What does a Security Specialist do?
By performing their job duties, a Security Specialist reduces the risk of your company becoming a victim of accidental data loss, malicious cyber-attacks or data theft. They spot potential problems before bad actors do and take steps to close gaps in your information systems security to protect data.
If a breach or attack does occur, the Security Specialist leads the response effort to safeguard the remaining data, determines how the event occurred and recovers data as much as possible to minimize financial loss and work interruptions. Through the training programs they develop and implement, they raise cybersecurity awareness and help every employee learn how to protect data information.
Security Specialist skills and qualifications
To succeed in Security Specialist careers, candidates need to possess some key skills. The most important qualifications for the position include:
- High-level programming skills in applicable languages, such as PHP or C++
- Extensive knowledge of security frameworks
- Research skills to keep abreast of the latest malware threats and developments in IT security
- Critical thinking and analytical skills to identify and diagnose threats
- Problem-solving skills to develop effective procedures and plans
- Strong oral and verbal communication skills to write reports, train staff and collaborate with other members of your IT team
- Multitasking skills to complete other tasks while monitoring data systems
- Organizational skills to create reports that are clear and easy-to-read
Security Specialist experience requirements
A solid background in computer science is generally necessary to perform well in Security Specialist careers. Most people work for two to five years as computer programmers, systems analysts or administrators before moving into a Security Specialist position.
How much experience a candidate will need to excel depends on the size of your company, the complexity of your IT systems and your level of risk for data loss. If your company is small, has only a basic computer system or already possesses a strong data protection program, candidates may not require as much experience.
Security Specialist education and training requirements
Typically, a bachelor’s degree in computer science, computer engineering, IT or a similar field is the minimum education required to work as a Security Specialist. If your company has advanced needs, you may wish to look for candidates who hold a master’s degree or post-graduate certificate.
The highest quality candidates are also likely to hold Security + or Network + certification from CompTIA, Certified Information Systems Security Professional (CISSP) (ISC)² or Certified Ethical Hacker (CEH) certification from the EC-Council. These certifications usually require specialists to meet education and training requirements and pass an examination.
Security Specialist salary expectations
According to Indeed Salaries, the average salary for a Security Specialist is $87,769 per year. Your company can base your salary offer on the job market trends in your area and candidates’ experience, education and certification status.
Security Specialist salary expectations
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Common salary:
27.32 HOURLY -
Typical salaries range from
7.40 -59.75 HOURLY - Find more information on Indeed Salaries
*Indeed data –
Job description samples for similar positions
If the described Security Specialist job duties don’t completely reflect your company’s needs, check out the descriptions for these related roles:
Security Specialist job description FAQs
What is the difference between a Security Specialist and an Information Security Analyst?
Both Security Specialists and Information Security Analysts identify potential cybersecurity threats and take steps to address them, but the roles are slightly different. Analysts usually focus more on testing and monitoring. While they may make suggestions or provide input when developing security plans and procedures, they usually don’t write them. That task generally falls on a Security Specialist. In addition, Specialists are typically the point persons for data breach response teams, with Analysts usually assisting them.
What is the difference between a Security Specialist and a Security Engineer?
Like Security Specialists, Security Engineers assess and monitor data systems, develop threat mitigation plans and lead data recovery efforts. The main difference between the two is that a Security Engineer is usually responsible for developing proprietary security architecture to protect data, while Security Specialists usually rely on software developed by company engineers or third-party vendors. Typically, a candidate must have extensive experience and training specifically in coding to succeed as a Security Engineers.
What is the difference between a Security Specialist and an IT Auditor?
An IT Auditor spends their day running various tests on computer systems and compiling reports that describe their results. The tests they run may at times involve information security, but they may also seek to examine other aspects of performance, such as data transfer speeds or network reliability. Security Specialists work exclusively in cybersecurity.
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