10 Critical Skills Your IT Team Must Have

1. Security Tools Expertise: It’s essential that  your  IT  team  is  current  with the latest trends and  practices in  Cybersecurity and  has the required understanding to use internal and external security measures in your  technology stack. You  must equip your IT Team with the required skills to maintain a strong security posture by investing in extensive training and  skill  enhancement. The  most modern security models, such  as  Zero-Trust and  Data  Loss  Prevention (DLP), are  essential strategies to  consider. This  approach is  worthwhile because staff  gets  the  best  advantage in  the  dynamically changing Cybersecurity domain. Often, businesses rely on basic security tools, set  them  to  default, and  consider the  job  done. The problem with  this  is  that  the valuable granular information they  gather needs to  be appropriately analyzed and  the  insights implemented, which requires extensive expertise. Identifying and fixing defects and vulnerabilities is  a preventive measure that  saves downtime and  security breach remediation costs. 
2.  Security Analysis: Just  as cyber threats are  increasing exponentially, the  demand for  security analysts to  thwart them  is  rocketing. Experienced analysts know what  data  to  tap and  what to ignore to reduce complexities. They  know how  to interpret that  data,  identify the conditions where an attack could occur, and  minimize the detrimental effects. Modern technologies such as  Artificial Intelligence, Big  Data analytics, and Machine Learning help  security analysts identify and mitigate security vulnerabilities. If  security enhancement is  a potential solution you  are  investing in,  hiring a best-of-breed security analyst is  strongly advised. A required exercise is  to  periodically analyze your  IT  infrastructure and  applications for loopholes and  vulnerabilities and  fill the gaps wherever needed, such  as  with a Vulnerability Assessment service offered by New  Era  Technology.
3. Project Management: Security projects are  diverse, and  finding IT  security managers with  proven success will  become more  difficult in  the  future. Often the  role  of  a security project manager is  linked to  systems and  network administrators, which limits the  scope of  the  activities they  perform. There is  an  essential need  to  have  a well-defined approach to  enterprise security led  by a dedicated security manager. Such  an  approach is  necessary, as  security and  governance are  not  one-time activities and  need  continuous monitoring and  management.
4. Incident Response: The  quicker a threat gets  identified, the  better the  chance of  mitigating it.  Incident response is  vital,  as  finding resources to  keep  up with  evolving threats is  challenging. Organizations often  contract with  external security specialists to  rectify and  remediate security incidents, such  as  with  New  Era’s  Disaster Recovery service. An  early  incident response will  limit  the  damage caused by the  breach and  puts  your  operations back  on  track. Employees who understand the  Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) model and  the  private, public, and  hybrid cloud environment must  determine the  right  services and  integrate those with  existing infrastructure. Only  with  a solid  overall understanding of  the  IT security ecosystem can  incident response mitigate the  effects of  any  breach.
5. Automation: The  best  strategic decisions are  made based on  business intelligence and  data  analytics. The  rapid  rate  at  which threats evolve makes it  increasingly difficult for  traditional security teams to  keep  up the  pace. Automated solutions use  Machine Learning and  AI  to  identify and  rectify attacks before overwhelming damage happens. Supporting follow-up work  can  then  be performed by IT  staff.  The  skills  required by IT  security professionals are  the  ability to  parse the  information gathered from  business intelligence and  make appropriate decisions with  that  insights.
6. Data Science and Analytics: Employees with  analytics experience, particularly with  Algorithms, Machine Learning, AI,  and  Predictive Analytics, are  equipped to  leverage the  Big  Data  environment. These skills  are particularly relevant for  the  e-commerce, and  BFSI  (Banking, Financial Service, and  Insurance) sectors, where customer behavior gets  monitored. Machine Learning and  Predictive Analytics give  futuristic insights into  the  effects of  any  vulnerability. Extracting what’s pertinent from  the  noise requires honed data  analytical skills. Ensuring secure networks from  the  outset saves money in  the  long  run.  It  involves designing or  investing in  solutions that  adequately protect data,  information, and  users. A security analyst must  understand the  new  designs and  have  experience in  testing systems. They  should have  a deep  understanding of  all  the  business systems in  the  company and  know what  data  is  critical to  an  organization and  what  cannot be  lost.
7. Scripting: With  scripting, IT  professionals integrate numerous elements and  replicate repetitive tasks  saving time  and  resources. Python and  Perl  are  some examples of  scripting languages that  interface with  security platforms. Scripting helps understand programming logic  basics, vital  for  security professionals who  configure and  manage networks and  systems. Scripters and  developers are  needed to  solve  complex problems, particularly for  security purposes. Else,  you  can  also outsource the  process of  configuring, operating, and  managing networks, such  as  with  our  Programmability and  Automation service, which optimizes service delivery with  scalable deployment and  agility.
8. Nurturing: IT security professionals who  think  like  cybercriminals and  understand their  motivations and  methods are  more likely  to  successfully anticipate, identify, and  mitigate attacks such  asspear phishing. Network intrusion detection systems (NIDS) can  flag  suspicious behavior, but experience and  knowledge are  required to  deal  with  it.  Also,  being calm  under pressure and  knowing how  to  react  with  the  proper protocols can  be crucial in  stemming the  flow  of  any compromised data  and  mitigating the  cost  of  a security breach.  In  such  scenarios, trained Ethical Hackers are  in  huge  demand, as  they  work  with  security professionals to  identify potential vulnerabilities that  malicious hackers can  exploit.
9. Post-mortem and Deep level Forensics:  A security team  must  know how  to  create and  update a safety framework when network components change, or  new  threats emerge. The  framework also  outlines the  process for  managing the  breach and  the  subsequent steps  to  take  in  the  event of  a breach.When a security incident occurs, it  is  an  opportunity to  learn  from  experience. The  ability to  perform a forensics and  malware analysis following an  event leads  to  better management and  prevention of  future such  incidents.
10. Passion:  Security solutions are  effective only  if  those responsible are  passionate about their  work. An  IT  security professional needs the  drive  to  constantly learn  about new  advancements in  security technologies and  the  evolving threat environment. Being passionate about the domain and  networking with  related online communities to  continually improvise and  innovate is  the  critical requirement of  a Cybersecurity professional.  The  skills  required for  an  IT  team  to  effectively deliver security services are  insights driven by our  vast  experience in  the  networking and  IT  security domain. If  you  are  looking for  a reliable technology partner to  enhance your  in-house security capabilities, contact us, and  we  will  be glad  to help.

References: https://www.nasdaq.com/articles/how-microsoft-is-building-its-security-business