What are the most common career paths in incident handling?
Incident handling is the process of responding to security breaches, attacks, or incidents that affect the availability, integrity, or confidentiality of information systems. Incident handlers are the professionals who analyze, contain, eradicate, and recover from such incidents, as well as communicate with stakeholders and recommend preventive measures. If you are interested in pursuing a career in incident handling, you should know that there are several paths you can take, depending on your skills, experience, and goals. In this article, we will explore some of the most common career paths in incident handling, and what they entail.
A security analyst is someone who monitors and evaluates the security posture of an organization, using various tools and techniques to detect and respond to threats. A security analyst may also perform vulnerability assessments, penetration testing, risk analysis, and compliance audits. To become a security analyst, you typically need a bachelor's degree in computer science, cybersecurity, or a related field, as well as some relevant certifications, such as CompTIA Security+, CEH, or CISSP. A security analyst can advance to more senior roles, such as security engineer, security architect, or security manager.
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Cybersecurity should be #1 priority for all industries and incident handling is a critical aspect of it. There are several career paths and roles to take into consideration which require a combination of technical skills, problem-solving abilities, and a deep understanding of security principles. To name a few paths in incident handling, we must consider; "incident responder" who are the front-line professionals, "security analyst" who are the ones who monitor the systems, "forensic analysts" who are the ones identifying root/cause, "security consultants" who may help create incident response plans, and "CISO" who are responsible to oversee incident response teams. Each career path requires specific skill sets and knowledge base up to date.
An incident responder is someone who specializes in the containment and eradication of security incidents, as well as the restoration of normal operations. An incident responder may work as part of a dedicated incident response team, or as a consultant for external clients. An incident responder may also conduct forensic analysis, evidence collection, root cause analysis, and incident reporting. To become an incident responder, you typically need a bachelor's degree in computer science, cybersecurity, or a related field, as well as some relevant certifications, such as GCIH, GCFA, or CHFI. An incident responder can advance to more senior roles, such as incident response manager, incident response coordinator, or incident response director.
A threat hunter is someone who proactively searches for hidden or emerging threats that may evade traditional security solutions, using various tools and techniques to collect and analyze data from multiple sources. A threat hunter may also develop and test hypotheses, create and refine indicators of compromise, and share intelligence and best practices with other security professionals. To become a threat hunter, you typically need a bachelor's degree in computer science, cybersecurity, or a related field, as well as some relevant certifications, such as GPEN, OSCP, or GCFA. A threat hunter can advance to more senior roles, such as threat intelligence analyst, threat intelligence manager, or threat intelligence director.
A malware analyst is someone who studies and reverse-engineers malicious software, such as viruses, worms, trojans, ransomware, or spyware, to understand their behavior, functionality, and impact. A malware analyst may also develop and test countermeasures, such as signatures, patches, or removal tools, and share their findings and recommendations with other security professionals. To become a malware analyst, you typically need a bachelor's degree in computer science, cybersecurity, or a related field, as well as some relevant certifications, such as GREM, GASF, or GCIA. A malware analyst can advance to more senior roles, such as malware engineer, malware researcher, or malware manager.
A SOC manager is someone who oversees and coordinates the activities of a security operations center (SOC), which is a centralized unit that handles security monitoring, incident response, threat intelligence, and security operations. A SOC manager may also define and implement security policies, procedures, and standards, as well as manage the budget, resources, and personnel of the SOC. To become a SOC manager, you typically need a bachelor's degree in computer science, cybersecurity, or a related field, as well as some relevant certifications, such as CISSP, CISM, or CISA. A SOC manager can advance to more senior roles, such as SOC director, CISO, or CTO.
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I think the direction should be to bring all into a developer. So career path .. be a developer in a specific service. The idea of take smaller scope teams going deep is the principle of two pizza teams. This helps in better ownership, better team topology and better customer happiness. Incident response should happen from a developer from that team. The developer should do security response, functional response and non-functional response powered by automation and tools that give him all the context he needs with support. The broad monitoring teams should ideally be completely automated, which can triage and bring a developer from the right service. We are not there yet as an industry but we are moving there for sure.
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Cybersecurity Incident Response Specialist: This is an entry-level position that involves performing initial triage, analysis, and containment of security incidents, as well as coordinating with other teams and stakeholders to resolve them. A cybersecurity incident response specialist should have a solid foundation in network security, ethical hacking, digital forensics, and incident response methodologies. Some of the certifications that can help in this role are Certified Cybersecurity Technician (C|CT), Certified Network Defender (CND), Certified Ethical Hacker (C|EH), and Certified Incident Handler (C|IH).
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