Why Continuous Learning is Critical in Cyber Defense

Dec 16, 2024 Reading time : 5 min

Cyber risks today are way more sophisticated and dangerous than they were 20 years ago. Have you wondered if no cybersecurity professional evolved with time, and we were still stuck with the security infrastructure as it was two decades ago?

This scenario not only sounds horrible but also triggers the thought of why staying updated with time is extremely necessary for digital safety and survival (Field Effect). I have also started my journey to learn cybersecurity as much as I can as a common netizen. But, this made me realize that continuous learning plays a much bigger role in moving on.

Hence, as far as I have learned about the subject, I am going to share it in this article. Stick till the end and join the race to become safer on the internet.

Building Expertise Through Advanced Education

Higher education in this field is the best way you can keep up with the time. For instance, an online masters degree in cybersecurity regularly updates its curriculum with more advanced and latest technologies.

While studying in this domain, you can scale up your knowledge on how to stay away from any kind of cybercrime. You can also capitalize on your learning as an average cybersecurity engineer in the USA makes around $130,000 annually.

Whereas, if you are going to open a firm in this domain, then the sky is your only limit. Various universities from around the globe (including the USA, the UK, Canada, Australia, and many more) are ready to enroll you in their program.

The Role of Threat Intelligence in Adaptive Cybersecurity

Before fighting the cyber threat, it’s important that your system is able to find that in time and identify the risk. After identifying, responding in time is the next big event you need to focus on. To master this, threat intelligence is integrated into incident response. The following are some benefits that you enjoy in the result:

Proactive threat detection: Threat intelligence analyses even the smallest suspicious activity in the network and report it as soon as possible. Also, it keeps on monitoring the system at all times so that there is no change possible.
Better decision-making: This technology brings the information of TTPs of threat actors, which helps the team to make the right decision with respect to the event.
Incident prioritization: Threat intelligence is capable of sorting out the security risks in a hierarchy based on the severity of the risk they hold.

Along with these broad benefits, there are some other benefits as well that keep on adding to the experience.

Cybersecurity Trends: Staying Ahead of the Curve

Cybersecurity is never the same as ever. Since the risks are getting more dangerous and frequent, cybersecurity is also evolving. As a result, the following are some trends happening in the domain:

Internet of Things: The Internet of Things is a major tech advancement in current times and is more prone to threat than mobile phones and computers. These devices include wearables like Smartwatches, home appliances like smart speakers, etc. Hence, the infrastructure for their security is also evolving as they are getting adopted by the population.
Social Engineering Attacks: Any cyberattack that includes human interaction is called a social engineering attack. For instance, cyberattack through a phishing email. I have personally experienced how advanced these phishing mails and calls have become that they almost feel like real. Hence, the domain is also working towards eliminating as many campaigns as possible.
Data Privacy: Data privacy has been given a main priority while developing a safety net for online users. Regulations like GDPR, HIPAA, etc. are all making efforts to make internet streaming safer and more comfortable.

The Human Element in Cyber Defense

Despite all the sophisticated and modern technical infrastructure, the team of people makes the real difference. The decision they make in that situation is what matters. The following are some ways the human elements play a role in cyber defense:

Vulnerability: While they play a crucial role in cybersecurity, they may also create vulnerability. Things get worse when the team members prioritize comfort over responsibility. However, things can go the other way as well.
Strength: When everything tech aspect fails to make its move, human employees take charge and perform operations manually. This way, everything can be made back to under control.
Risk: Again, social engineering is a big risk where humans can frame a trap of phishing or a scam. This can cost heavily on both businesses and individuals.

Did You Know?
Around 68-95%, of cyber breaches can be attributed to human error.

A Lifelong Commitment to Security

Finally, the cybersecurity is a great area to pursue continuous learning. Continuous learning in this area is also important to make sure that new cyberattacks in the domain are always tackled with expertise. Whereas, from the job or business perspective, cybersecurity is also a great opportunity to make money.

Overall, the digital landscape is evolving. So, you need to keep up with the trend and find your way in.