As the world is rapidly changing by the hour, technology is becoming highly complicated and there are loads of new, improved ideas which are being developed every hour. As you log into your gmail account, without your notice, your username and password have been saved somewhere. A pop-up ad might infuse a virus into your system which in turn could lead to major losses of essential documents, photos, government policies, money and even people’s lives. To protect all this, more number of jobs are emerging in the field of information security. The need for information security is because our society is becoming more prone to hackers.

For most IT companies, this is becoming the top most concern. Akshaye Chatterji, an Information Security Consultant: “Threats to network have indubitably increased the demand for professionals who can provide foolproof security. Network security specialisation is not only a well-paid job, it is also a lucrative way of staying self-employed. ”Big companies require people who have a knack in this area of information security. They need people who can safely guard the cyberspace in order to save many lives and money.

Information security is again a broad category and a person working in this field can pursue his own choice of work. The different areas are: a network programmer, who creates programs to set up security systems; a network analysist, who analyses the data he receives and finds a solution accordingly; a network strategist, who develops new strategists and ideas; and a consultant, who gives advice on various aspects in providing security. These jobs cover a wide variety of areas in the society such as financial, commerce, banking, global sectors, public sectors, global & boutique security consultancies and security vendors.

There are many skills that are required for a person working in this field. One should have good programming skills, knowledge on hardware, knowledge on programming languages such as C, C++, Java etc, knowledge on the security tools available, ability to develop new strategies and develop security-based programs, knowledge on viruses and anti-viruses, and excellent analytical skills. One should also be aware of the aspect of human psychology. One should have a good understanding on how people think as these specialists have to counter hackers, who are the fellow human beings.

There are many courses that one can take to enter into this field of information security jobs. Although, there aren’t any specific courses just constrained to this field, one can study about security systems during BE. Advanced courses like Enterprise Network and Security Management can be taken up. This course helps in developing ones knowledge in installing and configuration of hardware devices. It also equips one with skills to repair and manage local area networks. “The job of a network security specialist requires knowledge of related fields as well. One cannot restrict oneself to a particular field,” Chatterjee adds. The future generation can make millions in a short span of time by taking up a career in information security.