8 skills needed to be a cyber security expert: Quick learning

Being a cyber security expert is a great way to ensure that you always have employment, because as the recent hackings of Ashley Madison and Talk Talk have shown, hackers and cyber criminals are always out there ready and waiting to pounce on their next victim. It’s cyber security experts who are inevitably called on not only to solve the problem, but also to provide commentary and analysis.

If you would like to be a cyber security expert, it is fair to say that you need to be a quick learner with an ability to digest and use information at a swift speed. This is because ‘black hat’ hackers are always looking at new ways to exploit the cyber world, and they are unfortunately very successful at doing so.

It’s also the case that new advances in technology are being made available on an almost daily basis, and as a cyber security expert, you cannot afford to fall behind on these new developments for either a second, lest you become redundant in your chosen field.

This means that if you want to be a cyber security expert, you’ll need to be prepared to spend a whole lot of time at your computer, picking holes in security software, writing code and looking for ways to fight the criminals at their own game.

You will not be able to rest on your laurels for even a second, and you will need to keep your wits about you if you are to come out victorious.

Obviously, if you learn your stuff and learn it well, there is a good chance that you will be able to find paid employment in the cyber security industry, so you will be paid for a lot of this learning, but it really is not the kind of job you can just leave behind at the door. Cyber criminals operate 24/7, and so must those who fight against them.