Emerging Cybersecurity Skills Landscape

Rapid changes are the norm in the world of information technology. Adoption of upcoming and evolving trends by organizations looking for more efficient and effective use of technology drives the need for technology professionals to be upskilled.

Cybersecurity professionals have enjoyed been in demand for quite a while now as organizations of all kinds struggle to protect their assets and reputation in an increasingly hostile world, with internal and external threats abound. Back in the day, network security was equated as Cybersecurity. If you could set up a Network firewall, open and close a couple of network ports, you could pat yourself on the back for a job well done and head home.

These days, however, the threat landscape is ever-evolving, and cybersecurity professionals are more likely to succeed if they truly understand the new challenges faced by the organization. All kinds of Governance and overall risk management have been taking priority over pure technology-oriented conversations for a while.

Stricter regulatory and legal requirements are putting a lot of emphasis on processes and overall accountability to be embedded in the culture and ethos of the technology teams.?Big data, cloud and integration with Operations technology (OT) were some of the new frontiers a few years ago and cybersecurity professionals had to understand new threats these presented and ensure data privacy and data security objectives were met. Cybersecurity was no longer a purely technical function, but rather a partnership with the business, and ensuring business continuity while allowing them to explore new opportunities the upcoming technology trends presented was key ROI from it.

These days, organizations are exploring the opportunities Artificial intelligence and machine learning present and in turn need the cybersecurity team to protect against threats that come from using them.?Is the data used for training an ML Model protected??Are the ML Models themselves protected??these are small examples of the new definition of digital Assets. With businesses exploring the Metaverse and jumping on the bandwagon with NFTs etc, blockchain security becomes the new frontier. How many cybersecurity professionals have taken a deep dive into blockchain security??Who would be responsible for protecting the digital wallet used for NFTs ?

It is clear that a new breed of cybersecurity professionals is needed in the new web 3.0 world, ready to take on the challenges the changing landscape needs and continue to be a valuable business partner, allowing the organizations to explore and adopt new trends, while minimizing risks and exposure. And all that starts with upskilling them.

To find out more about NobleProg’s Cybersecurity training and certifications, visit?https://www.nobleprog.co.za/cybersecurity-training/