What Is A Security Researcher?
A security researcher explores different ways of exploiting vulnerabilities and uncovering weak points in an online system or network. As the name suggests, their job is based on countermeasures or the disabling of another system or program to expose its vulnerabilities. Security researchers are needed by big businesses and governments to protect their networks from infiltration. While some of them are military veterans, many are civilians who used hacking to get into a system.
Security researchers’ duties include analyzing network and computer systems for holes, viruses, Trojans, worms, and other potential threats. They are also responsible for defending the network from intruders. In large companies, security researchers are often required to conduct exercises on the company’s network to determine ways to prevent intrusions and hackers.
Another field that requires security researchers is cyber warfare, which refers to strategic or offensive computer attacks for sabotage or malicious damage. Some hackers engage in these activities to sabotage an IT system or obtain sensitive information. Cyber warfare is a severe threat, not only to business but also to privacy and government safety. There have been multiple cases of cyber warfare, including the recent Target Online hack, which led to the theft of credit card numbers.
One field that often needs a security researcher in the area of digital forensics. Cyber forensics experts are required to analyze digital evidence such as wiped hard drives, deleted emails, hard-drive records, secret text messages, voice samples, or any other type of digital data. Corporations need experts in this field, government agencies, insurance companies, and every level of the private sector to detect and stop intrusions and digital breaches. Unfortunately, financial systems are often the target of these cybercriminals. For example, the Target Online hack resulted in the theft of credit card numbers and the stealing of customer database information used to send spam emails to customers.
One other job that an information security specialist may need to do is monitor the health of a cloud system. A cloud system is an extensive network that allows users access to shared resources (such as application hosting), storage, and bandwidth. Cloud security policies are usually considered very important because an unsecured cloud system can be extremely dangerous to the safety of company data. Some types of threats to a cloud system include application downtime, security downtime, and system failure. If an unsecured cloud system is experiencing any of these problems, it may require a trained information security professional to help maintain the system and stop further damage.
Information security policies can be implemented globally, meaning that every company and every employee has a responsibility to follow the guidelines set forth by the IT security program. A cyber security policy is created when a company creates an IT policy outlining the guidelines for what they will do in a system failure or any other type of cyber attack. The goal of the policy is to protect the organization’s assets, as well as the information of the customers and users of the company’s website. In addition, the goal is to prevent any loss of data from a cyber-attack and protect the confidentiality of the company’s information.
An excellent example of how an information security specialist might fulfill this role would be the recent case of AWS’sosis. AWS’sosis was a recently established cloud security provider that was hacked. In the event of the hack, AWS had been using the Amazon Web Services APIs to access some of its data. However, the company was able to fight off the attack because its cloud security provider had created a response plan that allowed AWS to quickly recover the data and also mitigate the financial impact that the hack had on AWS.
This demonstrates the importance of having an IT professional verify the details of a data breach. As soon as a company notices that its system has been breached, it needs to review its existing cyber security controls and software. There may be simple fixes to the problems that allow a company to regain access to sensitive data. However, there may also be more complex efforts that include securing data assets and correcting coding errors. Having a qualified professional perform an independent review of a company’s cyber security controls will help ensure the safety of its most important assets.