I’ve been around emerging technologies for many years. I’ve been working both inside and outside with many of the leading technology organizations for almost thirty years. I’d like to believe that I’ve seen it all, or at least most. Every once in a while, a larger business wave is overtaken by an emerging technology trend that just disrupts everything it touches. I believe cybersecurity is such a trend.
Cybersecurity is trending. Let me share why and how you might take advantage of it to improve your career. My friend Natasha Bishop of IBM shared these numbers and ideas to consider about how experts predicted that “continued cyber breaches would lead to a spike in cybersecurity spending.” Many of us didn’t think we would not only hear about, but feel the impact of that prediction as 2016 was marked by breach after breach after breach – an $80 million bank heist, 500 million compromised Yahoo emails, a Dyn DDos attack, and, now, 1 billion more Yahoo accounts.
Reports from Juniper Research say the cost of data breaches will rise “to $2.1 trillion globally by 2019, increasing to almost four times the estimated cost of breaches in 2015!” With the cost of a breach and the impact being so far reaching, organizations, manufacturers, governments, and citizens alike must implement better strategies to prevent a cyber-attack.
Now let me share what has happened since I shared this information in January, 2017. I’ve received many calls and emails from people who want to know more about what’s happening in the field of cybersecurity! Several of the notes I received also asked about information security trends.
This is not unusual, I get a few notes from readers from almost every blog I write. These inquiries were very specific about what they wanted to know. Many of them came from IT professionals who I’ve worked with over the past 30 years. Some came from friends who are parents who have children in high school or are going to college. I’ve never seen such an overwhelming response to a blog I’ve shared.
This week alone I’ve been invited to be involved in three separate Tweet chats with large global followings including Tuesday’s Securing the Power Grid: How do we ensure that our power grids are secure?
Tomorrow, you can learn all about IoT #security in @IoTiNews’ upcoming chat — don’t miss out (and don’t get pwned)! Use hash tag #IoTBizChat on Twitter at 3:00 EST on the February 23.
And finally, a Twitter Chat on the future of Information Security, where you can find more information here. I was invited to be part of this great global panel. It should be a great opportunity for you to learn more about information security and cybersecurity.
I believe something is going on in the technology job market. I want to share what I’m learning in real time. What does this mean to you? To me, it means that if you’re working in information technology today, you might want to consider a career working in cybersecurity. In many situations, you have the key elements in place to go back and get a degree or certification in cybersecurity. There is a real shortage of talent in this specialty. I’m not compensated for sharing this information, but think many of you would find it interesting.
While many other information technology salaries are softening, or being eliminated altogether, cybersecurity looks like a field that is really at its early stages and will continue to evolve. This could be a great opportunity for you to leverage your background and get involved in an exciting, growing field.
If you’re in high school or even in college there’s still time to get in this emerging field. For the foreseeable future, I believe these new roles will continue to evolve and change. As long as there are criminals and dishonest people in the world, we will have cybercrime.
Want to learn more about future of information security? You can attend Manage Engine’s chat on 12:00 EST on Friday, 2/24. If you would like more information you can find me at the
Twitter Chat on the future of Information Security. Join me this Friday! You can even register here and you will get notices on this chat, and future similar events that can help you better understand this emerging field.
Don’t worry, we will be sharing additional information about information security and cybersecurity. I will share what I learn from the event in the coming weeks and months.
Stay tuned!