Cyber Security Consultant: A Complete Overview and Career Path

The cybersecurity industry has been home to various job roles, and one of them is the ‘cybersecurity consultancy.’ A cybersecurity consultant builds a secure environment for any organization by being the mind of their security team. If you are someone planning to have a career down this path, here is an overview of everything you need to know.

What do cybersecurity consultants do?

A cybersecurity consultant, like any other consultant, works for many clients and attends to them as and when required. He is responsible for gauging the security measures of an organization and conditioning it with new and effective strategies. Let us have a look at the day-to-day responsibilities of a cybersecurity consultant.

The primary goal is to understand the client’s business and the risks associated with it.
Interviewing the employees to get a deeper understanding of the security concerns and issues they face.
Conducting a proper vulnerability assessment through rigorous analysis and composing a meticulous report.
Planning and designing a secure architecture for the company based on their key findings.
Listing down the changes or updates required for software/hardware.
Drawing an estimate of the expenditure and discussing the budget with the project managers.
Implementing proactive defense measures for the Blue Team and training them to respond during a breach or an attack.
Defining effective standards and policies for the company and providing professional supervision to all the teams.
Following up with the client regularly and consistently suggesting new strategies.

As a cybersecurity consultant, you rope together the Security of an entire organization. To be successful in this line of work, you should have invaluable expertise in the security domain, which can only be attained through experience and certifications.

Get relevant Experience!!!

To work as a cybersecurity consultant, you first need to understand how the security industry functions. Of course, there are no eligibility criteria, but you need to have adroit knowledge of cybersecurity. One way to achieve this is by gaining experience from relevant fields like information security or security auditing. Let us look at the skills a cybersecurity consultant is expected to have.

Ethical hacking and Penetration testing

A consultant needs to understand the various means by which a hacker can get access to the system. This will help them introduce better defense measures.

Firewalls Antimalware and operating systems

Operating systems like Linux or Windows are widely used in the end systems and are most vulnerable. The knowledge of advanced firewalls and malware detection systems will help the consultant choose an optimal architecture for the client. An efficient configuration of these systems will make all the difference in safeguarding the internal network from breaches and attacks

Knowledge of the Encryption and Authentication Protocols

These are the fundamental blocks of cybersecurity. Someone with a proficient understanding of these topics can secure the data at rest, data-in-transit, or processing. It is extremely important to apply the encryption and authentication solutions, aligned with the company’s path of work.

Threat Management

The knowledge of malware and its potential gives a brief understanding of how the system can be targeted. A consultant should understand attacks like phishing, social engineering, and the attack surface the system offers for these kinds of attacks. He should be in line with the latest attacks to improve his strategies of defending them.

Policies and Standards

The comprehensive knowledge ISO 27001, HIPPA, NIST, and PCI-DSS will be beneficial while implementing practical policies for the organization.

These are just a few of the many skills that a consultant should possess. Further, based on client requirements, they should improve their understanding of the relevant field. For example, if the client happens to be a cloud service provider or a customer to the CSP, you need to have up-to-date knowledge about Iaas, Paas, Saas CSA Star, and other related services Cloud security. One way to do this is by getting industry-verified certifications. Here are some cybersecurity certifications that will craft your skills and will help you to think on your feet.

Get valuable Certifications!!!

CISSP Certification

Earning this certification will prove your ability to design an impactful cybersecurity program for the organization. This course is globally recognized and covers all the quintessential skills needed by cybersecurity professionals. CISSP training at Infosectrain

CISM Certification.

If you have enough technical knowledge and are looking to enhance your management skills, CISM is the right course for you. It encompasses various information security risk management and program development competence. CISM Certification course

CompTIA’s Security+

This course validates you for the core skills needed by any cybersecurity professional. It incorporates excellent problem-solving techniques and opens you up for intermediary level job roles. The learning goes beyond tools, and it trains you to address various security incidents in real-time. Read More

CEH Certification

This course will act as a primer for your cybersecurity career. If you are new to this domain, you can start with this course. Most of the top-notch experts and masters of the cybersecurity realm are CEH Certified, which proves the worthiness of this certification. Read More

Along with this technical knowledge, a cybersecurity consultant should also have excellent leadership and communication skills. When working with different clients at different corporate levels, they need to have the right skills to persuade them and facilitate teamwork within the organization.

FAQ’s

Who should become a cybersecurity consultant?

Any inspiring security professional who has gained relevant work experience and can implement evolutionary approaches to strengthen the security posture of an organization is capable of starting their career as a cybersecurity consultant.

How does one become a cybersecurity consultant?

Get yourself graduation in the field of Information technology, Computer science, or Telecommunication.
Earn valuable certifications and learn the skills needed in the cybersecurity realm.
Get yourself pertinent work experience to showcase your skills.
Use your networking strategies and soft skills to get yourself some clients.

How much does a cybersecurity consultant get paid?

According to Glassdoor, they annually get paid an average of Rs. 7,36,257.