The topic of Cybersecurity is proving to be increasingly important for both businesses and national critical infrastructures. The ability to effectively resist a cyber attack can not only prevent the dispersion of sensitive data outside a company, but also the malfunction, interruption or destruction of key services for the normal functioning of a country.
According to data provided by the Italian Association for Information Security, hacker attacks in the world have reached a frequency of 1 every 11 seconds. A recent study by Specops Software states that 54% of American businesses experienced a dramatic increase in cyber threats in 2021.
The interest in the topic of IT security is therefore not limited only to large companies and infrastructures, but also to SMEs, which find themselves having to manage more and more information from their customers with the fear of losing sensitive data. For this reason, to be able to deal with the growing cyber attacks carried out by hackers, large companies, public administrations and small and medium-sized enterprises are constantly looking for figures specialized in Cybersecurity.
Who are Cybersecurity experts and what do they do?
They are specialists who deal with IT security, with the aim of guaranteeing total protection of company infrastructures, data and systems while maintaining high security standards.
It is important to point out, however, that the figure of the Cybersecurity Expert cannot be traced back to just one type of activity and knowledge, but that within the IT security landscape there are different figures that focus on the resolution of specific problems and phases of managing the cyber attack. The Cyber Security Analyst, for example, aims to protect IT systems and digital data through constant prevention, monitoring and management of threats. The Vulnerability Analyst or Penetration Tester, on the other hand, is responsible for analyzing and mapping networks and IT systems in order to identify their weak points and strengthen their security. An interesting figure in the sector is the Cyber Threat Analyst, who studies the strategies and methods of action of hackers or cyber-criminal groups to trace the identity of these individuals. Finally, the figure of the Cyber Negotiator has the task of intervening in the subsequent moments of a cyber attack to negotiate the return of the data and the ransom to be paid to regain possession of it.
Soft skills and expertise required in the Cybersecurity sector?
Technical aptitude and a scientific mindset are of fundamental importance for growth within this sector. Furthermore, clarity in moments of stress and the ability to take responsibility for one's actions and decisions during critical moments of an intervention are considered of great importance. In addition to knowledge of computer codes, the most important skills for this profession are knowledge of computer network security systems, attack patterns and vectors, cybersecurity governance technologies and Vulnerability Assessment and Penetration Testing practices and much more.
What to study to work in the world of computer security?
To undertake studies in the IT security sector, choosing the right training path to follow is of fundamental importance. The University of Catania, in collaboration with Free Mind Foundry, has successfully developed a Level I University Master entirely focused on the topic of Cybersecurity Culture and Governance. The Master, enriched by the participation of a Scientific Technical Committee made up of numerous academic figures from the Department of Mathematics and Computer Science of the University of Catania and experts in the Cybersecurity sector, is structured into 4 teaching modules of 318 hours and a 300-hour training internship within the companies of the Free Mind Foundry campus or with leading companies in the sector on the national territory.