To become such a specialist, it is mainly necessary:

• Educational degree in IT or related fields
• At least two years of experience in related fields of cybersecurity
• Deep knowledge of programming languages and tools (C++, Java, Node, Python, Ruby, Go, Power Shell, etc.)
• Detailed knowledge of operating systems
• Ability to pay attention to details and critical thinking, etc.

Profession in Armenia

In Armenia, cybersecurity specialists are mostly associated with state security protection, but their demand is also high in the private sector.

The salary of this profession in Armenia is indicated in various sources in the range of 500,000-1,700,000 drams per month.