Cloud security experts wanted: You can be one of them

A recent study from Boston Consulting Group and analytics firm Faethm has attempted to predict how digitization and technology will upend labor markets in Australia, Germany, and the United States in the next decade, and has concluded that labor shortfalls will be considerable.

“In all three countries, the professions with the biggest looming shortfalls are computer-related occupations and jobs in science, technology, engineering, and math,” the analysts noted.

And while last year, for the first time in several years, the cybersecurity workforce gap has been reduced, the global shortage of cybersecurity professionals is still massive: over three million positions remain unfilled because there’s no knowledgeable individuals fit to fill them.

Cloud computing security is far and away the most in-demand skillset, (ISC)² found, with 40% of respondents saying that they plan to develop it over the next two years.

It’s easy to understand why: with enterprise IT infrastructure, applications and data increasingly being moved to the cloud, IT security must move to the cloud as well. Since cloud security has its own specific body of knowledge, those who are able to acquire it (and upgrade it as time passes), can practically count on a stable and well-paying career.

A shortcut to vendor-agnostic cloud security knowledge

Between the different cloud service and deployment models, the threats and challenges accompanying each, the many available security and privacy controls and the fact that the security responsibility is shared between the providers and the users, there’s much to learn and know.

Security professional worthy of that label will acquire some of this knowledge through osmosis, by reading up and researching the aspects that pique their interest, and by picking the brains of those who know more than them on the subject. However, to gain a thorough grounding of the principles and best practices of cloud security, a specialized certification of recognized quality such as (ISC)² Certified Cloud Security Professional (CCSP) is a good choice for many reasons:

• It covers the entire breadth of the cloud security field (Cloud Concepts, Architecture and Design; Cloud Data Security; Cloud Platform and Infrastructure Security; Cloud Application Security; Cloud Security Operations; and Legal, Risk and Compliance)
• It provides expert instruction, learning activities, case studies and real-world scenarios
• The earned certification signals to employers that you undoubtedly have the knowledge they seek and allows you to develop more career opportunities.

As more and more enterprises board the cloud train and the train picks up speed, the time is right for cybersecurity professionals to hop on board, as well.

While cloud security training offered by cloud vendors focuses on knowledge needed to securely configure their specific platform and avoid costly mistakes, certification such as CCSP offers a broader (and vendor-agnostic) perspective on cloud computing and security.

With distance learning being a necessity due to the pandemic, (ISC)² offers CCSP online instructor-led training – Ideal for those who prefer live sessions that keep them accountable and are motivated by a direct connection with an instructor.