Cyber Security Analyst

A cyber security analyst is responsible for monitoring for potential threats, helping to prevent unauthorised access, analysing logs, reviewing vulnerabilities and responding to incidents as part of a wider team.

Threat research activities, as a cyber security analyst can help to develop deeper skills to progress to more specialist cyber roles, like the Cyber Security Threat Hunter.

These are the common roles and responsibilities of a cyber security analyst:

• Respond and triage security incidents
• Analyse security logs, alerts and breaches
• Conduct security vulnerability assessments
• Investigate potential threats
• Monitoring network traffic for suspicious activity
• Generate reports on security incidents with recommendations
• Maintain systems with the latest security patches
• Collaborate with colleagues and third parties
• Research threat activities

Technical skills: These are the key technical skills that may be required by cyber security analysts:

• Python & PowerShell scripting
• Linux & Windows operating systems
• Networking & cloud platforms
• Vulnerability management
• Cryptography fundamentals
• Threat detection techniques
• Software engineering security
• Incident response processes
• Malware analysis investigation

Soft skills: here are some of the key personal and interpersonal skills that may be required for this role: 

• Critical thinking
• Analytical problem solving
• Constant curious mindset
• Collaboration
• Communication
• Creative thinkers
• Report writing