2019 is going to face the threat of keeping one million to two million positions vacant due to the lack of cyber security skills. This is a worrisome situation for organizations that need talent, but at the same time, it’s a great opportunity for candidates that have these skills.

This lack of skills as predicted by Intel Security will leave economies and businesses susceptible to cyber-attacks, as they typically are outgunned and outmanned in the fight against hackers. Businesses are desperately in search of people that can help them protect against these dangers and so, this is the best time to enter the field of cybersecurity.

Here are the skills you’ll need.

1. Network Security

Cyber security isn’t just about external attacks. There can be internal attacks, whether malicious or accidental and pose a considerable risk to companies. Here excellent network security is important to prevent data loss caused by such types of incidents and any cyber security professional should be able to execute policies and controls inside and around the network.

These policies may include network access control, e.g. restricting a kind of device that can access the network or restrict the activities of a device or user once connected. E.g. employees not working in the finance department should not be able to access financial data.

A wide array of tools is available to enforce these kinds of policies, such as firewalls, VPNs (virtual private networks) or the latest machine learning algorithms. Also, you can install software to divide servers into segments so that an infection can be stopped from spreading across the network.

2. Cloud Security

Almost all companies today use a cloud to some extent which means that they need to secure data in the cloud along with securing theiron premise data. However, professionals with cyber security training for cloud security are rarely found.


One of the cloud security dangers is poor identity management where hackers may present themselves as genuine users and access, delete or modify data.

Another issue is poorly-protected cloud apps. Most cloud services and apps use APIs to communicate and transfer data. So, the security of the API straightaway influences a security of the could service. When a third party is granted access to APIs, chances of data breach increase.

3. Risk Management

A basic skill any cyber-security professional should have is risk management, i.e. knowing how to respond correctly when and if the company is attacked. If cyber security training programs give a good training in risk management, the professional can build solid strategies to tackle security events.

Plus there are other skills like patching and software management, big data analysis, governance and more. Learn these skills and they will open the way towards a lucrative job for you.