A lot of cyberattack start from human interaction, which is why it is important for all company to have security awareness officer in the team. Especially since protecting cloud environment is not only done in the cloud itself but also the human that use the environment. Thus, this job is actually very promising career that you might want to take a look if you want to enter the cybersecurity field.
What is Security Awareness Officer?
Security awareness officer is someone that hold the responsibility for the company’s security awareness as well as education program. Your job is to reduce the company’s security risk by making sure that all contractors, staff, employees and partners have the right knowledge, understanding and actually follow the company’s security requirement as well as behaving according to secure manner.
You should know that this field and role is actually very immature even for a cybersecurity industry. Unlike the other cybersecurity field that already around since decades ago, cybersecurity awareness is actually something new and have not been defined fully.
However, the reason why this role has become more and more important these days is because there is an increased attack which caused by users that are unaware about cybersecurity. This means these days human risk continues to increase so it is important to have someone to manage it.
Using purely technical cybersecurity today is not enough so it is important to address the human risk element. The method used is to change the human behavior into something that is more secure.
Job Responsibilities and Duties
As security awareness officer you will have various responsibilities with different duties according to your role. These responsibilities is not only directly involved with the employee but also the security policies as well. Your responsibilities could be put into several categories such as:
Policy
- Making sure that all of the awareness program follows the company’s security requirements and policies so it is easy to understand and follow.
- Promote all of the security awareness info and policies by maintain and create online presence on various company’s platforms.
- Engage in activities that reinforce secure behavior.
- Act as source for security behavior reference and guide.
- Documenting the process and policy for all security awareness education, program and training.
Risk
- Identifying various human risks inside the company’s and different behaviors that need to be change to reduce those risk.
- Continue to develop new strategy that can be use by the company to reduce and address risk which continue to change as new technologies emerge.
- Create education, training and program on security awareness that can help to reduce the company’s risk.
Awareness
- Develop education, training and activities that suitable for the company’s employee.
- Maintain awareness program which motivate secure behavior so the company’s employee can use data and system with secure manner.
- Perform education, training and activities that promote security awareness.
- Evaluate the education, training and activities effectiveness.
- Creating metrics that can be use to measure impact, behavior and engamement.
- Work together with technical security expert to develop education, training and activities as needed.
- Coordinate with other department to maintain and making sure that all message about security awareness in different area of the company are consistent.
- Coordinate with external partner and vendor to create suitable materials needed for the implementation of security awareness program.
Leadership
- Developing the strategy used to achieve objective and goal for security awareness education, training and program.
- Security awareness officer act as advisor and consultant for various security awareness expertise area such as learning, teaching, technical and many other.
- Maintaining the strategy for long term use as well as addressing the risk that happen currently.
- Plan for security awareness maturity by using various metrics and process continuedly.
- Maintaining and creating the right structure so the program can be done long turn to change the company’s security behavior and culture over time so it can be more aware.
Training
- Using methodologies appropriate for adults to deliver and design security awareness content
- Using security awareness best practice in the development of the education, training and program.
- Use different learning style for the education, training and program.
- Facilitate education, training and program in person or virtually.
- Define measurable, observable, and achievable skills into the training.
Job Qualifications
- Education
To work as security awareness officer, you need to have bachelor degree in related field such as Education, Computer Science, Communications, Marketing, Information Security, Business, Technical, Communication, Information Technology, Engineering. For senior position, master degree might be desired but if you have at least 3 years of experience working in cybersecurity field then it may be use as replacement.
- Certification
Certain company may want you to have various certification especially those that are related to the cybersecurity awareness. Some of those certification includes:
- CISM certification
- CISSP certification
- CISA certification
- PMP certification
- SANS certification
- ISO 27001 certification
- CPLP certification
- GIAC certification
- CIPP certification
- CIPM certification
- GCFE certification
- Experience
For this job working experience for at least 3 years in cybersecurity is desired. You may also have 1 to 3 years of working experience in communication, marketing field, and any other role that need you to develop written materials. These experiences will increase your desirability to the employee. You also need to have experience in using various designs programs and digital platform.
Skills Requirements
Since security awareness officer have various responsibilities and duties, this means you also need to have the right skills to help you perform them. Some of the skills that you need to have for this job are:
- Having basic knowledge on risk mitigation and information security theories, technique and principles.
- Using and understanding basic methodologies used for project management.
- Good communication skill both writing and verbally to be able to work together with all employees in the company.
- Ability to maintain, manage and plan complex security awareness program in long term.
- Ability to create persuasive and well structure written security awareness products.
- Ability to create message that suitable to the capability of different audience that may or may not be able to understand technical content.
- Ability to convey message in clear, concise and simple way to various employees in the company.
- Having knowledge and able to use different distribution technique and message to make sure that the employee able to understand and continually do secure behavior to reduce risk.
- Continue to learn new technology that can be use on the security awareness program such as social media, video, audio, blog, and various digital technologies.
- Ability to understand and think creatively to create security awareness programs in different kinds of formats that able to gain more engagement from the employee.
- Flexible and resilience when exploring various method that can be use to achieve the security awareness goal more efficiently and quickly under new circumstances.
- Ability to deliver and develop presentation in front of different audience and answering their questions.
- Ability to manage, organize and do multiple task to meet tight deadlines.
- Have integrity, confidentiality and independence.
- Ability to move forward and flexibility under various environment that continue to change.
The Benefit of Security Awareness Training
Help to prevent data breach through phishing
Through this awareness training, the employee will become more aware and have secure behavior that can help them to avoid phishing. Thus, it can help to reduce data breach through phishing.
Creating secure culture for the company
It is important for the company to have secure culture to reduce human risk. The method of achieving that goal is by doing various security awareness training. The training should also be done continuously to make sure that the culture can be mature.
Help to strengthen the technological defense
By increasing security awareness, it can help to strengthen the technological defense. The reason is because the technological defense still use human for input. Thus, human risk is a huge element in the system.
Increasing customers’ confidence
These days more and more customers are aware about cyberthreats and its danger. That is why, the customers want to feel that they are secure and safe. If the company’s secure culture is high then the customer will be more confidence in using the company’s service.
Compliance
Although it is important for the company to comply with rules but it does not mean that bare minimum effort is enough. Especially these days where cyberattacks are more common. It is good to comply but the company should do better than that to protect the system.
Conclusion
As you can see, security awareness officer is a very important job that has huge effect on the company’s cybersecurity. Even though it is a fairly new area to explore but it is something that will continue to grow and develop as cybersecurity advance.
That is why, you might want to try and working in this area since it will continue to be in demand. Thus, it is important for you to build the right skill and experience that you can use to enter the field if you are really interested.
Description: Security awareness officer is someone that hold the responsibility for the company’s security awareness and education program, learn here.
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