Cyber Security Analyst
What the work is
Analyses and assesses vulnerability in infrastructure (software, hardware and networks), investigates available tools and countermeasures to remedy detected vulnerabilities, and recommends solutions and best practices. Analyses and assesses damage to data/infrastructure as a result of security incidents, examines available recovery tools and processes, and recommends solutions.
Would you enjoy the work?
These are the main tasks in the official description. Mark how each one sounds to you.
- Performs assessments on systems, networks and applications to identify and prioritise potential security risks
- Coordinates, analyses and investigates security risk incidents and breaches to determine the root cause, and develops mitigation controls and strategies
- Conducts research on cyber threats and weaknesses to develop and maintain knowledge of the cyber threat landscape
- Develops and executes threat intelligence strategies for future threats and protects against potential attacks
- Conducts risk assessments to identify security loopholes and weaknesses in IT systems
- Conducts malware analysis to identify and mitigate potential threats to systems and networks
- Analyses alerts and data from security products, web proxies, network security devices, and vulnerable scan and management systems
Try it
A simulation and a case study from this kind of work, set in the security team of a fictional freight and logistics company, working from an office and a monitoring room. They are fictional.
The kind of days you could have
Good days
- You spot something odd early, and it turns out to be a real problem you stopped in time
- A colleague reports a suspicious email, and you thank them in front of the team
- You explain a risk so clearly that a busy manager decides to fix it today
Hard days
- An alert goes off at 4:50pm on a Friday and nobody knows if it is real
- People feel blamed for a mistake, and stop telling you about the next one
- You are asked to make something both completely secure and instantly easy to use
Written by Career Calling as a general guide. Real roles vary by employer and place.
Work a mission
Step into a simulated workplace in this field, with a brief from your manager.
Description and tasks: Australian Bureau of Statistics, Occupation Standard Classification for Australia, 2024, Version 1.0 (opens another site), occupation 271133, used under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 licence. The skill guide above is our plain English summary.