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Cybersecurity: Your Complete Guide
Learn what cybersecurity professionals do, what they earn, and how to get started. Discover top careers, threats, and why demand for talent is so high.
Cybersecurity is a professional field pursued by experts who protect online assets from unauthorized or illegal access. This access can be achieved by a team of active hackers, a malignant line of code or negligence in closing the digital front door. Governments and companies of all sizes need cybersecurity experts to stay ahead of these threats.
According to the FBI's Internet Crime Report, Americans suffered losses of over $12 billion in 2023. That number has grown substantially year over year. Global cyberattacks increased by 38% from 2021 to 2022, and Check Point Research warns that artificial intelligence may cause further increases in years to come. There are not enough experts to keep up with the ever-changing hardware, software and connectivity threats.
Business, IT, and security professionals looking for a rapidly expanding industry with promising job growth potential should consider cybersecurity careers. A reputable online cybersecurity MS degree program will leverage experienced faculty and industry partnerships to help students develop into experts in the field. A comprehensive review of the cybersecurity industry shows that practitioners thrive in their careers while providing essential services to the global economy.
According to the FBI's Internet Crime Report, Americans suffered losses of over $12 billion in 2023. That number has grown substantially year over year. Global cyberattacks increased by 38% from 2021 to 2022, and Check Point Research warns that artificial intelligence may cause further increases in years to come. There are not enough experts to keep up with the ever-changing hardware, software and connectivity threats. Business, IT, and security professionals looking for a rapidly expanding industry with promising job growth potential should consider cybersecurity careers. A reputable online cybersecurity MS degree program will leverage experienced faculty and industry partnerships to help students develop into experts in the field. A comprehensive review of the cybersecurity industry shows that practitioners thrive in their careers while providing essential services to the global economy.
What Do Cybersecurity Professionals Do?
Cybersecurity professionals may be tasked with protecting everything from company smartphones to globally accessed databases from attacks. Information security analysts, engineers and executives need to understand the scope of online attacks before developing defenses and remedies.
Professionals should be able to identify and protect against many types of cybersecurity threats, including:
- Malware: Malicious software is introduced into a target's system to block access or obtain information. Malware can take many forms, including viruses, worms, Trojans, spyware, adware, and ransomware. Malware can steal data from targets or damage devices to prevent further use and information retrieval.
- Phishing: Phishers mask themselves as known sources to extract routing numbers, credit card information and log-in credentials. Fraudulent text messages, phone calls, emails, and voicemails are used to obtain information from phishing targets. The FBI's Internet Crime Complaint Center received over 800,000 complaints in 2022, and phishing was reported more often than any other type of cyberattack.
- Man-in-the-middle: A party can use unsecured wireless access or malware to stand between the user and the network, thereby gaining access to sensitive information. This is one of many identity-based attacks that can be difficult to detect without extensive cybersecurity knowledge.
- Code injection attacks: SQL injections and cross-site scripting (XSS), among others, involve inserting malicious code into a device or network, changing the course of action from its intended purpose.
- Distributed Denial-of-service (DDoS): A party sends overwhelming requests to a target's server or network, tying up assets and creating system vulnerability.
- Supply Chain Attacks: Attackers compromise a less secure element in a software or hardware supply chain (e.g., a legitimate software update server, a third-party library, a hardware manufacturer) to introduce malicious code or backdoors into widely used products or services.
- Cloud Security Breaches / Misconfigurations: With increasing adoption of cloud services, attackers exploit misconfigured cloud resources (e.g., publicly exposed storage buckets, overly permissive IAM roles), weak cloud APIs, or compromised cloud credentials to gain unauthorized access to data and resources.
- Advanced Persistent Threats (APTs): These are sophisticated, prolonged cyberattacks where an intruder establishes a long-term, stealthy presence within a network to exfiltrate highly sensitive data rather than causing immediate damage. Often state-sponsored or highly organized criminal groups.
In today's ever-evolving technological landscape, cybersecurity professionals must be aware of the impact of artificial intelligence on potential threats. The FBI recently warned American individuals and businesses that AI tools allow malicious parties to conduct more sophisticated and targeted phishing attacks and clone voices or videos to scam targets. Companies and individuals can fall prey to convincing schemes that compromise their data.
Examples of Large-Scale Cybersecurity Issues
The types of cyberattacks listed above can lead to widespread data breaches, which are expensive to solve and potentially ruinous to a target’s reputation. A data breach in the United States in 2023 cost targets an average of $4.45 million. IBM Security found that the United States has been the global leader in data breach costs for 13 years, proving that more cybersecurity experts are needed in today’s technological landscape.
Harvard Business Review studied the effects of a cybersecurity attack. They found that a data breach increases the company's cost of doing business, which can, in turn, diminish the company's market value and credit rating and cause higher prices for consumers. With effects this devastating, a widespread breach could be the demise of some companies.
In the early months of 2024, Americans have already seen some of the most widespread cybersecurity attacks.
In February of 2024, Change Healthcare, a large medical claim processing company, fell victim to one of the largest breaches of medical records in history. The breach affected sensitive information like medical records, billing payment data, social security numbers, and health insurance details for up to one-third of Americans.
The same month, Prudential Financial underwent a ransomware attack that affected 2.5 million customers. Both Change and Prudential have offered two years of identity theft and credit monitoring services to affected customers at no cost.
In 2023, 37 million T-Mobile customers were affected by a breach that leaked names, addresses, and dates of birth. The company stock dropped nearly 1.5% when the news was announced.
MGM Resorts took a major financial hit after a cyberattack, with reports estimating the cost to the company at around $100 million.
The Kaseya compromise in July 2021 was a major supply chain attack where the REvil ransomware group exploited a zero-day vulnerability in Kaseya’s VSA remote management software. This allowed the attackers to deploy ransomware to Kaseya’s Managed Service Provider (MSP) customers, and subsequently to thousands of their clients globally, causing widespread operational disruption and data encryption.
These companies and many more needed the services of cybersecurity teams to protect consumer and employee data, help them retain a good reputation, and shield their market value from a significant downturn.
Remedies for Cybersecurity Vulnerabilities
Small businesses, multinational corporations and everyone in between should be wary of online attacks. The University of California, Berkeley’s Information Security Office provides the following advice to deal with the most frequent threats to digital assets:
- Regularly update software to incorporate security patches
- Use passwords with 20 characters or more with mixed letters, numbers and symbols
- Avoid suspicious or unknown attachments, especially from unfamiliar sources
- Activate desktop firewalls to halt basic attacks
- Reserve transmission of sensitive data to secured private networks
Cybersecurity leaders and personnel are responsible in part for ensuring the adoption of these foundational suggestions. However, a major element of this field is getting ahead of the next attack. It is estimated that the average security breach takes 206 days to identify and 314 days to resolve after the initial hack.
The best practitioners collaborate with others and develop resources to anticipate future generations of cyberattacks while speeding up remediation. The volume and scope of cyberattacks globally create many paths to career success in this field.
The best practitioners collaborate with others and develop resources to anticipate future generations of cyberattacks while speeding up remediation. The volume and scope of cyberattacks globally create many paths to career success in this field.
What Are the Job Titles Held by Current Leaders in the Field?
Many careers are available to leaders in cybersecurity, with titles ranging from chief executive officer and chief information security officer to IT manager, security analyst and application developer. A plethora of career options means there are multiple branches for early-career cybersecurity professionals to pursue.
Professionals in top jobs in 2025 receive salaries averaging $150,163, far exceeding salaries in most career paths. The job titles and salaries listed below exemplify the high ceiling awaiting top performers in the field:
- Application security engineer: $145,339
- Director of information security: $163,622
- Senior security consultant: $156,994
- Software architect: $149,784
- Penetration Tester: $126,241
Though aspiring professionals may not know their exact career progression in advance, they should know the demand for their services will only grow.
What Types of Employers Look for Cybersecurity Professionals?
As technology becomes a crucial aspect of work for nearly every industry, there is a need for cybersecurity professionals across the workforce. Many current experts report working in the IT services industry. Still, others are employed in the financial services, government, manufacturing, healthcare, education, engineering, and retail sectors.
When cybersecurity jobs first experienced explosive growth, they were met with a 1.3% decline in user clicks on listings due to vague job titles and poor promotion. In recent years, however, employers have improved their ability to recruit qualified cybersecurity professionals and provide work environments that allow them to thrive.
Cybersecurity professionals — including managers, engineers, analysts, and consultants — continue to find growing opportunities across both public and private sectors. The 2024 ISC2 Workforce Study shows demand remains high globally, with a workforce gap of 4 million professionals. Despite economic uncertainty and reduced hiring in some sectors, nearly 92% of organizations reported they still need more cybersecurity staff, especially in areas like cloud security, risk assessment, and threat detection.
From startups to global enterprises, nonprofits, and government agencies, organizations are actively seeking cybersecurity talent to safeguard against escalating threats and data breaches.
When cybersecurity jobs first experienced explosive growth, they were met with a 1.3% decline in user clicks on listings due to vague job titles and poor promotion. In recent years, however, employers have improved their ability to recruit qualified cybersecurity professionals and provide work environments that allow them to thrive.
Cybersecurity professionals — including managers, engineers, analysts, and consultants — continue to find growing opportunities across both public and private sectors. The 2024 ISC2 Workforce Study shows demand remains high globally, with a workforce gap of 4 million professionals. Despite economic uncertainty and reduced hiring in some sectors, nearly 92% of organizations reported they still need more cybersecurity staff, especially in areas like cloud security, risk assessment, and threat detection.
From startups to global enterprises, nonprofits, and government agencies, organizations are actively seeking cybersecurity talent to safeguard against escalating threats and data breaches.
What Are the Benefits of Working in Cybersecurity?
The aforementioned average salaries show careers in cybersecurity make education and professional development worthwhile.
The BLS estimated a 33% growth rate of available jobs for information security analysts from 2022 to 2032. Analysts earned average salaries of $120,360 in 2023, but there is a high earnings ceiling for information security careers, and making a good living is not the only benefit of working in this field.
The BLS estimated a 33% growth rate of available jobs for information security analysts from 2022 to 2032. Analysts earned average salaries of $120,360 in 2023, but there is a high earnings ceiling for information security careers, and making a good living is not the only benefit of working in this field.
Low Supply Means High Demand
If you’re considering a career in cybersecurity, there's never been a better time to make the leap. According to the 2024 ISC2 Cybersecurity Workforce Study, the global cybersecurity workforce stands at approximately 5.5 million professionals, but organizations estimate they need more than 10.2 million to effectively protect their systems and data. That leaves a staggering workforce gap of 4.8 million, underscoring just how in-demand cybersecurity professionals are today.
Even more telling? The cybersecurity workforce grew by just 0.1% between 2023 and 2024, a dramatic slowdown from the 8.7% growth rate the previous year. This plateau in hiring is not due to a lack of need — it’s due to a shortage of qualified professionals. For job seekers and career changers alike, this shortage translates into strong job security, high earning potential, and opportunities for rapid advancement.
Even more telling? The cybersecurity workforce grew by just 0.1% between 2023 and 2024, a dramatic slowdown from the 8.7% growth rate the previous year. This plateau in hiring is not due to a lack of need — it’s due to a shortage of qualified professionals. For job seekers and career changers alike, this shortage translates into strong job security, high earning potential, and opportunities for rapid advancement.
Clear and Consistent Mission
Security consultant Candy Alexander told the BLS that a major attraction of her career to others is “the morality of the work.” Alexander referenced saving companies and governments money, manpower and social capital from damage done by cyberattacks.
Future cybersecurity professionals may be wondering about long-term career satisfaction. The 2024 ISC2 report show the majority of respondents felt cybersecurity is their calling in life and extremely passionate about it. Not only is this career path in high demand, but it provides high levels of satisfaction for those who pursue it. To compete with the satisfied crowd of cybersecurity professionals, it is essential to build skills through education and certifications.
Cybersecurity professionals know they are working to protect sensitive or confidential information from people with bad intentions each day. This mission crosses career paths, employers and countries, providing consistency throughout a professional’s growth.
Future cybersecurity professionals may be wondering about long-term career satisfaction. The 2024 ISC2 report show the majority of respondents felt cybersecurity is their calling in life and extremely passionate about it. Not only is this career path in high demand, but it provides high levels of satisfaction for those who pursue it. To compete with the satisfied crowd of cybersecurity professionals, it is essential to build skills through education and certifications.
Cybersecurity professionals know they are working to protect sensitive or confidential information from people with bad intentions each day. This mission crosses career paths, employers and countries, providing consistency throughout a professional’s growth.
How Do You Prepare for a Cybersecurity Career?
Cybersecurity professionals are often highly educated. The ISC2-2024 report shows that 48% of cybersecurity professionals consider their bachelor’s degree in the field to be very valuable, and an even greater share — 55% — have pursued advanced degrees, underscoring the continued importance of higher education in the profession. Aspiring cybersecurity professionals will find a wider array of jobs and opportunities for growth after earning a master’s degree.
According to ISC2, hiring managers today place greater emphasis on soft skills — such as problem-solving, collaboration, curiosity, and communication — than on even the most in-demand technical competencies like cloud security, risk assessment, and AI.
According to ISC2, hiring managers today place greater emphasis on soft skills — such as problem-solving, collaboration, curiosity, and communication — than on even the most in-demand technical competencies like cloud security, risk assessment, and AI.
Cybersecurity Certifications Boost Job Prospects
A graduate degree alone is a strong start to a career, but certifications also make a candidate more valuable to employers. Certifications allow professionals to specialize in areas particularly vital to their employers' needs.
ISC2 found that among those who earned a cybersecurity certification before landing their first job in the field, 90% found it to be valuable to their career; highlighting the strong impact certifications can have early on. Many cybersecurity professionals earn their first certifications concurrently with their degree programs.
The EC-Council offers the Certified Ethical Hacker (CEH) certification for future "white hats” who find and repair system repair vulnerabilities before hackers invade. The Cisco Certified Network Associates (CCNA) certification demonstrates competencies in automation, network security and IP tools.
Students can look for an MS in cybersecurity program that partners with these certification agencies. Certification will be part of their training, saving them time and money on their comprehensive education.
ISC2 found that among those who earned a cybersecurity certification before landing their first job in the field, 90% found it to be valuable to their career; highlighting the strong impact certifications can have early on. Many cybersecurity professionals earn their first certifications concurrently with their degree programs.
The EC-Council offers the Certified Ethical Hacker (CEH) certification for future "white hats” who find and repair system repair vulnerabilities before hackers invade. The Cisco Certified Network Associates (CCNA) certification demonstrates competencies in automation, network security and IP tools.
Students can look for an MS in cybersecurity program that partners with these certification agencies. Certification will be part of their training, saving them time and money on their comprehensive education.
Who Should Become a Cybersecurity Professional?
Thanks to their accumulated technical knowledge, IT, information security (IS) and software development professionals can shift easily into cybersecurity careers. But students without this background shouldn't shy away from pursuing a career in cybersecurity. Many graduate programs are designed for students looking for a career change. These programs provide all the training a student needs for a successful career in the field of cybersecurity.
Career Changers
The share of individuals aged 39 to 49 entering the cybersecurity field has grown significantly in recent years, rising from 18% in 2022 to 35% in 2024 — reflecting a steady increase in mid-career professionals making the switch to cybersecurity. Employers look beyond cybersecurity degrees and certifications when selecting staff members. Experts in the field are creative, persistent and strategic thinkers. These attributes can be developed outside of the field in positions from education to marketing.
Gender and Racial Diversity
Based on research compiled by World Metrics, the cybersecurity field is overwhelmingly white and male. Just 1 in 5 people in the global cybersecurity workforce are women, 1 in 10 workers in the United States identify as Black or African American, 4% identify as Hispanic or Latino and less than 10% identify as Asian. Employers must look beyond job boards to find more diverse candidates in colleges and overlooked industries.
Security analysts and consultants just entering the field will one day become leaders. The absence of diversity in entry-level and mid-level positions translates to senior roles. These facts should motivate women and minorities interested in digital security to pursue degrees that change the profession.
Security analysts and consultants just entering the field will one day become leaders. The absence of diversity in entry-level and mid-level positions translates to senior roles. These facts should motivate women and minorities interested in digital security to pursue degrees that change the profession.
Why Choose St. Bonaventure for Your Cybersecurity Degree?
Prospective cybersecurity professionals have plenty of choices as they consider where to earn a degree in this field. St. Bonaventure University stands apart from the field due to its history, national reputation and cutting-edge approach to technical education.
This cybersecurity master’s program also offers a 100% online format. There is no GRE or GMAT requirement for applicants, eliminating the need for a costly entrance exam. The degree also blends real-world learning via hands-on labs utilizing industry software and tools with theoretical lessons in threat analysis, cryptography, detection engineering, penetration testing and and other skills to help career changers transition into cybersecurity.
This cybersecurity master’s program also offers a 100% online format. There is no GRE or GMAT requirement for applicants, eliminating the need for a costly entrance exam. The degree also blends real-world learning via hands-on labs utilizing industry software and tools with theoretical lessons in threat analysis, cryptography, detection engineering, penetration testing and and other skills to help career changers transition into cybersecurity.
A Long History of Educating Leaders
St. Bonaventure University was founded in 1858 as a Franciscan institution in western New York. The university maintains a close-knit community of students, alumni and faculty with fewer than 3,000 current students. Online programs like the MS in Cybersecurity translate this small-school environment around the globe with personalized attention for each student.
Graduates can tout their commitment to the school’s core values. The values of compassion, wisdom and integrity are inextricable from coursework, internships and other experiences.
In the cybersecurity world, university graduates who embrace these values along with creativity and good judgment can advance ethically in their careers.
Graduates can tout their commitment to the school’s core values. The values of compassion, wisdom and integrity are inextricable from coursework, internships and other experiences.
In the cybersecurity world, university graduates who embrace these values along with creativity and good judgment can advance ethically in their careers.
Nationally Ranked
The university receives high rankings in the annual U.S. News & World Report review of colleges (source):
- No. 17 in Regional Universities North
- No. 14 in Most Innovative Schools
- No. 6 in Best Value Schools for 2024
- No. 25 in Best Catholic Colleges in America
- No. 73 in Best Colleges with No Application Fee in America
- No. 110 in Best Small Colleges in America
Taking the Next Steps
Aspiring cybersecurity professionals looking to take the next step in their careers can learn more about St. Bonaventure University's online MS in Cybersecurity program by clicking the link below.
Discover your Cybersecurity future
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P.O. Box 2509 | St. Bonaventure, NY 14778