How to become a cyber security analyst

Cyber attacks are no longer just an IT problem. For businesses, a successful security breach can expose sensitive information, damage customer trust, create significant consequences both financially and in a regulatory sense, as well as disrupt operations. 

Cyber security analyst in A nutshell

• Role: Monitor, investigate, and help to protect the organisations systems, networks and data when it comes to cyber attacks

• Responsibilities: Vulnerability assessing, incident responses, security analysis, threat reporting

• Career Path : IT or tech support, junior security position, cyber security analyst, senior analyst or specialist

• Key Skills: Vulnerability management, threat intelligence, security tools, risk analysis, and network security

• Qualifications: Industry recognised certifications and practical training, combined with hands-on experience to demonstrate technical ability

What does a cyber security analyst do?

A cyber security analyst operates with the goal of helping an organisation to find, understand, and respond to cyber security threats. The precise responsibilities are going to vary between employers.

One of the most critical tasks completed by this professional is security monitoring. Analysts review alerts from security information and event management platforms, firewalls, and other security systems to identify any unusual behaviour that could indicate that an attack is coming. With the potential incident identified, the analyst will then investigate what happened, look at the severity, and work out what the appropriate response is going to be. This could include looking at suspicious files, isolating impacted systems, and more. 

It’s true to say that this role does extend beyond traditional networks and infrastructures now. Remote working, mobile devices, AI-powered systems, and cloud services have all expanded the potential attack surface, and businesses are now needing to come up with an answer for this.

Your path to becoming a cyber security analyst

It’s not a career in which there is one single route that you can take. Professionals are able to enter through a range of paths including university study, apprenticeships, professional training, technical roles, or even transitioning from another area of IT.

What the successful future cyber security analyst will have though is a strong starting point so that there is a strong foundation of knowledge surrounding networks, data bases, core IT infrastructure, and even operating systems. Experience in IT support, networking, or software development can provide this valuable foundation before moving into this role.

Once this foundation has been established, those who want to be cyber security analysts can build specialist knowledge in areas such as vulnerability management, threat detection, network security, security operations, and more. 

Qualifications can also help demonstrate this knowledge to potential employers, but this works best when there is practical experience to go hand in hand with it. Bridging that gap between theoretical knowledge and workplace capability is essential, especially in a role so complex. 

The top skills that cyber security analysts need

Network and infrastructure security

A successful candidate will have a good understanding of networks, cloud infrastructure, common attack techniques and operating systems. This allows analysts to identify vulnerabilities and have a stronger understanding of how an attack could impact the company.

Vulnerability management

It’s not just about being able to identify the weaknesses. It’s about understanding risk, understanding how to prioritise vulnerabilities, and work with other teams in the organisation to reduce the issues. 

Threat detection and analysis

Analysts need to recognise patterns that could show malicious activity. This requires being able to separate genuine threats from false positives, which is why strong analytical thinking is key here. 

AI awareness

Attackers are able to use AI to improve a number of areas when it comes to their cyber attacks, which is why those defending from them need to know how to use it to automate security tasks, and analyse threats. 

Risk and compliance

Understanding risk management, security standards, and compliance requirements ensures analysts are able to connect technical issues to the impact that they will have on the business. 

Over the years, organisations have become more dependent on cloud platforms, connected systems, and digital services. This is why having people who can identify and respond to threats has now become essential.

Cyber security training and apprenticeships can help businesses to develop their security capability and protect against emerging threats.