14 Feb 10 Hot Cybersecurity Certifications For IT Professionals To Pursue In 2021

Ongoing education in cyber defense can lead to a bump in pay and career advancement

– Steve Morgan, Editor-in-Chief

Northport, N.Y. — Aug. 18, 2020

IT workers with security certifications tend to have significantly higher average salaries — around 15 percent more — than those without them, according to a global IT skills and salary study conducted by Global Knowledge.

Cybersecurity Ventures predicts that there will be 3.5 million unfilled cybersecurity jobs by 2021, up from 1 million openings in 2014.

Every IT position is also a cybersecurity position now. Every IT worker, every technology worker, needs to be involved with protecting and defending apps, data, devices, infrastructure, and people.

So, which cybersecurity certifications are the most valuable? That depends on who you ask, and how you look at it. While some certifications pay more than others (check out the survey), the differences are negligible between some of them — and they’re all valuable.

Before you review our list of 10 hot certifications, we want to tell you about the Ultimate Cybersecurity Training Bundle from ITU Online. It includes their most popular Ethical Hacking v10 & CompTIA PenTest+ courses. And they guarantee the lowest price. This amazing bundle includes lifetime access, 10 courses, and 170+ hours.

10 Hot Cybersecurity Certifications

Here are 10 hot security certifications for IT workers in 2020, compiled by the editors at Cybercrime Magazine:

• Certified Ethical Hacker (CEH) – A Certified Ethical Hacker is a skilled professional who understands and knows how to look for weaknesses and vulnerabilities in target systems and uses the same knowledge and tools as a malicious hacker, but in a lawful and legitimate manner to assess the security posture of a target system(s).
• Certified in Risk and Information Systems Control (CRISC) – CRISC is the only certification that prepares and enables IT professionals for the unique challenges of IT and enterprise risk management, and positions them to become strategic partners to the enterprise.
• Certified Information Privacy Professional/US (CIPP/US) – Backed by ANSI/ISO accreditation, a CIPP/US credential delivers higher earning potential and increased promotion opportunities because it shows you have a strong understanding of U.S. privacy laws and regulations.
• Certified Information Security Manager (CISM) – CISM means higher earning potential and career advancement. Recent independent studies consistently rank CISM as one of the highest paying and sought after IT certifications.
• Certified Information Systems Auditor (CISA) – Enhance your career by earning CISA—world-renowned as the standard of achievement for those who audit, control, monitor and assess information technology and business systems.

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• Certified Information Systems Security Professional (CISSP) – Accelerate your cybersecurity career with the CISSP certification. Earning the CISSP proves you have what it takes to effectively design, implement and manage a best-in-class cybersecurity program.
• Cisco Certified Network Associate Security (CCNA) – With a CCNA Security certification, a network professional demonstrates the skills required to develop a security infrastructure, recognize threats and vulnerabilities to networks, and mitigate security threats.
• Cisco Certified Network Professional Security (CCNP) – This certification is aligned to the job role of the Cisco Network Security Engineer responsible for security in routers, switches, networking devices and appliances, as well as choosing, deploying, supporting and troubleshooting firewalls, VPNS, and IDS/IPS solutions for their networking environments.
• CompTIA Security+ – CompTIA Security+ is the first security certification IT professionals should earn. It establishes the core knowledge required of any cybersecurity role and provides a springboard to intermediate-level cybersecurity jobs.
• Computer Hacking Forensics Investigator (C|HFI) – Computer investigation techniques are being used by police, government and corporate entities globally and many of them turn to EC-Council for their Computer Hacking Forensic Investigator CHFI Certification Program.

“If you know cybersecurity, then you’ve got a job for life,” says Robert Herjavec, a Shark on ABC’s Shark Tank and CEO of Herjavec Group, a $300 million cybersecurity company.

For newbies not sure of where to start, we recommend the CompTIA Security+ program, which is part of ITU Online’s Ultimate Cybersecurity Bundle, an incredible value. Nab that certification and you’ll be able to call yourself a cybersecurity pro.

To get an idea of the future career options, Cybercrime Magazine publishes a list of 50 cybersecurity titles that every job seeker should be aware of.

If you’ve already been in the field, then you might want to look at the top 5 security jobs that pay over $200,000.

Cybercrime damages are predicted to cost the world $6 trillion annually by 2021, up from $3 trillion in 2015. Cybersecurity Ventures expects that there will be continuous demand for experienced cybersecurity professionals over the next decade — which makes certifications a worthwhile investment.

– Steve Morgan is founder and Editor-in-Chief at Cybersecurity Ventures.

Go here to read all of my blogs and articles covering cybersecurity. Go here to send me story tips, feedback and suggestions.

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