InfoSec Career Accelerator: The Essential Skill Set for Newcomers
What is the most valuable skill set which I would recommend that information security newcomers learn? That’s an interesting question. After all, infosec isn’t a single job. The information security career field consists of easily over a dozen roles. So what single skill would be valuable across the spectrum? Easy. Cloud computing. It provides the greatest benefit across a range of roles for information security professionals.
Not every infosec role is technical, but it’s vital that every infosec professional achieves a reasonable level of technical acumen. In previous years, that might have included studying for the CompTIA Network+ or a similar certification.
“Cloud computing remains the number one most sought-after skill.”
The rise of cloud computing provides newcomers with a leapfrog opportunity. They can go directly to the new, in-demand skill without needing to focus on on-premise networking first. There’s even an advantage. Newcomers won’t have to unlearn legacy ways of doing things, based upon the limitations of on-premise technology.
Here’s the bonus. If you gain a solid understanding of cloud computing, you’ve also acquired a basic understanding of on-premise computing.
Cloud is the Future
In the not-to-distant future cloud security will simply be called “cybersecurity.” That’s because so much of organizations’ infrastructure will be in the cloud, that securing the cloud will no longer be a niche subset of cybersecurity. Not surprisingly, many infosec senior leaders today have no cloud background and don’t have the bandwidth to develop this new skill. This creates opportunity for the newer generation.
By learning cloud you can stand out with an in-demand skill set, which can be reasonably relevant for on-premise security as well. Cloud computing also introduces concepts like shift left and policy-as-code, which skilled infosec professionals can leverage to improve an organization’s entire security program.
How much demand is there for cloud-literate professionals? According to the consultancy Deloitte between 2017 and 2020 the number of cloud job postings increased by 97%. While 90% of IT leaders planned to expand their cloud environments, 80% said a shortage of cloud-literate staff is holding them back.
In the same Deloitte report, Megan Slabinski–a district president at the recruiting firm Robert Half–stated, “Cloud computing remains the number one most sought-after skill.” When you combine the cloud skills shortage with the cybersecurity workforce gap—3.4 million roles remained unfilled globally in 2022—a very compelling opportunity becomes evident.
Learning Cloud
So where do you start? If you’ve already landed your first information security job, learn whichever cloud platform your organization is using. If you haven’t landed your first infosec job yet, learn AWS. It has a robust number of certifications and training available, and the concepts are transferable between platforms.
Learning a new cloud platform after AWS is like learning a second romance language. If you learned to speak Spanish already, learning Portuguese or Italian shouldn’t be too difficult.
Personally, I’ve found A Cloud Guru and Tutorials Dojo very effective resources in studying for and passing cloud certifications. I used ACG for certification courses and TD for practice tests.
I’m a supporter of certifications, because they provide a standardized way to learn a new skill set to an established standard. Of course, this must include a good amount of learning by doing. Your cloud certification journey should include ample time spent hands-on-keyboard in the console. After all, the goal is to learn new cloud skills. Certifications are simply evidence of having done so; they are not the genuine goal.
Cloud Adoption
Organizations across the globe are working on digital transformation efforts, which largely means that they’re working on their cloud adoption. If technology teams can build it, security teams need to defend it.
As such, you can expect the demand for security professionals with cloud skills to remain high. The shift towards cloud computing will force information security programs to shift as well. That includes integrating concepts which allow us to be more efficient and effective. If you want to be an information security leader of tomorrow, there’s a lot of benefit to learning cloud computing today.