Cyber Security Skills Businesses Will Look For in 2017

The coming year brings new opportunities for businesses to grow and develop with the latest data tools, but with this advancement comes a series of risks and downfalls. Cyber security is a more pressing issue than ever, with hackers and cyber terrorists advancing all the time.

That’s why 2017 calls for experts with the most-needed set of skills, to ensure businesses can continue driving towards success without being taken down by a breach. Here are the top talents that companies need:

Cloud Data Management

The cloud has been a wonderful tool for businesses of every size, since it allows employees to access and share data from anywhere at any time. If you can get ahold of all the information you need from a tablet outside the office, just imagine how much productivity can be achieved. Unfortunately, this easy opening is just as easy for cyber attacks which means businesses are looking for experts skilled in monitoring and managing cloud security. Their task is to allow the easy transfer of data between computer servers but to monitor suspicious behavior and take quick action once a threat is recognized.

Cloud Security Development

While the Cloud Data Managers are watching the sheep, companies are looking for experts in security development to strengthen the fences. Cyber terrorists and freelance hackers are advancing their skills day by day, and that requires professionals who can not only identify and keep up with the new style of attacks, but think ahead and create security software that will bar future attacks as they advance.

Network Security Management

Businesses may think they’re safer if they keep to their own network, but some of the greatest data breaches and corruptions have come from within. While companies go to the cloud, they also need professionals with network security management skills to survey the on-goings within the network and pinpoint suspicious behavior, as well as develop on-point and immediate counter measures should malware or spyware successfully find its way into the system.

Detecting Cyber Intrusions

Cyber intrusions can come from every level of the company, from the innocent employee that leaves the system open to Shadow IT to the disgruntled worker who hands over valuable data to hackers. In addition to other security skills, this expert will need to be able to identify anomalies across the board, pinpointing sectors that are at risk for intrusion and identifying intrusions that have already been made. A skilled hacker can stay under the radar for months, making it hard to pick up their trail, so companies are seeking experts to identify when something isn’t right, and then make the necessary calls to solve the threat.

Developing More Advanced and Agile Security Software

Below the data sharing level of a company is the employee-by-employee access to data, where corruption can get in and may not cripple the company, but result in severe loss of productivity and profit. While network and cloud security experts are on their tasks, companies are also looking for those skilled in developing more advanced and agile security software to protect individual employees against the typical security threats that are growing more complicated over time. This software has to meld in seamlessly with the other security measures in place, while being agile enough to ally with other forms of data storage so it doesn’t hinder, but protects.

Risk Evaluation and Management

It’s impossible to have a perfectly secure system. If companies want flexibility and collaboration among their employees both online and offline, they need to accept some risks. That’s why they’re seeking out experts in risk evaluation and management; someone to see the entirety of the company’s needs and downfalls, decide what is too dangerous to leave to chance, what can be accepted, and then come up with contingency plans and specific measures to lower and manage the accepted risk. This kind of expert will need to make up with their own intelligence where the computer can’t keep up.

With these skills in high demand, the individuals who can lend their insights and fast reaction time to major businesses across every industry won’t need to search for work.