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Future of Cyber Security

This chapter discusses legal and ethical issues in cybersecurity, educational paths such as certifications, and career options. It describes three job search engines for cybersecurity roles and emphasizes the importance of acting legally and ethically as skills can be used for good or bad. Educational courses through Cisco Networking Academy are recommended to build foundational cybersecurity knowledge.

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Salman Shah
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251 views9 pages

Future of Cyber Security

This chapter discusses legal and ethical issues in cybersecurity, educational paths such as certifications, and career options. It describes three job search engines for cybersecurity roles and emphasizes the importance of acting legally and ethically as skills can be used for good or bad. Educational courses through Cisco Networking Academy are recommended to build foundational cybersecurity knowledge.

Uploaded by

Salman Shah
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as DOCX, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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Chapter 5: Will Your Future Be in Cybersecurity

This chapter covers the legal and ethical issues that arise when working
in cybersecurity. It also discusses educational and career paths for
cybersecurity. There are educational paths towards certifications that
you may wish to pursue with the Cisco Networking Academy. Some of
these certifications are prerequisites to Specialization Certificates in
many areas of networking, including cybersecurity.
The Networking Academy Talent Bridge page (netacad.com under
Resources) provides good information to help you write a great
résumé and prepare for a job interview. It also contains listings for
Cisco and Cisco Partner jobs. Three external Internet job search
engines are presented for you to explore.

Legal Issues in Cybersecurity

Cybersecurity professionals must have the same skills as


hackers, especially black hat hackers, in order to protect against
attacks. One difference between a hacker and a cybersecurity
professional is that the cybersecurity professional must work
within legal boundaries.
Personal Legal Issues
You do not even have to be an employee to be subject to
cybersecurity laws. In your private life, you may have the
opportunity and skills to hack another person’s computer or
network. There is an old saying, “Just because you can does not
mean you should.” Keep this in mind. Most hackers leave
tracks, whether they know it or not, and these tracks can be
followed back to the hacker.
Cybersecurity professionals develop many skills which can be
used for good or evil. Those who use their skills within the legal
system, to protect infrastructure, networks, and privacy are
always in high demand.
Corporate Legal Issues
Most countries have some cybersecurity laws in place. They
may have to do with critical infrastructure, networks, and
corporate and individual privacy. Businesses are required to
abide by these laws.
In some cases, if you break cybersecurity laws while doing your
job, it is the company that may be punished and you could lose
your job. In other cases, you could be prosecuted, fined, and
possibly sentenced.
In general, if you are confused about whether an action or
behavior might be illegal, assume that it is illegal and do not do
it. Your company may have a legal department or someone in
the human resources department who can answer your
questions before you do something illegal.
International Law and Cybersecurity
The area of cybersecurity law is much newer than cybersecurity
itself. As mentioned before, most countries have some laws in
place, and there will be more laws to come.
Ethical Issues in Cybersecurity

In addition to working within the confines of the law,


cybersecurity professionals must also demonstrate ethical
behavior.
Personal Ethical Issues
A person may act unethically and not be subject to prosecution,
fines or imprisonment. This is because the action may not have
been technically illegal. But that does not mean that the
behavior is acceptable. Ethical behavior is fairly easy to
ascertain. It is impossible to list all of the various unethical
behaviors that can be exhibited by someone with cybersecurity
skills. Below are just two. Ask yourself:

 Would I want to discover that someone has hacked into my


computer and altered images in my social network sites?

 Would I want to discover that an IT technician whom I


trusted to fix my network, told colleagues personal
information about me that was gained while working on my
network?

If your answer to any of these questions was ‘no’, then do not


do such things to others.
Corporate Ethical Issues
Ethics are codes of behavior that are sometimes enforced by
laws. There are many areas in cybersecurity that are not
covered by laws. This means that doing something that is
technically legal still may not be the ethical thing to do. Because
so many areas of cybersecurity are not (or not yet) covered by
laws, many IT professional organizations have created codes of
ethics for persons in the industry. Below is a list of three
organizations with Codes of Ethics:

 The CyberSecurity Institute (CSI) has published a code of


ethics that you can read here.

 The Information Systems Security Association (ISSA) has a


code of ethics found here.

 The Association of Information Technology Professionals


(AITP) has both a code of ethics and a standard of conduct
found here.

Cisco has a team devoted exclusively to ethical business


conduct. Go here to read more about it. This site contains an
eBook about Cisco’s Code of Business Conduct, and a pdf file. In
both files is an “Ethics Decision Tree”, as shown in the figure.
Even if you do not work for Cisco, the questions and answers
found in this decision tree can easily be applied to your place of
work. As with legal questions, in general, if you are confused
about whether an action or behavior might be unethical,
assume that it is unethical and do not do it. There may be
someone in your company’s human resources or legal
department who can clarify your situation before you do
something that would be considered unethical.
Search online to find other IT-related organizations with codes
of ethics. Try to find what they all have in common.
Cybersecurity Jobs

Many other businesses and industries are hiring cybersecurity


professionals. There are several online search engines to help
you find the right job in cybersecurity:

 ITJobMatch – The ITJobMatch search engine specializes in IT


jobs of every kind, all over the globe.

 Monster – Monster is a search engine for all types of jobs.


The link provided goes directly to cybersecurity jobs.

 CareerBuilder – CareerBuilder is also a search engine for all


types of jobs. The link provided goes directly to
cybersecurity jobs.

These are just three of many different online job search sites.
Even if you are just starting your education in IT and
cybersecurity, looking at job search engines is a good way to
see what kinds of jobs are available, all over the world.
Depending on your interest in cybersecurity, different types of
jobs can be available to you, and they can require specialized
skills certifications. For example, a penetration tester, also
known as an ethical hacker, searches and exploits security
vulnerabilities in applications, networks and systems. To
become a penetration tester, you will need to gain experience
in other IT jobs, such as security administrator, network
administrator, and system administrator. Each one of these
jobs requires its own set of skills that will help you become a
valuable asset to an organization.
Our hope is that this course has peaked your interest in
pursuing an education in IT and cybersecurity and then
continuing on to an exciting career! The Cisco Networking
Academy provides many courses for you to continue your
education in Cybersecurity. We encourage you to enroll in the
next course, Cybersecurity Essentials, to continue to build
strong foundational knowledge in Cybersecurity. Check out the
Cisco Networking Academy and see a list of courses that are
available. Furthermore, you can also access career
resources available in Cisco Networking Academy.
Just for fun, click here to read a graphic novel about a
cybersecurity superhero!

Chapter 5: Will Your Future Be in Cybersecurity?

This chapter began by discussing the legal and ethical issues that professionals in cybersecurity commonly face. It
also presented educational and career paths for those who wish to become cybersecurity professionals. Three
external Internet job search engines are presented for you to explore.

If you would like to further explore the concepts in this chapter, please check out the Additional Resources and
Activities page in Student Resources.

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