What a cybersecurity specialist is and what they do

Every day we carry out dozens of banking operations, sign in to online services and buy things online. It has become an ordinary part of life, and few of us think about the mechanisms keeping our data safe. While users enter passwords and add cards without a second thought, cybersecurity specialists fight an invisible battle against threats. They stay in the industry's shadows, but it is their work that keeps the digital world from chaos. In this article we work out what such specialists do and why now is a good time to consider the profession.

The main areas of cybersecurity work

Cybersecurity is not merely defence against attack but a whole ecosystem in which each specialism holds a section of the line. Some people monitor infrastructure in SIEM systems and respond to incidents in a SOC; others run penetration tests, finding vulnerabilities in systems before attackers do. Others still analyse malicious code, work in forensics or design defences at the architectural level. Let's go through the key roles and what each involves.

Cybersecurity analyst

One of the key players in protecting tech infrastructure. They are responsible for monitoring and analysing security events, using SIEM systems and log analysis to identify suspicious activity. Another part of the work is investigating incidents: determining the source, finding ways to limit the damage and building a strategy to prevent future attacks, along with finding vulnerabilities in the infrastructure, testing systems for weak points and putting the necessary defences in place, including configuring IDS/IPS, WAF and other mechanisms. Finally, and no less importantly, they develop security policy and run training for employees, so that the company is protected on every side.

Hard skills:

• Experience with Windows, Linux and macOS, including administration, logs and security, and an understanding of operating system architecture and vulnerabilities
• A deep understanding of TCP/IP, HTTP(S), DNS, DHCP, FTP, SSH and other network protocols, and traffic analysis with Wireshark, Zeek, Tcpdump. Configuring and analysing firewalls and IDS/IPS (Snort, Suricata)
• Configuring and using Splunk, ArcSight, QRadar and the ELK Stack to monitor incidents
• A knowledge of cyber threats and attack methods: the OWASP Top 10, MITRE ATT&CK, red team and blue team tactics
• The fundamentals of reverse engineering and its tooling (IDA Pro, Ghidra, Radare2)
• Programming and scripting — Python, Bash, PowerShell for automating analysis and log processing, and SQL for working with databases
• Cryptography and data protection — encryption algorithms (AES, RSA, ECC), working with PKI, SSL/TLS and VPNs, along with hashing (SHA, MD5) and digital signatures
• Cloud fundamentals — security in AWS, Azure and Google Cloud, identity and access management and access control

Penetration tester (ethical hacker)

Finds and exploits vulnerabilities in systems, modelling the attacks real adversaries would mount. Their job is to test web applications, networks, infrastructure and cloud environments for resilience, finding the weak points before attackers do. Their responsibilities include running penetration tests, both external and internal, after which they produce recommendations for closing the vulnerabilities and write up their reports.
For this specialist it matters particularly to keep studying new attack vectors, so as to always have the most current methods to hand for closing weaknesses, and to know which threats appear daily and how to deal with them.

Hard skills:

• Network protocols — TCP/IP, HTTP(S), DNS, SMB, RDP, VPN
• An understanding of attack methods — the OWASP Top 10, MITRE ATT&CK, exploiting vulnerabilities (RCE, LFI, SSRF, SQLi, XSS, XXE)
• Working with Kali Linux — configuration, exploitation, automating attacks
• Command of penetration testing tooling — Metasploit, Burp Suite, Nmap, Wireshark, Impacket, BloodHound, SQLmap
• An understanding of Active Directory and Windows security — attacks on Kerberos, LLMNR/NBT-NS poisoning, pass-the-hash, golden and silver tickets
• Programming — Python, Bash, PowerShell, C, for writing exploits and automating tests
• Reverse engineering and bypassing defences — analysing binaries (IDA Pro, Ghidra), evading antivirus, EDR and WAF
• Social engineering and OSINT — gathering information, phishing attacks, exploiting the human factor
• Post-exploitation and C2 frameworks — Cobalt Strike, Empire, Sliver, Meterpreter
• Cloud security — testing AWS, Azure and Google Cloud, exploiting containers (Docker, Kubernetes)

SOC analyst

An analyst at a security operations centre is the first line of defence against attack. Their work covers monitoring network traffic, analysing suspicious processes on hosts and investigating incidents in real time. When an alert about a possible attack arrives, they are the one who checks the indicators of compromise against IOC databases, MITRE ATT&CK and threat intelligence platforms.

On finding malicious activity, a SOC analyst goes deeper into the investigation: analysing log files, extracting suspicious executables and working out the mechanics of the attack. If the threat is confirmed, they begin responding — blocking IP addresses, disabling compromised accounts in Active Directory or isolating infected machines through EDR systems. Their main goal is to minimise the time between a threat appearing and its being neutralised, so that attackers cannot get deeper into the network and do damage.

Hard skills:

• Working with SIEM systems — Splunk, QRadar, ELK Stack, Microsoft Sentinel
• Analysing logs and events — Windows event logs, Linux syslogs, NetFlow, firewall logs
• A knowledge of networking and protocols — TCP/IP, HTTP(S), DNS, SMB, RDP, FTP, SSH
• A good command of traffic monitoring and analysis tooling — Wireshark, Zeek, Tcpdump
• A knowledge of incident response — investigating attacks, triaging events, digital forensics
• A knowledge of MITRE ATT&CK and cyber threats — attackers' TTPs, IOCs, YARA rules, STIX/TAXII
• Working with IDS/IPS — Snort, Suricata, Palo Alto, Cisco Firepower
• Programming and automation — Python, Bash, PowerShell, regular expressions, SQL
• Malware analysis — static and dynamic analysis, Cuckoo Sandbox, Hybrid Analysis
• Cloud security — monitoring and protecting AWS, Azure and Google Cloud
• Working with EDR/XDR — CrowdStrike, Microsoft Defender ATP, SentinelOne, Carbon Black
• A knowledge of SOAR platforms — automating response, playbooks, Cortex XSOAR

Vulnerability research engineer

Looks for bugs in software, network protocols and cloud environments, finding the weak points attackers could use. They study the code where it is open, or take executables apart through reverse engineering. One part of the work is building proofs of concept for the vulnerabilities they find. Finding and closing security holes before attackers use them is, in short, their main job within a cybersecurity team.

Hard skills:

• Finding and exploiting vulnerabilities — RCE, LFI, SSRF, SQLi, XXE, XSS, heap and stack overflows
• Reverse engineering — analysing binaries with IDA Pro, Ghidra, Radare2, Binary Ninja
• Fuzzing and code analysis — AFL, Honggfuzz, Peach, DynamoRIO, CodeQL, Semgrep
• An understanding of low-level operating system mechanisms — Windows internals, Linux kernel exploitation
• Programming and scripting — C, C++, Python, assembly (x86/x64, ARM)
• Analysing protocols and network vulnerabilities — Wireshark, Scapy, writing proof-of-concept exploits
• Bug bounty and web application security — Burp Suite, ZAP, reconnaissance tooling (Amass, Subfinder)
• A knowledge of ways round protective mechanisms — ASLR, DEP, CFG, SEH, Control Flow Guard
• Cryptanalysis and attacks on encryption — analysing weak algorithms, attacking hashes and digital signatures
• Exploiting cloud and container environments — AWS, Azure, Docker, Kubernetes

Demand for cybersecurity specialists

There is a direct connection between the development of advanced technology, artificial intelligence included, and the need to protect it. This may surprise you, but according to a World Economic Forum report, demand for cybersecurity specialists and for AI experts in 2025 will be almost the same. That points to a sharp rise in vacancies in both fields in the near future.

But that is far from the only reason for the demand. Several enduring factors make cybersecurity experts indispensable to business and to government. Here are the most significant:

1. The rapid digitalisation of business and government, which is moving everything online. Companies hold enormous volumes of data on the network, including customers' personal information, financial reports and intellectual property. It is exactly that concentration of attractive data that makes them a target for attacks of every kind: phishing, DDoS and more.
2. The rising number of threats. Hacking groups, backed by private individuals and by states, keep refining their methods. DDoS attacks, ransomware and data breaches surprise nobody in cybersecurity any more, and the damage from them can run into billions. Cybercrime has stopped being a pastime for local hackers and grown into a global industry that cybersecurity specialists have to answer constantly.
3. The growing popularity of cloud technology and the Internet of Things. Smart devices often have weak defences, which makes them particularly vulnerable. Every company, small or large, needs professionals able to minimise such threats and keep systems resilient, and to prevent the reputational damage that also matters when dealing with users.
4. Changes in the law. Governments are introducing strict data protection rules such as GDPR in Europe or federal legislation in the USA. Breaching them means large fines, so part of a cybersecurity specialist's job is helping a business comply with the regulations.
5. A serious shortage of people. Cybersecurity demands high qualifications, but the number of trained specialists is not keeping pace with the growing threats. Universities have fairly limited capacity to train people in this field, and supply does not cover demand.

Career prospects and salaries

We have established that cybersecurity is in demand and that its importance will only grow. But there is a myth that the field offers limited room to advance. Let's dispel it: starting from analyst or junior penetration tester, you can develop towards head of information security, Chief Information Security Officer or specialist in designing defence strategy.

According to ZipRecruiter, a senior cybersecurity specialist can expect an average annual salary of around $121,000, which is roughly $10,080 a month before tax. The higher the position, the more interesting the market's offers: the average annual compensation for a CISO in America is $565,000, up from $550,000 in 2023 and $495,000 in 2022. The top 25 per cent of CISOs earn from $620,000 to more than $1 million a year, particularly in the technology sector, where average compensation reaches $721,000 (statistics from IANS and Artico Search). There is little need to say those figures are striking. Another considerable advantage in this field is the availability of vendor certifications from Microsoft, Cisco and many others. Holding them confirms your professional competence and improves your chances of finding work quickly.

So if you are thinking about a career or planning to change profession, now is an ideal time to study cybersecurity on the Cybersecurity Analyst course at PASV. Good salaries, stability and the ability to work across a wide range of industries make this profession not only relevant but genuinely attractive. The future of the digital world depends on those able to protect it — and that may well be you.