Jul 28 • General discussion
Cybersecurity is broad
Before you start thinking “ethical hacker” or “SOC analyst,” pause.
The real first step? Understanding the domains, the core areas of cybersecurity that guide everything from career paths to certifications.
Let’s break them down 🧵
By the end of this breakdown, you’ll know:
1. The 8 key domains of cybersecurity
2. The careers tied to each one
3. The skills & certifications you’ll need
4. Where YOU might fit best in the cybersecurity ecosystem.
1. Security & Risk Management
This is the backbone of cybersecurity.
You’ll work on policies, governance, compliance, legal issues, risk frameworks, and ethics.
Think: CISOs, GRC analysts, compliance officers.
Start with ISO 27001 or NIST frameworks.
2. Asset Security
Here, you classify, protect, and manage data assets. It’s about understanding where your data lives, who owns it, how it's stored, and how it's destroyed.
Think: Data Privacy Officer, InfoSec Anal
CIA triad lives here: Confidentiality, Integrity, Availability
3. Security Architecture & Engineering
You design systems that are secure by default.
Focus on secure network and system design, cryptography, hardware/software security, and threat modeling.
Think: Security Architect, DevSecOps Eng.
Master this, and you build the castle.
4. Communication & Network Security
You protect how data moves.
Firewalls, VPNs, protocols, secure comms, network segmentation, intrusion prevention, this is your toolbox.
Think: Network Security Engineer, SOC Analyst.
Learn TCP/IP, OSI, MITM defense
5. Identity & Access Management (IAM)
Control who gets in and what they can do.
This is the gatekeeping domain, MFA, SSO, RBAC, access provisioning, IAM tools.
Think: IAM Analyst, PAM Engineer, Azure AD Admin.
You are the first line of defense.
6. Security Assessment & Testing
Test everything. Break stuff before hackers do.
From vulnerability scanning to penetration testing to red teaming.
Think: Ethical Hacker, Security Tester, AppSec Engineer.
If you love “finding the flaw,” this is home.
7. Security Operations
This is where the action happens.
Monitoring, detecting, and responding to real-time threats.
SIEMs, threat intelligence, logging, incident response.
Think: SOC Analyst, Blue Team, IR Specialist.
Midnight calls? Welcome to ops.
8. Software Development Security
Secure the code. Build secure apps.
Here, you embed security in SDLC, write secure code, and stop bugs like XSS or SQLi.
Think: AppSec, Secure Code Reviewer, DevSecOps.
Love building? This path is for you.
9. Business Continuity & Disaster Recovery (BCDR)
What happens when systems fail?
This domain is all about backups, incident recovery, and keeping operations running.
Think: BCDR Specialist, Risk Manager.
Vital for organizational resilience.
10. Legal, Regulations & Compliance
You work with laws and standards.
GDPR, HIPAA, NDPA (for Nigeria), ISO 27001, NIST, PCI DSS, this is your playground.
Think: Privacy Officer, GRC Analyst, Legal Compliance Lead.
Love policy? Start here
Some domains overlap. Many roles touch multiple areas. That’s the beauty of cybersecurity—it’s dynamic.
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Cybersecurity is broad
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Cybersecurity - Networking - Virtual Internship & Sage knowledge for getting into IT or Cyber. Earn CISSP, CISM, CCNP, A+ , N+, SEC +, CYSA
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