Many of us believe that cybersecurity and information technology are so closely related that often they seem identical and without any practical difference. But in practical reality, there is a clear difference between the two, which is often neglected by people and in order to speculate more into the matter, let’s find out extensive information on these two separately.
What is information security?
Information security is an online practice that involves the safety of the data or in a rather literal sense it is the protection of information or data. Data security is an important issue that has been the center of debate for various organizations and businesses that rely heavily on the data. This data is either stored in the servers, desktops, PC, or other data centers. But the data was stored initially using a file cabinet system.
The information security deals primarily with the protection of data in whatever form it resides, it is either encrypted or funneled through other security settings to make sure that it is still safe from manipulation by hackers or cybercriminals. Being an information technology expert means that you are choosing a more general career that revolves around various things, this also means that you can become an information security expert without specializing in cybersecurity.
Scope of information security
Information security has introduced a turning point in the field of cybersecurity by presenting digital media with plenty of things. Security of the data, organized data workflow and consistent improvements with the latest standards are some of these aspects. Although the technology kept on improving with leaps and bounds but still the improvement was not as subtle as it should be to protect the data from cybercriminals and hackers.
The need for having a more sophisticated and streamlined process for the interpretation and security of the data stored within digital media such as servers and data centers was necessary. Information technology has proved extremely beneficial in this aspect. Not only dedicated systems, programs, or security systems have been inaugurated by IT but various different professionals have also been produced. These have also taken the mantle of serving data-related processes and systems by working with them closely and ensuring an end to end encryption of the data even if it is being shared in an open loop.
Jobs and salary
Various IT jobs launch every year but not all of them would have the right statistics which a professional would require or opt for. Still the best IT jobs revolve around the development niche, which means if you are good at developing apps, websites, codes, and programs then you already have a bright career that is in great demand throughout the year. Other than development there are managerial roles such as IT manager, Security, and networking administrator, site security verifying professional, and many others. But at the end of the day the best-suited jobs are those that cater to the knowledge that you have learned over the years. It means that the jobs which your skillset is compatible with are best suited for you.
Talking about the salary and other increments then the IT sector is not that handsome and forthcoming with salaries and stuff as cybersecurity and other technical fields are. But the condition is on the whole not that necessarily bad which means that you can earn a great salary in the starting and then after having enough exposure you can move on with other fields that suit your career.
On average an IT expert can earn from $70000-23000 annually which is pretty good for something that is taken as a start.
Cyber Security
what is it?
As with the information technology the gauges for protecting the data were set to the extreme general but with the cybersecurity these are cranked to the highly specific. Information technology only deals with the protection of data and the conditions in which it is kept but cybersecurity definitely takes it to one step ahead that is the protection of the data from being attacked or manipulated by cybercriminals and hackers. Various security parameters are specifically designed for the sake of guarding the data against any discrepancies that can occur.
Such as part of the job is to identify the data that is critical and what its risk factor would be. It doesn't stop here as certain technologies need to be implemented too, following which the data will be rendered secure.
Scope
The jobs of a cybersecurity professional are often long stretched and involves certain specific things that they have to take care of. On a general array a cyber professional would have to take care of all the data that is stored within secured boundaries along with the processes implemented following which the safety of the data was brought into perspective. But on a general note such a professional is responsible for guarding the data, monitoring the traffic over the network of an organization, spectating firewalls, networks, and other variable stuff where vulnerability can exist. Identifying all these problems and then providing them with a thorough and tested method for their resolution falls into the career scope of cybersecurity professionals.
Jobs and salary
There are various job opportunities for a cybersecurity professional such as you can go with security architecture, security consultant, penetration tester/ethical hacker, or being a CISO or chief information security officer. Although all of these career and job paths might feel too overwhelming or out of your reach but by taking into effect the simple cybersecurity starting jobs you can eventually get your hands on enough relevant knowledge for the sake of landing yourself a job within these careers paths. Specialization is the key when trying to land a decent career in the realm of cybersecurity. On the whole these professionals can easily earn from $10000-35000 depending on the level of experience and years of hands-on training.
If you want to grow beyond reach then it is advised that you take on cybersecurity training as it would necessarily help you to get ahold of the exact science that will land you a great job in the future.