Summary
Mr Sandeep Sengupta, Founder and Director at Indian School of Anti Hacking was the guest speaker at The Telegraph Online Edugraph's webinar on ‘How to be a Cybersecurity Professional
The session was aimed at young students who are passionate about building a career in cybersecurity
‘You don't need to be a geek or a maths lover to be a cyber security professional, just strong ethical values and the right amount of craziness in you will lead you to be a successful person,’ said Mr Sandeep Sengupta, Founder and Director at Indian School of Anti Hacking and guest speaker at The Telegraph Online Edugraph's webinar on ‘How to be a Cybersecurity Professional’ held on 24 September 2022.
This webinar saw an attendance of over 350 students from classes 9 to 12, which was held as a part of The Telegraph Edugraph's "How to be" series.
The session was aimed at young students who are passionate about building a career in cybersecurity and featured an in-depth discussion on relevant career options, such as coding, digital forensics, software and network security.
Key takeaways from the hour-long webinar were:
- Professionals in the field of cybersecurity are taught to identify weaknesses in databases, networks, hardware, firewalls, and encryption. A cybersecurity expert's top priority is to stop cyberattacks from happening by "fixing" possible problems before malicious users take advantage of them.
- Cybersecurity experts are in charge of safeguarding networks, data, edge devices, and IT infrastructure.
- The demand for cybersecurity professionals has risen more than ever since IT companies like Uber and Microsoft have been targeted by hackers. This can be construed as a bad thing for the companies, but a boon for young graduates, as this opens doors all across the world.
- The career opportunities and salary packages of cybersecurity professionals are quite competitive in the current market, making it one of the most demanded careers of all time.
- Students should start keeping tabs on the job listings on various job portals, right from their first and second years of college. The job skills provided there will help them in the upskilling process, instead of relying completely upon their school curriculum.
- Always be on the lookout for learning new topics, which are available for free on Wikipedia and Youtube.
- There is absolutely no necessity of having a particular laptop or running installations for practising coding, one can just work on them through online compiler websites via their phone or computer.
- For those who are eager to get into the field of cyber security, data science, and web development, ‘Python’ should be their first choice of programming language to learn.
- One can also use pre-installation tools in Linux, through the help of virtual boxes, where the student can easily switch between operating systems without having to log out. For eg: using windows and Linux on one device.
- Having a background in advanced mathematics or engineering is not necessary. Students from almost all backgrounds such as Commerce, CAs, law, and management, can enter the cybersecurity field, which is a world full of opportunities.
- The webinar concluded with a question and answer session.
One of the key highlights of the closing session was a brief discussion on how ethics is of the utmost importance when it comes to cybersecurity.
Last updated on 24 Sep 2022
