5 Essential Skills for a Security Analyst

The growth of technology and innovation are on the rise. I in order to remain up to date with the latest releases, it is paramount for cloud security professionals to continue to learn and adopt these technologies. One such example is the security analyst. A security analyst is a dedicated professional in charge of developing and managing the core aspects of a company's entire security system. It is their responsibility to investigate the performance of the company's security system and continually obtain data from the management teams.

Study the data provided and develop further insights and ideas to be integrated into the general security schema to bring everything to its latest and most secure definition. If threats or flaws are found during the inspection or testing of the security systems, then it becomes their responsibility to take care of these threats and rule out vulnerabilities before serious damage is done to the reputation of the company. So,  as you might have thought, the responsibilities of a security analyst are extensive, and the salary compensates for the risky position.

5 Security Analyst Skills

But if you are interested in this particular domain and are looking forward to having a security analyst career, then the following are some of the essential skills that you must have:

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Networking

In order to maximize the damage that malware or other cyber anomalies can cause, the presence of networking is required. Most of the payload gets deployed with the help of the internet. As it happens, most business is online and thus is networked. It becomes easier for cybercriminals to have access to a specific company's networked architecture and unleash an attack. If you want to become a security analyst and take care of your job specifications, then you must have some skills in relation to the networking fundamentals.

You could be given the network device logs to monitor any anomalous or suspicious activity that is currently going on, and in order to make sure that you can do your job, you must know what those terms mean.

Security

When you have mastered the networking fundamentals, you need to grab a handle on the security systems and their meaning as well. There are different malware and different variants of them. Also, the route that is taken to execute the attack could be different, and so is the response plan to contain it. If you want to do your job effectively, you must know all about malware, types of system vulnerabilities and the precautions you can take to ensure that the attack gets neutralized before some heavy damage is done.

You will be given the security detailing and other such responsibilities when working as a security analyst. That is why it is important that you understand various security terms and elements that are being used and what these mean as well. Knowing that much will allow you to understand what is going and develop a strong incident response program against it.

Incident Response and Handling

Incident response and handling are the best practices drafted by the organization if there is a security breach and further steps need to be taken into account. Not all security analysts have to deal with this, but if you can take it up as an extra responsibility, then the chances are that you might get a raise. And it is not that difficult at all, consider this as investigating a scene of the crime like a detective according to the set rules and extensions that are already in place, and you have to follow them accordingly.

But there is a slight hiccup there. If you want to deliver your best around this one responsibility, then it is important that you have some sort of training beforehand.

Communication Skills

It might not sound like a must-have skill, but when you are working at such a delicate and professional job, you must speak your mind and interact with other people. Working alongside or under you would be people from the security, networking, and even the management teams. It is your responsibility to delegate them and make them work like a productive and efficient unit. And for this to happen, you must be able to communicate well and develop a system that delivers nothing but performance. There are no silos but only collaboration and effective communication between team members to take care of the cyber threats.

Most of the time, this skill comes naturally as you grow into a more productive and innovative being. If for some reason you are not that good at it, you can always have some training. If you want to work as a security analyst, then you will want to have some training in this aspect beforehand.

Cloud Computing and Related Technologies

This is the last, and according to the current digital scenario, the most crucial skill that you must have as a security analyst. As you know, with such rapid growth of the cloud systems, companies are shifting their assets there and are receiving some great benefits from doing so. Therefore, being a security analyst, you must know what you are working with here and how you can interpret cloud technologies and integrate your security solutions with cloud systems more effectively. If you want to be successful, then you must know about interacting with the cloud systems, some coding/programming knowledge, and other related technologies such as cloud security.

As it happens, there are a number of cybersecurity certifications out there. If you want to have some great opportunities regarding jobs and growth for your career, then you should consider choosing one, completing the exam and getting a job in that particular cloud computing sector.