Private and public enterprises invest billions of dollars in advanced technologies to manage the trillions of bytes of data that move around the world daily. However, the accelerating pace of organizations’ digital transformations has a significant downside.
On the one hand, multiplying the number of connected networks and systems enables them to convert vast unstructured datasets into actionable intelligence faster and more reliably. On the other, the rapid expansion of those technologies creates additional vulnerabilities to cyberattacks.
As a result, there is high demand for information security (InfoSec) analysts with expertise in data, software and network management, as well as incident response and threat-reduction policy development. The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) predicts employers will add more than 53,000 positions annually for a total job growth rate of 32%.
How Do You Become an Information Security Analyst?
The online Master of Science in Information Systems (MSIS) with a concentration in Information Security program from Murray State University is an ideal way to prepare for a high-demand, well-paying career in information security. According to the program page, this AACSB-accredited program ranks among U.S. News and World Report’s 2023 Best Online Programs in Computer Information Technology.
The program addresses complex issues in global information systems, strategies for developing business security solutions, and approaches to modeling, monitoring and analyzing data. Graduates are equipped for senior roles in InfoSec forecasting, risk management, audit, management and administration.
The online MSIS Information Security program from Murray State is an ideal way to future-proof your career because, as Fortinet notes, “Organizations must constantly monitor their attack surface to identify and block potential threats as quickly as possible. They also must try and minimize the attack surface area to reduce the risk of cyberattacks succeeding.”
What Does an Information Security Analyst Do?
InfoSec protects an organization’s digital assets from cyberattacks and data breaches, develops policies that govern authorized use and secures physical information, such as printed documents and intellectual property. Key responsibilities include:
- Monitoring networks, databases and end-user access for potential security breaches.
- Installing and maintaining firewall and encryption software to protect sensitive information.
- Developing IT audit policies to identify risks and vulnerabilities and establish protocols for isolating breaches, recovering from them and investigating the cause.
- Building “human firewalls” by educating employees on their roles in InfoSec and simulating attacks to evaluate their response. As McKinsey & Company notes, “Human failure causes nine out of ten cyber incidents.”
- Developing security standards and best practices to ensure organizational compliance that governs planning, implementing and upgrading security measures for digital and physical information.
“The cybersecurity skills shortage can hurt many companies’ efforts to be in compliance with consumer data security standards,” Thomson Reuters warns. For an e-commerce company, failure to comply with standards resulting in a breach can lead to penalties, reputational damage and loss of customer confidence and revenue.
What Cybersecurity Tools Do InfoSec Analysts Use?
InfoSec analysts use various cybersecurity tools to warn of potential risks to an organization’s network, systems or intellectual properties. Cyberattack strategies include unauthorized access, hacker attacks, data breaches and identity and password theft. Indeed lists examples of InfoSec tools, including:
- Network security monitoring uses data analytics of historical network and systems usage to identify anomalies that can suggest authorized access.
- Vulnerability scanning software protects web servers and services by, among other things, enabling security teams to conduct white hat hacking for compliance testing.
- Encryption software encodes and decodes datasets in networks and databases. This field is rapidly growing as businesses accelerate their digital processes to the cloud.
While businesses pay top dollar for InfoSec professionals (median salary of $120,360 per BLS), their expertise with those and other cybersecurity tools makes them invaluable organizational assets. According to Forbes, “The adoption of information security tools eventually transforms into a revenue-generating asset for the company, making information security an integral and natural component of the business.”
Learn more about Murray State University’s online Master of Science in Information Systems with a concentration in Information Security program.
