A US-based information technology (IT) association has unveiled a vendor-neutral certification. According to CompTIA, its CompTIA Cybersecurity Analyst (CSA+) is the first of its kind to bring behavioural analytics to cyber threat detection, rather than focusing solely on the technical aspects.
In recent years, says the Computing Technology Industry Association, hackers have learnt to evade detection from traditional systems such as firewalls, with increasingly sophisticated attacks such as Advanced Persistent Threats. This has led to a need for an analytics based approach – to identify anomalies, spikes, positives and false positives in network traffic which could be symptoms of an underlying cyber-attack. Hence the certification, for cybersecurity workers to take a data-driven approach to cyber defence.
Some of the highest profile cyber-attacks in recent times, such as the Mirai botnet DDoS attack in 2016, which took down the servers behind sites such as Twitter and Reddit, are unable to be stopped by traditional methods, the association points out. They require a more analytical approach to detection and prevention, and the ability for security teams to interpret vulnerabilities where they might not be immediately obvious.
CompTIA points to recent research from Tech Partnership found that security analyst roles are one of five occupational groups in the cyber workforce that make up three quarters of all jobs posted in the industry.
Graham Hunter, VP Certifications, Europe and Middle East at CompTIA, said: “We are starting to see technological developments such as the Internet of Things come to the forefront of the business and social landscape. As these technologies continue to grow and develop, so too does the threats to networks and devices, as hackers find new avenues to attack and access personal information. To combat these new threats, it’s vital that we are training the next generation of IT and security professionals on how to keep the public and organisations secure. CSA+ certification provides the platform that IT professionals need for learning and developing new skills — so that they have all the critical information and tools to keep up with emerging technologies.”
And CompTIA’s Senior Director for Products Dr James Stanger sdaid: “By placing greater emphasis on data analytics, we get a real-time, holistic view of the behaviour of the network, its users and their devices to identify potential vulnerabilities and strengthen them before an intrusion happens. Armed with this information, cybersecurity professionals can more precisely identify potential risks and vulnerabilities so that resources can be allocated where they’re most needed.”
Jim Lucari, Senior Manager of Certification at HP Enterprise, said data analytics is key. “Everybody in technology should have this CSA+. It should be mandatory if you’re going to stay in IT over the coming decade.”
