Although down from its peak, the number of cybersecurity job openings in the United States remains strong. cyber seeka joint initiative of the National Institute of Standards and Technology's NICE program, Lightcast and CompTIA, still lists 448,000 open security jobs across the private and public sectors.
Although the majority of these open cybersecurity positions are entry-level or mid-level, there remains a significant need for technology talent to fill more advanced-level positions that fall into the executive level. For example, the role of cybersecurity architect continues to gain traction, with nearly 5,000 positions open in the United States, according to Cyberseek data.
Whether a technology professional is early in their career or mid-career, preparing for a more advanced career is important, especially for those looking to climb the management ladder. One of the reasons why the role of cybersecurity architect is so appealing to so many people is that this particular job combines business acumen with technical know-how to help ensure the security of your organization, protect your data, and Compliance is to comply with regulations.
This type of job is attractive to technical professionals who are not only tech-savvy, but also interested in the business side with an eye toward larger management and executive roles.
“Cybersecurity architects need to speak at a business and technical level. This is a balancing act of understanding multiple technical domains and business processes. Architects live in an unknown world. We need to translate that unknown into something clearly understood and actionable,” said Chris Morales, CISO at security firm Netenrich. “Most importantly, it requires the ability to clearly communicate and document in detail the various technical and business components that can be used by multiple parties who act on this information.”
For technology and security professionals to start preparing for advanced careers as cybersecurity architects, cyber professionals and industry insiders are looking to help potential candidates compete and get noticed by recruiters. We have weighed up what skills, knowledge, certifications, and educational backgrounds are required.
Cybersecurity Architect: What Does It Mean?
There is no exact definition of a cybersecurity architect, as organizations have different and unique security needs. In addition to cybersecurity architect, this position is also known as information security architect, security architect, IAM architect, and principal architect, according to Cyberseek.
Overall, cybersecurity architects are responsible for key parts of an organization's day-to-day security. This includes protecting your network and internal data, as well as anticipating and preparing for cyber threats such as malware, phishing, ransomware, and data breaches.
Cybersecurity architects are also likely to attend frequent meetings with managers, staff from other departments, or their own IT teams, where they must listen to the needs and concerns of other departments. , and may spend time on the phone with vendors and technology experts outside the organization.” augusta universitya public research university with an extensive cybersecurity program.
In the open recruitment list for Cyber Security Architect, U.S. Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) states that one of the primary responsibilities of this job is “Cybersecurity of systems and networks with multi-level security requirements, or requirements for processing data at multiple classification levels that primarily apply to government agencies. He pointed out that “developing/integrating designs.”
The role of cybersecurity architects has traditionally been undervalued, but these positions are becoming increasingly important to organizations. as the cost of recovering from a data breach. or ransomware attack Agndipta Sarkar, vice president of CISO advisory at ColorTokens, said, “It will increase revenue and impact the bottom line.”
“By investing in a cybersecurity architect, organizations can prevent costly breaches and protect critical digital infrastructure, whether operating in the cloud or not. Ideally, this position should be filled by mid- to senior-level experts in cybersecurity and digital business,” Sarkar told Dice. “A cybersecurity architect must have a deep understanding of all operational aspects of a digital computing environment and how they interact. The important thing is that we have spent a significant amount of time, about eight to 10 years, studying how it operates in the environment.”
Because the cybersecurity architect role sits between the technology and business sides of an organization, there is no clear starting point and candidates will eventually need to master each side, Morales added. .
“Cybersecurity architects require learning multiple functions of a business and are by definition a senior role. There is no direct path to architecture, but a certain level of natural curiosity and the ability to work independently is required. ,” Morales told Dice.
Cybersecurity Architect: Skills, Certifications, and Salary
Because Cyber Security Architect is a senior-level position, the starting salary for this job is higher than average, with Cyberseek's average salary being $149,344.
Cyberseek pointed out that employers are looking for educational backgrounds for those looking for the job. Forty-seven percent of organizations require a bachelor's degree and 53 percent require a graduate degree.
Beyond education, Cyberseek's data lists five certifications that recruiters and organizations look for in candidates. These include:
For companies seeking expertise, microsoftoffers its own certification.
Recruiters are also looking for candidates with specific skill sets. The most desirable ones are:
- cyber security
- IT security architecture
- computer science
- Identity and access management
- Vulnerability
- certification
- Amazon Web Services
- microsoft azure
- Application security
Another skill that Morales believes will help create a good cybersecurity architect resume is understanding the following concepts: Subsa– A methodology for developing risk-driven enterprise IT architectures.
“Understanding and certification in architectural frameworks like SABSA is helpful. Understand the development process, IT practices, and modeling,” he added.
Cybersecurity Architect: How to get started
Although there is no specific career path for technical professionals to land a cybersecurity architect job, the field is wide open enough for people with a variety of experience and expertise to work toward their goals.
“Cybersecurity architects start in one of the preparatory roles, learning about security monitoring, moving on to triage alerts, and understanding vulnerabilities and how to remediate them,” says Co-founder and CEO of a security company. said Chief Revenue Officer Omri Weinberg. DoControl told Dice. “From there, architects identify avenues of interest and work toward specific areas to further develop their expertise. Areas that architects focus on include cloud infrastructure or network design, application architecture, , penetration testing, forensics, etc.
Cybersecurity architect promotions can come from the traditional fields of infrastructure or applications, where engineers move from one of their traditional roles to the cybersecurity industry and use their skills to defend against cybercriminals. Weinberg added:
Weinberg added that those seeking educational opportunities and additional certifications can gain the skills to start on the path to a career as a cybersecurity architect. However, he noted that much of the know-how comes from hands-on learning.
“While there are training classes and certifications for each step of the architect's path, many architects are trained in the field and have an aptitude for understanding complex environments at the deepest level,” Weinberg said. I am. “This is why cybersecurity his architecture is always a position in high demand.”
A cybersecurity architect's responsibilities include planning, designing, and driving cyber defense specifications for digital infrastructure, so technical professionals seeking this position will be able to identify known and emerging cyber threats, The focus needs to be on containment and protection, ColorToken's Sarkar said.
This requires technical experts to master a variety of systems. These include traditional IT networks and infrastructure, industrial control systems, or cloud environments.
“It is important for all cybersecurity architects to be aware of the context of their digital environment and understand the potential impact of any changes on its defensibility,” Sarkar said. “Although it may not be possible to conduct cybersecurity assessments and tests directly, organizations should seek input when such reports become available. The real value of this role is , in its ability to guide organizations to make appropriate investments to minimize the impact of cyberattacks.”
Lionel Litti, chief security architect at Menlo Security, says understanding how systems work is critical to the role of a cybersecurity architect.
“This allows us to quickly and deeply understand what is being designed, see challenges from a system builder's perspective, and participate in changing aspects of the architecture,” Litty told Dice. “This means more than just pointing out flaws.”
