Companies regularly face cyber threats because many have digitized their operations to increase efficiency and productivity. This is unlikely to change anytime soon because the benefits of this newfound efficiency outweigh the negatives. Nevertheless, businesses are taking the necessary steps to mitigate cyber threats and protect their IT infrastructure.
To stay protected, they need skilled defensive cybersecurity personnel to monitor their systems, create threat response plans, and perform disaster recovery. Unfortunately, these skilled personnel are in short supply, prompting companies to pay top dollar to persuade the ones available to join their blue team. This dynamic has made defensive cybersecurity a lucrative career field that anyone with a passion for technology can enter.
What is a Blue Team in Cybersecurity?
A blue team in cybersecurity is a group tasked with protecting a company’s IT systems from threats that can compromise their integrity. They do this by maintaining the IT system’s existing defensive posture and adding safeguards to address newly detected vulnerabilities.
Blue team members must understand their company’s security objectives and develop effective strategies to meet them. Part of their job is to carry out risk assessments to determine how potential attacks will affect the system. They also participate in attack simulations where the “red team” mimics real cyber attackers and tries to penetrate the system. During this exercise, the blue team has to ensure the IT system can withstand these attacks. If not, they note the weak points and strengthen them.
Core Functions of a Blue Team
Cybersecurity in a company is mainly divided into two sides: the offensive side (red team) and the defensive side (blue team). The red team’s job is to find vulnerabilities in the IT system and exploit them to gain unauthorized access. They do this through ethical hacking, penetration testing, and other offensive cybersecurity actions.
The idea is to assume the motives of a real cyberattacker and simulate their likely actions. The blue team defends the IT systems from these simulated attacks from the red team, preparing the company for a real encounter with a cyberattacker. Their core functions include the following:
Vulnerability Scanning
This involves scanning a company’s IT infrastructure to detect vulnerabilities that could give malicious actors unauthorized access.
Employee Cybersecurity Training
Defensive cybersecurity personnel tell employees the potential impact of successful cyberattacks. They also teach them to detect, avoid, and report threats because cybercriminals can use them to gain access to the system.
Risk Assessment
They assess the risk posed by existing vulnerabilities and measure how much damage an attack could cause through that vulnerability. This helps them prioritize resolving each vulnerability.
Security Tool Installation
As defensive cybersecurity personnel discover new threats, they install the right software to detect and counter them before they can damage the company’s IT systems.
Formation of Incident Response Plan
When a threat is detected, or a cyberattack occurs, a response plan is needed to address the situation before it escalates. The defensive cybersecurity team is responsible for creating an effective response that fits the organization’s IT infrastructure.
Defensive Cybersecurity Job Roles
To work in defensive cybersecurity, identify a role that matches your interests and skill set. Many job roles fall under defensive cybersecurity, and here are some of them:
Threat Intelligence Analyst
Threat intelligence analysts know how different forms of malware behave, so they use this knowledge to research and analyze threats to their organization’s IT infrastructure. They compile their findings into a report, present it to company executives, and recommend the best way to address those threats. They also use the threat intelligence reports they generate to predict and prepare against similar cyberattacks.
Insider Threat Analyst
Insider threat analysts focus on potential threats that emanate from within a company. They gather and assess threat data and information from employees, executives, third-party service providers, and business partners. This assessment helps them identify patterns and trends indicative of suspicious activity. They will use their findings to prepare a report and present it to senior management.
Data Loss Prevention Engineer
Data loss prevention engineers help keep their company secure. Data breaches and leaks can cost a company its reputation and make it lose money. Because they understand this, they create and maintain a data loss prevention system. They back up valuable company data and ensure the backup is available during disaster recovery.
Cybersecurity Instructor
These instructors train junior cybersecurity professionals to become more efficient in their roles. They also educate employees so they can spot cyber threats and work in a security-conscious manner.
Identity and Access Management Engineer
Engineers in this role implement and optimize their company’s identity and access management systems. As new technologies become available, they help their company adopt them to tighten security. They are also expected to maintain the IAM system and resolve any issues before they disrupt regular business operations.
Cloud Security Engineer
Companies that run operations on cloud computing platforms need cloud security engineers. They protect these cloud platforms by monitoring them for suspicious activity and applying mitigation measures as needed. They also scan the cloud system regularly to detect vulnerabilities so they can patch them. They also develop cloud security strategies to safeguard the system against new threats they discover.
Vulnerability Analyst
Vulnerability analysts scan their company’s IT infrastructure to find exploitable vulnerabilities and raise awareness about them. They also work with other cybersecurity professionals to find solutions for eliminating these vulnerabilities. Vulnerability analysts are sometimes responsible for threat management.
How to Get a Defensive Cybersecurity Job
Once you identify the job role you want to focus on, consider following the steps below:
Take the Relevant Courses
Take online courses that teach the skills you need to succeed in the defensive cybersecurity role you want. These courses are available on educational sites like Udemy and Coursera. You have to pay for them, but if you want to learn for free, you might find useful videos on YouTube and similar platforms.
Become Familiar With the Basics
Cybersecurity is a field where you will constantly learn new things, so do not expect to know it all at first. However, you need to understand the fundamentals and use them as a foundation to build your knowledge.
Join a Bootcamp
After learning the basics of defensive cybersecurity, consider joining a bootcamp. Bootcamps are intensive learning programs that teach the core aspects of a tech discipline and provide practical experience so students are ready to work upon completion. These programs typically last for three to six months. They are an alternative to college programs, so you should enroll in one if you do not have formal cybersecurity education.
Get the Required Certifications
Some jobs require specific certifications to be employed. Find the certifications that match your defensive cybersecurity dream role and earn them. You will need to take exams that test your skills and knowledge before you earn those certifications.
Gain Experience
To land a high-paying job, you need experience. You can get this by pursuing internships, volunteering, and building a portfolio. Internship opportunities are listed on job boards, so look for suitable ones and apply.
Understudy a Mentor
Find a mentor with a career similar to what you want and learn from them. There is no right or wrong way to find a mentor. They could be a superior in your internship company, a seasoned professional on social media, a relative, a friend’s colleague, or anyone who respects your professional journey and is willing to guide you.
Prepare Your Resume and Find a Full-Time Job
At this stage, you should feel ready to enter the job market, so draft your resume and include all the job positions, skills, and certifications you have earned so far. Go to job boards, look for full-time junior defensive cybersecurity roles that match your skill set, and apply. Personalize your resume to match each job description. Use the necessary keywords to optimize your resume so it passes the filters recruiters use in applicant tracking systems.
Conclusion
Defensive cybersecurity is a worthwhile career path for those passionate about technology. Many job roles in this field can pay professionals over $100,000 a year if they are dedicated and play their cards right. Many companies are ready to hire skilled personnel and add them to their blue team, but not enough professionals are available. You can take advantage of this by following the steps above to gain the necessary skills and certifications that will make you eligible for a full-time defensive cybersecurity role.
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