Cybersecurity Made a National Priority in the USA
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On August 25, 2021, the white house sponsored a summit of government and industry leaders on the topic of Cybersecurity. The white house indicated there are over a half million open job positions in the USA alone for this skill set. They also announced that the NIST (National Institute for Standards and Technology) would be creating a new framework to improve standards of practice. Many insurance firms pledged to have clients meet best practice standards before issuing cyber insurance. The big tech players such as IBM, Apple, Amazon, Microsoft, Google and others all are part of this effort and announced plans of their own to improve cybersecurity.
At IIBA there has been an effort to recognize the importance of cybersecurity and worked in co-operation with IEEE and staff from MIT and practitioners from around the world to identify how good analysis is so important to enabling the business to make good decisions and investments in key areas. Cybersecurity has implications from several aspects including governance issues for management, and also in the infrastructure and applications security areas.
Providing good business analysis in cybersecurity is now a major growth area. IIBA has seen whole business analysis teams dedicated to cybersecurity in many leading financial organizations. They are brought into key projects to take the cybersecurity perspective to assure that the right controls and security measures are built into the organization’s products and services, which is so critical as financial organizations drive to put more into online capabilities for customers.
Another industry with a very strong emphasis on cybersecurity is the electric energy business segment, where this key infrastructure area not only has business systems, but also control systems that are controlling the generation and distribution of electricity to homes and businesses. Disruptions in this segment can cripple the whole economy. Again, there is common practice in this industry to use business analysis professionals to develop the requirements and work with managers and users to interpret IT practices around cybersecurity to make meaningful, business understandable choices to balance security with other factors such as ease of use. Understanding cybersecurity options is critical to really add value to this for the organization.
Up your skills in cybersecurity
Cybersecurity is not just a specialty; it needs to be a core skill for every business analyst. The basics are essential to the whole community of practice. Security has to be designed into every level and not a “bolt on” to the perimeter of a network. It is part of every piece of the infrastructure of an organization, and part of every business process, and every business application workflow and system. To get this level of competency, training is essential. Getting the right kind of training to focus not just on the technical aspects, but on the business strategic, tactical and operational level is a must for every business analyst. Different levels of practice area and contextual knowledge apply to different organizations and different functions, so continual learning is a key to the ongoing success of any business analysis professional. This is even more applicable in the digital era.
Interested in cybersecurity concepts, best practices and core competencies used by leading technology experts? Watch this:
Become a cybersecurity analyst by getting certified
To remain relevant to modern organizations, especially those embracing digital transformation, business analysis professionals must learn to analyze cybersecurity. By getting a certification such as the Certificate in Cybersecurity Analysis, business analysis professionals can gain the skills they need to accurately analyze cybersecurity and prove their skills to current or potential employers.
The Certificate in Cybersecurity Analysis, offered by the IIBA and the IEEE Computer Society, provides the credibility of a joint certification and the opportunity to absorb key cybersecurity concepts and tools business analysis professionals need to demonstrate core competencies.
The enhanced online modules have been structured in a way that makes it easier to learn, easier to test your knowledge, and provides a clear path through cybersecurity knowledge areas. The courses are presented by two leading experts in cybersecurity analysis and the materials are aligned and based on ISO standards in cybersecurity.
Learn more about cybersecurity analysis and how it can help extend the reach of your career here.
About The Author:
Ken Fulmer has been a long-time senior IT executive with several major (Fortune 50) corporations holding roles as CTO and CIO. His primary skill is the ability to blend technology with business (people, process, technology, and data) and create strategic business outcomes. Ken has managed very large-scale enterprise programs and as Chief Technology Officer has been involved in technology in both information applications, architecture, and in more digital technology in manufacturing and retail.