Do you want to enhance your skills in cybersecurity or are you interested in IT Security as a profession? Well then, this blog is definitely meant for you.  

The advent of the internet led to the development of extensive cloud storage, the Internet of Things (IoT), and the digitisation of everything from a library to an entire business operating just online. With so much electronic data available at everyone’s disposal, it has gotten very easy for mischievous people to misuse this data. According to an analysis by McKinsey & Company, a 15% annual increase in costs related to cybercrime will reach $10.5 trillion annually in 2025. 

Table of Contents

1) Importance of Information Security 

2) A Career in Information Security 

3) List of top 10 Information Security Certifications 

  a) Certified Information Systems Security Professional (CISSP)  

  b) Certified Information Systems Auditor (CISA) 

  c) ISACA - Certified Information Security Manager (CISM) 

  d) CompTIA Security+ 

  e) EC- Council Certified Ethical Hacker (CEH) 

  f) GIAC Security Essentials Certification (GSEC) 

  g) Certified Cloud Security Professional (CCSP) 

  h) Certified in Risk and Information Systems Control (CRISC) 

  i) Systems Security Certified Practitioner (SSCP) 

  k) CompTIA Advanced Security Practitioner (CASP+) 

4) Conclusion

Importance of Information Security

Information Security, or Cybersecurity in other words is the practice of safeguarding all web-connected devices like computers, networks, smartphones, and electronic data from any damage, theft, loss, or unauthorised usage. With the increase in people-to-people connections on the web, even the interconnections of our devices are increasing from time to time. While this does seem like a boon many times, since it's made our lives easier, what remains daunting is our privacy remains at stake if this data goes into the wrong hands. Enhancing Cybersecurity has always been a never-ending race for organisations across the globe. With rising Cyber-theft incidents, it has been a challenge to keep up this defence. And no organisation, government or private sector, is immune to cyberattack.  

From individuals involved in Cyber espionage, today there are larger groups dedicated to this with multi-dollar enterprise models. According to an analysis by McKinsey & Company, a 15% annual increase in costs related to cybercrime will reach $10.5 trillion annually in 2025. Organisations are spending huge budgets and conducting more R&D for developing new models of covert cyberattacks. There has been an exponential increase in the number of cyber threats, from 10 million malware strains per year in 2002 to more than 130 million malware strains in 2023. 

After the Pandemic, Cybersecurity has become more threatened as people are working remotely. Additionally, the sharing and exchange of data over the cloud have led to more panic about crucial information going into the wrong hands. This crucial information can be anything from a try's military secret to even critical healthcare details, which hinders the privacy and security of people. 

A career in Information Security 

As per Dataprise, organisations across the globe spent £127 billion in 2021 for Cybersecurity and this is expected to grow by £1.5 trillion. This spending puts more pressure on the cybersecurity team to deliver more and more safeguards to the company and to develop newer models of cybersecurity. By, this we can understand that the need for IT security professionals is exponentially increasing with time and space. The average annual salary of an information Security professional is £50,394, according to Glassdoor.  

According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor statistics, the need for cybersecurity professionals is expected to grow by 33% between 2020 to 2030. Employers consider certifications very important when evaluating a candidate for an Information Security job role. Since the information security field is always evolving with the advent of newer technologies, you must be updated with the right kind of skills and certifications, to ensure that you don’t fall back. To train yourself with the right skills and choose the right certification for this may seem intimidating. But, do not get worked up, we have got you covered.  

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List of top 10 Information Security Certifications 

Here is the list of the most sought-after certification in Information Security, that can prove your knowledge in cybersecurity, making your portfolio a potential match for the best employers in the industry. 

Certified Information Systems Security Professional (CISSP) 

Offered by (ISC)², Certified Information Systems Security Professional (CISSP) is the most in-demand certification required by employers in cybersecurity. This certification can lead you to the highest paying jobs in the field, for example, you can make £1,71,253.31 as a Chief Information Security Officer. To qualify to take the CISSP exam, you are required to hold a prior experience of about five years or more in any of the two domains of the total eight. The best part is, that any internship and part-time work in these domains will be counted and a college degree of four years in computer science, will also be considered as one year of experience. Renewal of CISSP certification should be done after 3 years.

The eight cybersecurity domains are as follows: 

1) Security and Risk Management,  

2) Security Architecture and Engineering, 

3) Communication and Network Security,  

4) Security Assessment and Testing, 

5) Software Development Security, 

6) Security Operations,  

7) Asset Security, and 

8) Identity and Access Management

With this credential, you will learn to design, implement and manage cybersecurity programs. The CISSP exam requires you to score a minimum of 70% in order to pass the exam. And if you haven't got the relevant experience in the field, you still get to take the exam to become an Associate. After, this you will have six years in hand to build the experience required for full-time CISSP certification. The cost for the exam is 585 pounds in the UK and is administered by (ISC)² and authorised by PPC and PVTC Select Pearson VUE Testing Centers.

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Certified Information Systems Auditor (CISA)

One of the most sought-after certifications in the field. The certification in the Certified Information Systems Auditor (CISA) from ISACA provides you with five different choices for your specialisation in Information Security. These five specialisations are as follows.  

1) Auditing Information systems 

2) Protection of Information Assets 

3) IT operations, maintenance and support 

4) Management of IT 

5) Acquiring information systems, development and implementation 

This certification will help you demonstrate your skills in assessing vulnerabilities, reporting on compliance issues, and evaluating the effectiveness of organizations' security flaws, policies, and regulations. To earn this credential, you must have a prior experience of five years or more in relevant work such as auditing control and security. With this certification, you can make £1,04,327.50 as an IT Audit Manager.  

ISACA - Certified Information Security Manager (CISM) 

The third best certification in information security available today is Certified Information Security Manager by ISACA.  A study by Forbes ranked the CISM certification as third in the list of certifications that provide the highest salaries, with an impressive annual salary of 1,25,726.78 pounds in 2020. This certification is the best choice for somebody who wants a shift from a technical to a managerial role. To become CISM certified you must have at least a minimum of three years of experience as an Information Security Manager and overall experience of five years in Cybersecurity to be eligible for this certification. You can also use the waiver of two years if you have a college degree in the relevant subject of Information Security. After this certification, you will have the expertise required for risk management, program development, governance, and management

CompTIA Security+ 

This CompTIA Security+ certification can be ranked best if you wish to get a certification for beginning your career in Information Security. This will help you gain all the core skills required for any cybersecurity job role.  

The core skills include: 

A) Identify and respond to attacks, threats, and vulnerabilities 

B) Monitoring and securing cloud operations, mobile, and IoT environments 

C) Governance, risk management, and reporting compliance 

D) Knowledge of architecture and design

To pursue this certification, you need to prove your skills in troubleshooting. Prior certification in CompTIA Network+ is preferred for this certification, but it's not a mandatory prerequisite. The passing percentage is 75% for CompTIA Security+ certification. This certification will help you with roles such as Systems Administrator, IT auditor, Software developer, and Security engineer among many others where you earn an annual salary of 92,205 pounds. 

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EC- Council Certified Ethical Hacker (CEH) 

This credential is for all those at the intermediate level and is offered by the International Council of E-Commerce Consultants (EC-Council). This certification is best suitable for those who are pursuing careers in white hat hacking. Earn this certification, to get identified as a professional ethical hacker and to be recognized as someone with expertise in penetration testing, detecting vulnerabilities before attacks, vectors, cryptography, web server hacking, and SQL injection among many others.  

The EC-Council CEH exam requires you to have a prior experience in cybersecurity for two years or to complete the EC Council training. The passing score for this exam is usually between 60% to 80%. This certification mandates obtaining 120 credits for each three-year cycle. EC council provides both instructors led and online training for this CEH certification. 

After this credential is added to your portfolio, you will be one of the very best candidates for job roles such as Penetration tester, Cybersecurity engineer, Threat Intelligence analyst, Cyber incident analyst, cloud security, and cybersecurity engineer making you an average annual salary of 91,689 pounds.  

GIAC Security Essentials Certification (GSEC) 

This is another excellent certification for entry-level candidates who aspire to build a career in Cybersecurity and for those who have a limited background in security and network. This credential is offered by Global Information Assurance Certification (GIAC). Anyone who is an IT professional can benefit from adding this credential to their pre-equipped set of skills. Consider taking this exam, since there is no requirement of any prerequisites and you can easily stand out when applying for a new role in cybersecurity. The average passing score is 73% for the GSEC exam.  

 Post this certification, the following job roles, are open for you with an average annual salary of: 
 

Certified Cloud Security Professional (CCSP) 

The Certified Cloud Security Professional (CCSP) certification is offered by (ISC)² and administered by Pearson VUE. This certification ensures that you have proficient skills required for day-to-day Cybersecurity operations, cloud architecture, design, control, securing and ging data infrastructure. If you looking to make a shift from an IT to a cloud-based environment, this certificate is for you.  

To pursue this certification, you are required to have five years of full-time experience in Information Technology, where three years mandatorily have to be in Information security and one year in any of the six domains of Cloud security. You have to pass the CCSP exam, you need to score 700 out of 1000. The test is conducted in English, Chinese, German, Japanese, Korean, and Spanish.  

After achieving CCSP certification, you will have competent in 6 CCSP domains, which are Cloud Application Security, Legal and Compliance, Operations, Cloud Data Security, Cloud Platform and infrastructure security, Architectural Concepts, and Design requirements, all of which are required for a mid or advanced level professional in cybersecurity. According to PayScale, the salary of CCSP certification holders is 1.00.353 pounds  

Certified in Risk and Information Systems Control (CRISC) 

As the certificate’s name suggests after this certification you will be responsible for detecting and controlling risks in the IT organization and advising the organization on policy changes to avoid future vulnerabilities. This certificate is suitable for people in their mid-career in the IT or Information Security professions to upskill in Auditing, Risk identification, assessment, mitigation, and management. You can choose to specialize in any of these and excel to achieve better opportunities for your career growth. 

Systems Security Certified Practitioner (SSCP) 

This is one more certificate offered by (ISC)² for intermediate-level IT professionals. For SSCP certification you will need to have a minimum of one year of experience in one or more of the testing areas or you must have a college degree in a cybersecurity-related program. Post this certification, you would have learned to design, control, assess, and secure IT infrastructure of any vulnerabilities. And you can make an average annual earning of 86, 230 pounds.  

You will have these jobs roles open for you to apply, post the SSCP certification 

A) Security Consultant 

B) Systems Engineer 

C) Network Security Engineer 

D) Security Analyst 

E) Database administrator 

F) Systems Administrator 

CompTIA Advanced Security Practitioner (CASP+)

If you’re looking for a much-advanced version of the CompTIA certification, the CASP+ certification is for you. This certification is designed for advanced Security practitioners. It is best for candidates who wish to work in complex security networks. You will learn how to build security architecture and implement solutions for protection, governance, risk assessment and management, and cryptography among many other skills.  

This certification can lead to an advanced position in Information Security, namely as a Technical Lead Analyst, Application Security Engineer and Security among many other job roles.  There is no mandatory prerequisite for pursuing this certification, but 10 years of IT administration is preferred by CompTIA.

Conclusion

A career in cybersecurity is fascinating. With the right set of skills, which you can be achieved by pursuing the right certification, you can climb up the ladder in Information Security with ease. We hope you have been able to decide which is the next certification you want to pursue based on your stage in the Cybersecurity domain. Comment down below if you have any enquiries and we will get back to you. 

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