Page 24 - Engineering Career Guide, 4th Edition

features
URGENTLY SEEKING CYBER WARRIORS
Increased connectivity brings increased risk to national security, creating a huge demand for computer scientists and engineers.
The numbers tell the story: there are currently over 650,000 cyber jobs available in the United States. These jobs are not only available, but they pay well too. The average cybersecurity salary is now over $1000,000 per year.
We live in a world ever more intercon- nected through technology. Today’s GPS devices, from smartphones to cars, track our every move and collect a staggering amount of data. Today there are 14.4 billion elec- tronic devices connected to the Internet; experts predict that by 2030 there could
be 25 billion. Computer scientists and engi- neers have unprecedented opportunities to share, analyze, and interpret data to increase efficiencies in production, distribution, and maintenance in every field from healthcare and consumer products to scientific explora- tion and national defense.
However, this vast collection of data creates security risks for individuals, busi- nesses, and governments. How to protect, hold, and exchange information worries peo- ple from entities as diverse as defense and intelligence agencies, healthcare providers, and commercial and financial organizations.
Criminals and other governments may launch cyber-attacks by hacking into infrastructure like the electrical grid, water supply systems, or air traffic controls. They might hold data for ransom, use
it to torpedo rivals, or falsify it to disrupt op- erations. They may spy by setting up digital pathways — often called tunnels — to gain ongoing access to secret and proprietary information systems. Adversaries may be nation-states, such as China, non-nation- state actors like ISIS, or criminals looking to make a buck, such as the Mafia. In 2022 the FBI reported 800,000 cybercrime-related complaints with losses totaling $10 billion. These figures continue to rise, and that’s one of the reasons the nation needs more cybersecurity professionals.
Skilled computer scientists and engineers are needed not only to create secure data networks but also to generate a cyber of- fense against nefarious organizations. Luck- ily, just as common criminals do, cyber crimi- nals leave a trail: digital evidence. Computer scientists and engineers in digital forensics are online detectives, tracing crimes to
the perpetrators and gathering evidence needed to convict them in court. They work to create effective strategies for playing both cyber defense and offense.
Many community colleges, universities, and colleges offer degrees in cyber security, or as a specialization within computer sci- ence and engineering programs. Check out Start Engineering’s Cybersecurity Career Guide (www.start-engneering.com) for more detailed information about careers in cyber.
24 START-ENGINEERING.COM ISTOCKPHOTO.COM