What is Blockchain Cybersecurity?
Are you interested in becoming a cybersecurity specialist and have a passion for Bitcoin and Blockchain technology? If this sounds like you, then becoming a cybersecurity specialist that manages the security for blockchains may be the right career path for you.
As a cybersecurity specialist, you’ll test organizations’ networks, data centers, database blockchain, and connecting devices to find vulnerabilities and detect threats to the infrastructure. In this role, you implement security scheme changes to protect your organization against cyber criminals and potential risks. In addition, you’ll work in teams or tiers to maintain cybersecurity for the entire organization to prevent incidents. So, what is a blockchain?
What is a Blockchain?
Blockchain encompasses a distributed database through an organization’s network; all data is shared through nodes. All data storage centers follow an electronic design or format. These designs are also offered in cryptocurrency systems, and businesses or customers follow decentralized systems.
The blockchain maintains a ledger of the cryptocurrency transactions. The security design of a blockchain is more robust and blocks unauthorized use of the database or files stored within the environment.
Blockchain databases are not the same as traditional data center designs. Instead, all data gets grouped into blocks of information based on data sets. After the data falls into blocks, it creates data chains that are easier for the company and its workers to access and find information without long waits.
What is Cybersecurity?
Cybersecurity is an IT field involving the protection and security of data and networks. IT departments use these practices to protect networks and data against cybercriminals and unauthorized users. Cybersecurity specialists follow IT standards, company protocols, and evolving security designs. These practices keep the entire network, devices, peripherals, and data centers safe against potential vulnerabilities and hacks.
As a cybersecurity specialist, you’ll work within many sectors, including critical infrastructure security, application security, blockchain management, network security, cloud security, and internet of things security. As you cultivate the necessary career skills, you discover the fundamentals of each category and how these cybersecurity types apply to your organization’s network and infrastructure.
How Do Blockchain and Cybersecurity Mix?
A good example of how a cybersecurity specialist can manage blockchain technology is a story about a Coinbase hack. In 2019, Coinbase was attacked by cybercriminals who exploited and manipulated their blockchain security design. While Coinbase didn’t lose currency in the attack, the event showed cybercriminals how to manipulate the blockchain security design to access the data ledger and collect information.
Meanwhile, Gate.io, another exchange, was less fortunate than Coinbase and lost as much as $200,000 in cryptocurrency. As a cybersecurity specialist, you’ll manage cyberattacks and learn from them to secure your organization and protect it against future attacks.
As a cybersecurity specialist you can specialize in the crypto and blockchain industry. An up-and-coming industry of decentralized finance and other uses for cryptocurrency.
How Do You Become a Cybersecurity Specialist?
As you start your career, you’ll complete an Associate of Applied Science in cybersecurity. During the program, you will discover vital skills for creating, maintaining, and managing cybersecurity designs for organizations. You will also learn how to test for vulnerabilities throughout complex infrastructures, including operating systems and all devices connected to the network.
What Do You Learn During a Cybersecurity Program?
In an AAS in cybersecurity program, you’ll complete the required courses to prepare you a career in cybersecurity. This includes crypto and blockchain related fields. A set of universal courses and certifications will prepare you for your IT field of choice.
CompTIA A+
IT Fundamentals A+ provides you with IT basics. You’ll learn the fundamentals of working in information technology and how it works, from simple network designs to hardware and devices you’ll connect later.
CompTIA Network+
Networking Fundamentals Network+ presents you with the basics of networking and network designs. First, you’ll learn how to encapsulate and decapsulate data. Next, you start with application layers and later learn about the internet, as well as transport and link layers used in networking. Finally, you’ll discover the basics of designing a network, how it works, and your role in maintaining the security of these infrastructures.
CompTIA Security+
Cybersecurity Fundamentals Security+, like other courses, gives you certifications in cybersecurity. You’ll discover the fundamentals of your role as a cybersecurity specialist. You become DoD 8570 compliant and cultivate the baseline skills you need to perform the job duties of a cybersecurity specialist.
You gain hands-on skills in cybersecurity and cultivate problem-solving skills that help you in your field. The course covers risk management and assessment, how to manage incidents, and how to manage forensic testing for all network designs.
Cybersecurity Operations
Cybersecurity operations cover more complex skill sets for preventing cybercrimes. It includes risk detection, intrusion detection, and security analysis. You start with simple network designs and learn to identify vulnerabilities and risks to the network.
As the program progresses, you learn how to mitigate risks to more complex network designs that span more than one geographical region. You’ll discover how to manage information assurance and prevent unauthorized access and use of company data or connections to the network or infrastructure.
CompTIA CySA+
Despite how robust the security schemes are, you’ll still encounter security breaches and cyberattacks, working as a cybersecurity specialist. To prepare you for these incidents, you will complete incident response and digital forensics programs. You learn to follow company protocols and IT standards for responding to incidents such as data breaches. You’ll use these newfound skills to recover from the incident and maintain business continuity for your organization.
In digital forensics, you learn to track down all activity leading to the incident and conduct a full-scale investigation into what happened, how it affected the organization, and who attacked your company. You collect all data through digital forensics and piece the entire incident together. The process includes tracking information such as the cybercriminal’s IP address when conducting the attack.
CompTIA Pentest+
Ethical hacking skills help you test the network and infrastructure for vulnerabilities that lead to cyberattacks. Organizations hire ethical hackers to find all the ways a criminal can gain access, exploit their current security design, and infiltrate the network or infrastructure. As a cybersecurity specialist, you take on the role of an ethical hacker.
A penetration test is a deep scan of internal and external network designs, web applications, and wireless networks to find vulnerabilities, including phishing scams, malware, and ransomware. As a cybersecurity specialist, you complete pen tests to find threats and maintain the security of the network and infrastructure designs.
Final Thoughts
In a career as a cybersecurity specialist, you will cultivate skills to protect complex network and infrastructure designs against cyberattacks and breaches. You become the hero of your organization and work in teams with other IT specialists to improve security schemes and protocols for preventing data loss and maintaining control over your network. You’ll start a rewarding career and become the primary line of defense for organizations in any sector you choose, including crypto and blockchain.
Want to Learn More?
The Associate of Applied Science in Cybersecurity training program prepares and supports you in obtaining several certifications in support of their cybersecurity career including CompTIA’s A+, Network+, Security+, Linux+, Pentest, & CySA+. AAS in Cybersecurity training program graduates will typically qualify for entry-level employment in roles such as Information Security Analysts and Computer Network Support Specialists.
The mission of Peloton College is to be the premier provider of hands-on training and education by providing you with the necessary skills to secure occupational careers. Contact us today to learn more.
