How to Become a Cyber Operations Specialist

In retail & wholesale – Cybersecurity techniques are used to keep customer information safe and secure.
In energy & utilities – Entire countries rely on energy and utility companies to deliver stable and consistent power and many energy power grids operate online, which means they need to be protected from hackers or malicious cyber threats.
In banking – protecting customers’ financial information and remaining compliant with industry regulations is paramount to the success of banks and other financial institutions. Cybersecurity professionals ensure that banking operations are happening securely.
In software & internet services – Some software-focused companies conduct all their business online and thus need to guarantee that their customers’ information, systems, and services are protected against various cyberattacks.

Cyber operations specialists play a critical role in analyzing threats, securing systems, and improving procedures to protect important information from cyberattacks and other digital threats.
This is a phenomenal career option for those looking to earn a respectable salary, as glassdoor.com reports the average salary for cyber operations specialists was $58,452 per year, as of February 9, 2023.
Demand for cyber operations specialists is projected to grow, with analyticsinsight.net recently reporting that some 3.5 million new cybersecurity jobs will be created between 2021 and 2025.

Designing and implementing systems and processes intended to keep digital information private and secure.
Analyzing existing safeguards and security applications to identify potential weak points across systems.
Detecting, identifying, and responding to cyberattacks, assessing if any breaches took place and how the cyberthreat penetrated through security systems.
Ensuring current systems and internal procedures are in line with industry regulations and standards, as well as confirming cybersecurity applications are up-to-date and functioning properly.
Responding to service interruptions, outages, lapses, or failures, identifying causes, and bringing systems back online quickly.

Coding Skills – Understanding the basics of coding will help you analyze and protect against cyberthreats looking to exploit the systems and data you’re responsible for protecting.
Operating System Skills – All companies use some sort of operating system to store their data and other important digital assets. Having experience navigating and using these operating systems will be integral to ensuring digital assets are stored securely.
Application Skills – Applications help companies with various functions such as communicating with customers, facilitating payments and much more. This means these applications store vital information and they need to be properly insulated from cyberthreats. Learning how these applications work and function will be incredibly important to succeeding in your role as a cyber operations specialist.
Critical Thinking Skills – Cybersecurity tasks will require you to analyze large sets of complicated data, and you will be expected to use this data to determine what could go wrong and how to properly mitigate cybersecurity threats, so practice with critical thinking is going to be incredibly important to your career.
Communication Skills – Clearly and concisely communicating the current status of cybersecurity networks will be critical to allowing the companies you work for to make informed business decisions about security threats, breaches, and policies.

Monitoring emerging threats to assess risk levels and to identify necessary actions used to protect sensitive data and assets.
Establishing and achieving security metrics to ensure cybersecurity systems and applications are operating properly and efficiently.
Implementing new security measures to further strengthen network safety and security.
Researching new cybersecurity methods, applications, and solutions to ensure that systems are capable of preventing sophisticated cyberattacks.

Analyze complex computing problems and apply relevant principles to properly secure important digital information.
Recognize problems early and make informed judgments in computing and security practices based on legal, technical, and ethical values.
Successfully apply security best practices and methods to maintain the integrity of operations regardless of the current threat environment.
Contribute real value in a team environment to help reach overall strategic goals.
Communicate complex information accurately and concisely in a wide variety of different business settings.

Mile2’s Certified Penetration Testing Engineer and Digital Forensics Designation.
CompTIA’s CyberSecurity Analyst+ (CSA+) Certificate.
GIAC’s Security Leadership Certification (GSLC).
(ISC2)’s Certified Information Systems Security Professional (CISSP).
EC-Council’s Certified Ethical Hacker (CEH).
GIAC Security Expert (GSE) Designation.

A #3 ranking on Top 10 Onlne Cyber Security Undergraduate Certificate Programs for 2021 from Security Degree Hub.
A #10 ranking on Best Online Cyber Security Degree Programs of 2022 from Intelligent.

A #1 ranking for Best Online Colleges & Schools in Colorado from Best Accredited Colleges.
A #1 ranking for Best Online Colleges in Colorado from Best Colleges.
A #10 ranking for Best Online Colleges for ROI from OnlineU.

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