Why a career in cybersecurity? Part 1

Diploma in Cyber Security and Forensics pioneer class at Institute of Forensics & ICT Security on 12th August 2019 orientation talk by Mustapha B Mugisa. A career in cybersecurity offers unlimited opportunities across industries and countries. Governments and multinational companies alike have open opportunities for expert cybersecurity researchers, bug hunters and true professionals who don’t just have paper qualifications but the skills needed to safeguard systems.

As we talk, at the start of August 2019, Apple offered US 1m to anyone who could hack into their latest iPhone and compromise its security. That is how a career in cybersecurity is the best thing. Regardless of your location globally, you can earn money from fortune top companies by just visiting their apps and websites, trying to exploit them and reporting the bugs found with proof of exploit!

Read below to discover the future that awaits when you chose cybersecurity and digital forensics career.

1. 1. What comes to your mind when you hear the word “cybersecurity?” or “ethical hacker?” What do cybersecurity professionals look like?
   2. Many aspiring cybersecurity professionals tend to think about a black-hooded man in a dark room typing off a keyboard. In their mind, they see a future career as shown in the photo below.

      Also Read: Ten Reasons for a career in cybersecurity [8 minutes]

   3. In the real world, that is not true. Cybersecurity is one of the top noble professions which is now cross-cutting. As ALL competitive organizations and countries embrace advanced automation and technologies for competitiveness and service delivery, the need for cybersecurity professionals has heightened. When you buy a car, you must also be prepared to buy fuel to continue driving the car. The more the car sales, the more demand for fuel. That is what happens to the cybersecurity and digital forensics professional. The more organizations and countries automate, the more need for professionals to provide assurance that their ICT systems are secure. In this era of the Internet of Things (IoT), Artificial Intelligence (AI), Machine Learning, Big Data Analytics, and Robotics, the need for cybersecurity is more than before. Computer systems now hold all the wealth of the world. No country President or company CEO can sleep without assurance that their wealth in computerized systems is safe.
   4. For that reason, cybersecurity professionals have trusted advisors and very successful entrepreneurs and executives. Carefully look at picture 2 below, do you recognize the person?
   5. You guessed right. The person is Eugene Kaspersky, the founder, and chief executive officer at Kaspersky Labs, one of the pioneers in cybersecurity industry starting with the Kaspersky anti-virus that has continued to hunt for viruses in computers as well as defend against them. Today, boards are required to have a cybersecurity expert as a Technical Advisor to the board or a board member. This is true for financial institutions and telecom companies and all organizations that have heavy investment and reliance on technology.

So who is hiring and who is at risk?

To be continued in part 2.