How to become a Cyber Security professional in 2025

The latest Global Threat Analysis Report predicts that the rapid expansion of AI will lead to an increase in zero-day exploits and deepfake scams, as hackers learn about large language models and generative adversarial networks.

To keep up with this human level of creativity, demand for Cyber Security (or, for our readers in the United States, Cybersecurity) professionals is on the rise.

Could this career be for you? How can you become a Cyber Security professional?

Let's dive in.

What types of Cybersecurity professionals are there?

Cyber Security professionals protect an organisation's IT systems from intrusions such as Malware, Denial-of-Service (DoS) Attacks, Phishing, Identity-Based Attacks, IoT-Based Attacks, and more.

Depending on the company's structure and industry, Cyber professionals can work in small teams or as part of large, highly specialised ones.

Popular Cyber Security job titles include:

• Security Administrator
• Penetration Tester (or Pentester for short)
• Cloud Security Engineer
• Computer Forensics Analyst
• Cyber Security Architect

Many professionals also work as Cyber Security Consultants.

(For a more in-depth look at this year's top Cyber Security jobs, check out this blog.)

What does a Cyber Security professional do?

Cyber Security professionals prevent, detect and manage cyber threats. They are keen, persistent problem-solvers with great attention to detail and the critical ability to keep calm under pressure.

Typical job responsibilities include:

• Monitoring a company's networks
• Monitoring attacks and intrusion detection
• Managing security controls
• Managing incident response
• Analysing cyber security threats
• Monitoring and investigating cyber security breaches
• Documenting and reporting on cyber security breaches
• Testing security solutions and cyber security software
• Managing Enterprise security architecture
• Managing data security and storage
• Fixing system vulnerabilities
• Hacking
• Gathering threat intelligence
• Creating and managing a security architecture
• Defining access privileges to protect systems
• Staying up-to-date with the latest cyber security threats
• Collaborate with law enforcement
• Developing cyber security plans and policies
• Helping to create a cyber-aware culture at work

What makes a good Cyber Security professional?

Cyber Security duties vary from monitoring company systems like a sentinel to creating cyber security policies, educating your colleagues about cyber risk, and, sometimes, even working with law enforcement.

Competent Cyber Security professionals have a mix of strong technical skills, communication skills, and the drive to constantly keep up-to-date with tech developments. Malevolent actors learn constantly to diversify their tactics; Cyber Security professionals have to be one step ahead.

Important technical skills include:

• Operating Systems (Windows, iOS, Linux)
• Networking and Network Security
• Programming languages (Python, JavaScript, PHP, Perl, HTML, SQL)
• Incident Handling & Response
• Cyber Forensics
• Risk Analysis
• Cloud Computing and Cloud Security
• AI, Blockchain, the Internet of Things (IoT)
• Cyber Security Law

How can you become a Cyber Security professional?

Here are 4 steps to becoming a Cyber Security professional.

1. Achieve a strong foundation in IT

Many Cyber Security professionals study Computer Science or Cyber Security at university. However, given the rapid advances in tech and the fact that employers prize hands-on experience over theoretical knowledge, career paths into Cyber Security have diversified in recent times.

The most important thing is to develop an in-depth knowledge of Computer Operating Systems, Hardware, Software, and Networking.

University is an option, but, if it doesn't work for you, consider becoming an IT apprentice to develop Cyber skills on the job. 

For example, at Firebrand, we offer Level 3 and Level 4 Apprenticeships that can help you develop a solid foundation in IT and specialise in Cyber Security early on.

Our apprentices achieve industry-recognised IT certifications during their programme. For example, while taking Level 4 Cyber Security Apprenticeships, they can take the EC-Council Certified Incident Handler® (E|CIH®), Certified Network Defender® (CND®), and CompTIA Network+, among others, and become certified.

These certifications attest to their knowledge and help them create a solid Cybersecurity CV.

2. Gain relevant professional experience

The next step in becoming a competent Cyber Security professional is to get work experience, either by applying for an entry-level job in IT, getting a placement during university, or, as explained above, doing an apprenticeship.

The right entry-level role can expose you to Cyber Security tasks and help you get accustomed to specific equipment, Cybersecurity software, and your employer's processes and procedures related to Network Security, Threat Response, Weakness Management, and more.

At this point, you'll be able to assess what you would most like to do and specialise. For example, you may choose to focus on Ethical Hacking, Penetration Testing, Incident Handling, Data Protection, Cyber Security Forensics, or other facets of this process.

3. Achieve industry-recognised certifications

As you learn more about Cyber Security and decide to specialise, you need to work on your Cyber Security CV.

Cyber Security professions are highly technical and hands-on; you need to prove you know exactly what to do in certain scenarios. The most time-efficient way to achieve this is to pursue industry-recognised Cyber Security certifications.

For example, the vendor-neutral certifications Security+ and Network+ created by CompTIA are ideal starting points, which is why they're embedded into our Cyber Security apprenticeships.

Depending on your area of interest, you may choose to follow up with:

• EC-Council's Certified Network Defender® (CND®) for Network Defense; if your employer uses a particular system, such as Cisco, a more specialised certification such as the Cisco Implementing and Operating Cisco Security Core Technologies, which combines CCNP Security and CCIE, would be very helpful;
• EC-Council's Certified Incident Handler® (ECIH®) to specialise in Incident Handling;
• CREST Practitioner Intrusion Analyst (CPIA) for Intrusion Analysis;
• The Certified Ethical Hacker® (CEH®) certification from EC-Council if you're interested in Ethical Hacking;
• Certifications such as the CREST Registered Penetration Tester (CRT) for Penetration Testing; 
• CertNexus Cyber Secure Coder™ (CSC™) if you're interested in coding;
• EC-Council's Computer Hacking Forensic Investigator Certification® (CHFI®) for Cyber Forensics;
• CompTIA Cybersecurity Analyst (CySA+) certification or CREST Practitioner Security Analyst (CPSA) if you'd like to focus on Cyber Security Analysis;
• To specialise in Cloud Security, the ISC2 Certified Cloud Security Professional® (CCSP®) certification or platform-specific certifications such as the AWS Certified Security Specialty for Amazon;
• For Data Protection, you could specialise in data privacy for your region (e.g., IAPP CIPP/E® - Certified Information Privacy Professional: Europe®) or data management, such as IAPP Certified Information Privacy Manager® (CIPM®);
• And, finally, if you'd like to become a Cyber Security Manager, the BCS Certificate in Information Security Management Principles (CISMP) or the ISACA Certified Information Security Manager® (CISM®) would be very useful.

4. Stay up-to-date with the industry

As always in tech, but even more useful for Cyber Security, you have to keep up-to-date with the latest threat intelligence and industry advancements.

Follow blogs such as:

• IT Security Guru
• Security Weekly
• The Hacker News
• Dark Reading
• Krebs on Security,

the National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC) website, and trusted experts such as our very own SME, Phil Chapman, and network with Cyber Security companies and professionals on LinkedIn.

Good luck! #BeAFirebrand

Achieve your Cybersecurity certification with Firebrand

Cyber Security is a lucrative job with many vacancies worldwide. Do you have the skills to benefit from this trend and position yourself for a successful career?

At Firebrand, we help people become competent, confident, and certified fast. 

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