Why is ethical hacking training becoming a popular choice among students today? Why are cybersecurity job postings so frequent on job portals these days? Why are there so many institutes teaching cyber security courses? If you find any of these questions or related questions scratching your head, then you are not alone. A lot of people have been wondering why cyber security has suddenly become such a popular career today, joining the ranks of Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning, DevOps, Robotics and other popular IT roles. Here are a few reasons that attempt to describe what makes cyber security so interesting and highly demanded in 2021.
The good guy job
Cybersecurity is essentially a good guy’s job. Who doesn’t like being a good guy and working to alleviate someone of their suffering? There is nothing more noble and satisfying than working in the service of others. Whether it is ethical hacking or forensic analysis, every aspect of cyber security ensures safer tech for everyone. Without cyber security in place, people using technology for their basic and advanced tasks would be like sitting ducks, being tricked, spammed, and/or attacked left, right and centre. From preventing identity theft to financial frauds to data leaks to failure of vital systems, information security specialists are our round-the-clock protectors. Imagine how you would feel working to protect someone every day, putting bad guys behind the bars, and making things safer for all humanity.
Result: More and more people choose cyber security because of its satisfactory and meaningful job nature.
Cybercrime is only going to rise
As we create more advanced tech, we also create more advanced risks. The more we upload on the internet, the more data we put at risk. The more we use our phones to carry out activities, the more our threat surface widens. We need to understand that as we move towards the future, we are also heading towards a full-blown crisis of cyber security. The digital population is growing every second, the amount of personal and official data uploaded on the internet is increasing every second and the number of computers and mobile phones existing in the world is growing every second. Every moment, thousands of people sign up for internet banking, launch new apps and software, join cloud services, launch their websites, sign up for social media accounts and send private and sensitive messages to their friends, co-workers and family all across the globe. Compare that with the increase in cyber security professionals, and you will understand how little we are prepared for the cybersecurity crisis that is waiting for us at the other side of this tech tunnel.
Result: The cyber security industry is blowing up to keep up with the growing cyber crime industry.
Benefits are off the charts
Apart from the utterly deep satisfaction of working in cyber security, professionals of this field enjoy several other lucrative benefits that are rarely offered in other careers, whether in IT or outside. From high monetary benefits to high job security to wide universal application to high global demand, cyber security professionals have all the reasons to choose this as a career option. A Certified Ethical Hacker or a CEH professional makes around $90,000 US dollars per annum on an average. Cyber security professionals are not just paid more than most of their IT fellows, they are also demanded more aggressively in every industry all over the globe.
Result: The number of students signing up for cybersecurity education is rising sharply all over the world.
Hence, the final verdict is that cybersecurity is not just worth all the hype, but it is still underrated in a lot of organisations which frankly, are waiting to learn this lesson the hard way.