When looking into cybersecurity, there are many fields within it; these are usually called specializations. According to globalknowledge.com, there are around eight different specializations, ranging from Architecture and Policy, to Secure Software Development. If I were to list all the occupations, all of them have some importance in the field of cybersecurity; however, some stick out more than others in our current day and age.

Regardless of what field people go into, Data Loss Prevention is something that I believe will always be vital within cybersecurity. When looking furthermore into Data Loss Prevention, digitalguardian.com states, “Data loss prevention (DLP) is a set of tools and processes used to ensure that sensitive data is not lost, misused, or accessed by unauthorized users.”. This ensures that the induvial/company/program data is secured correctly and not visible to the public eye unless chosen to be. According to digitalguardian.com and Gartner Magic Quadrant for Enterprise DLP, back in 2017, the total data loss prevention market has risen from $1.3billion to $2.64billion and is continuously increasing.

When looking into the different certifications offered for Data Loss Prevention, most employers would probably account for most would be the CompTIA Security+ certification. This certification provides a lot of information on the individual; according to globalknowledge.com, the certificate includes “risk management, host and network security, authentication and access control systems, cryptography, and organizational security.” Which more than covers the guidelines for Data Loss Prevention. The certification is also mandatory for government or public sector related jobs.

Another specialization that I speculate to be more critical than others currently and in the future to come would be Penetration Testing. According to cloudflare.com, “This is like a bank hiring someone to dress as a burglar and try to break into their building and gain access to the vault. If the ‘burglar’ succeeds and gets into the bank or the vault, the bank will gain valuable information on how they need to tighten their security measures.”. This is an essential step in the proper security of a system because it shows common vulnerabilities in the network/system by testing multiple exploits in a simulated environment first, allowing the adequate evaluation of a systems security in place. Penetration Testing for individuals or companies is constantly being demanded, with people and hackers getting ever more creative in their attacking methods.

Popular certifications offered for Penetration Testing would include the CompTIA PenTest+ certification and the CEH, Certified Ethical Hacker certification, provided by eccouncil.org. According to the comptia.org website, the CompTIA certification “assesses the most up-to-date penetration testing and vulnerability assessment and management skills necessary to determine the resiliency of the network against attacks.”. The accreditation also meets the ISO 17024 standard, which means similar to the previous CompTIA certification listed previously, most government jobs or public sector related occupations will require this certification.

References

8 Specializations that Define Successful Cybersecurity Organizations. (n.d.). GlobalKnowledge. https://www.globalknowledge.com/us-en/resources/resource-library/articles/8-specializations-that-define-successful-cybersecurity-organizations/

CompTIA Security+ Certification Prep Course. (n.d.). Global Knowledge. https://www.globalknowledge.com/us-en/course/90530/comptia-securityplus-certification-prep-course/

EC-Council. (n.d.). Certified Ethical Hacker | CEH Certification | CEH v11. https://www.eccouncil.org/programs/certified-ethical-hacker-ceh/

PenTest+ (Plus) Certification | CompTIA IT Certifications. (n.d.). Default. https://www.comptia.org/certifications/pentest

What is Data Loss Prevention (DLP)? A Definition of Data Loss Prevention. (2020, October 1). Digital Guardian. https://digitalguardian.com/blog/what-data-loss-prevention-dlp-definition-data-loss-prevention

What Is Penetration Testing? What Is Pen Testing? (n.d.). Cloudflare. https://www.cloudflare.com/learning/security/glossary/what-is-penetration-testing/