Information on Cybersecurity

1. CYBERSECURITY:
THE INDUSTRY OF THE PRESENT AND
FUTURE
PRESENTED BY JENNIFER BRAUN

2. WHAT IS CYBERSECURITY AND HOW DOES THE
DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY PLAN TO
ADDRESS THE CONCERNS RAISED BY THESE
ATTACKS?
Cybersecurity is the protection of hardware and software infrastructure. It
includes measures to prevent attacks and vulnerabilities that could take place
within these systems. With the ever increasing technological integration in
essential services, these protections must take place to protect our population
from harm.
The Department of Homeland Security endeavors to accomplish with their
mission over the next 5 years “to keep pace with the evolving cyber risk
landscape by reducing vulnerabilities and building resilience; countering
malicious actors in cyberspace; responding to incidents; and making the cyber
ecosystem more secure and resilient” (U.S. Department of Homeland Security,
2018)
(U.S. Department of Homeland Security, 2018)

3. EDUCATION AND
CAREER
DEVELOPMENT
National Integrated Cyber Education Research
Center (NICERC) “a not-for profit academic
development center to provide K-12 cybersecurity
curricula and hands-on professional development
for teachers at no cost” (U.S. Department of
Homeland Security, 2018)
National Security Agency (NSA) and National
Centers of Academic Excellence Program (CAE)
work together to support cybersecurity education
in 2 year, 4 year, and specialty programs.
National Initiative for Cybersecurity Careers and
Studies (NICCS) “serves as a national resource for
cybersecurity awareness, education, training, and
career opportunities” (U.S. Department of
Homeland Security, 2018)
Many programs exist to enforce,
educate, promote cybersecurity
careers so that we will have enough
skilled professionals to fill the need
that we certainly have and will have
as a nation. The emphasis placed on
these programs only goes to show
the importance of maintaining
secure technology infrastructure.
(U.S. Department of Homeland Security, 2018)

4. CAREERS IN
CYBERSECURITY
ARE AT ALL
LEVELS
Professionals are needed across
federal, state, local, and private sector
to be able to secure and protect the
nation.
These different areas are able to
collaborate when threats need to be
addressed. This allows all levels to
pool their resources and skill sets to
allow for the best coverage possible.
Seeing the advantage of utilizing skills
at all levels there are already
cooperative relationships established
to combat cybercrime activities.
(U.S. Department of Homeland Security, 2018)

5. CYBERSECURITY PROFESSIONALS ARE
NEEDED IN MANY AREAS
PREVENTION
Vulnerability Detection and
Assessment
Networks and Systems
Engineering
Software Assurance
REACTION
Cyber Incident
Response
Intelligence and
Investigation
ANALYSIS
Cyber Risk and Strategic
Analysis
Digital Forensics and
Forensics Analysis
The Department of Homeland Security is looking for professionals in the
following areas:
(U.S. Department of Homeland Security, 2018)

6. HIGH DEMAND FOR A PROTECTED FUTURE
• There are more than 500,000 jobs
in IT and cybersecurity that need to
be filled.
• Careers in IT have salaries almost
50% larger than private sector jobs
in other areas.
• Technology centered jobs are in
growing demand and it is expected
that the jobs demand will only
continue to grow.
(U.S. Department of Homeland Security, 2018)

7. CYBERSECURITY DEMAND ISN’T
DIMINISHING
• According to a report from
Cybersecurity Ventures, there will be
nearly 3.5 million cyber security jobs
unfilled by 2021 (Morgan, 2018).
• India and Israel are and will be in the
highest demand for cyber security
professionals (Morgan, 2018)
• “The workforce shortage has left CISOs
and IT security teams shorthanded while
the cyber attacks are intensifying.”
(Morgan 2018)
• It is expected that cyber security will
have a 0% unemployment rate for at
least the next 3 years. Even then the
demand is not expected to be met
(Morgan, 2018).
• Third party companies are emerging to
take over the responsibility of large
corporations and creating demand for
dynamic workforces to fill positions at
these companies (Morgan, 2018)

8. #BECYBERSMART
Even public education is being used to fill the
gaps in the cyber security environment.
#BeCyberSmart is a program aimed at educating
the public on various aspects of protecting
oneself from general cyber threats. It is just one
more way that the Department of Homeland
Security is trying to reduce cyber threats in the
US.
A few tips to the reduce risk of
becoming a victim of cyber crime:
1. Enable multi-factor authentication whenever
possible.
2. Make sure your connection via wi-fi is and
remains secure.
3. Don’t give your phone applications too much
access to your device.
4. Be aware of what you are sharing with
geotagging and social media which could
make you vulnerable.
5. Protect your devices with antivirus software
6. Vary and be creative with your passwords.
7. Do not open or access links from unknown
senders.(U.S. Department of Homeland Security, 2018)

9. FINAL TAKEAWAYS ABOUT CYBERSECURITY
• With so many areas of specialty and
need, many people should be able to
transition to a cybersecurity position
that compliments their current skillset,
especially as some jobs lose demand or
become obsolete.
• There seems to be a common
misconception about cybersecurity
professionals needing to be
programmers or engineers, however,
there is such a broad array of positions
in the field that many college majors
are needed to fill cybersecurity jobs.
• The demand is serious for cybersecurity
professionals and with education taking
time to catch up with that demand,
there is this scary gap that is leaving us
open and vulnerable to cybercrime.
• I feel the focus on STEM careers,
especially with a recent emphasis of
including women in the field is almost
crucial to being able to fill the needs of
our future cybersecurity demand.
• Personally, I have enjoyed the challenge
of changing careers and the prospects
available through cybersecurity is what
attracted me to the major.

10. REFERENCES
Morgan, S. (2018, June 13). Cybersecurity Jobs Report 2018-2021.
Retrieved from https://cybersecurityventures.com/jobs/
U.S. Department of Homeland Security. (2018, September 14).
Cybersecurity. Retrieved from
https://www.dhs.gov/topic/cybersecurity
U.S. Department of Homeland Security. (2017, September 27).
Homeland Security Information Network - Cybersecurity. Retrieved
from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NK-_sj4UHEc
U.S. Department of Homeland Security. (2012, July 24). Join DHS
Cybersecurity. Retrieved from
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qRjAk96B_t4