What do information security students do with a salary of $4000?

Experts shared the current situation and job opportunities of the information security industry at a cybersecurity training workshop held at the Cryptography Academy in Hanoi at TechFest 2022 on August 30. One of the headlines that caught the eye was “I used up a salary of $4,000” by Truong Duc Lung, chairman of the Vietnam Cyber ​​Security Stock Exchange (VSEC).

In 2016, an information security student found himself conflicted when asked what he needed to do to earn a $2,000 salary after graduation. Motivated by this question, Mr. Luong suggested a salary of USD 4,000 (VND 92 million) for 2022, judging that this number is very feasible given the increasing number of jobs for people working in information security today.

Warning of staff shortages in information security

according to dr Pham Duy Trung, Associate Dean of the Faculty of Information Security at the Academy of Cryptography, said that there is a serious shortage of information security manpower and this trend will increase in the coming years. Citing the ISC2 report, Mr Truong said there is currently a global shortfall of about three million security personnel, of which the Asia-Pacific region alone needs another two million.

In Vietnam, Department of Information Security – Ministry of Information and Communications, 2020, about 50,000 people work in information security. Meanwhile, the need for workers in this industry in 2021 is around 700,000.

According to a CyberJutsu Academy survey of Vietnam’s security community, the number of security personnel positions will nearly triple in 2021 compared to 2020. Especially in the four months of this year, the number of jobs has increased. It has reached 70 percent year-on-year, and the trend has picked up in recent months as many businesses have expanded following the disruptions caused by Covid-19.

According to Mr. Truong, the need for information security specialists is an inevitable result of the Industrial Revolution 4.0 and the trend of digital transformation. The number of connections, the sharing of data and the growing number of users create a large attack surface. Therefore, it becomes more difficult to ensure data security.

Salary $4,000 available.

According to a study by the Cyber ​​Jutsu Academy of several major technology companies in Vietnam, there are 8 million to 15 million security testers with less than a year of experience. VND and those with one or three years of experience – 15-40 million. In addition, many experienced engineers and researchers are involved in vulnerability detection programs that can cost tens of thousands or even millions of dollars.

Truong Duc Lung, President of VSEC, said that during the recruitment process, more than 250 young graduates were asked about their career goals, and most of the young people replied, “I want to improve, learn, improve and grow.” Information security career development.” . However, engineering students should be more realistic about their goals.

“Setting concrete salary and income goals is also an indicator of progress, making it easier to write down goals other than knowledge,” he said.

According to him, $4,000 for 8 hours a day of administrative work time is $92 million. VND per month, which is an average hourly wage of VND 575,000. This salary does not come immediately, but it takes time to prepare. In order to understand this number, he suggested that students should ask themselves some questions, e.g. B. whether or not they should pursue the information security industry. If so, what will the job be, where will it be, when will it start and how does the assessment measure compare to current salary?

For example, the salary of a person with less than a year of work experience is 8 million. VND, however, if you agree to work more than 8 hours a day, the salary and experience will also increase. Hard work and experience are two factors that determine salary in the security industry. When students start early, students have more time to build knowledge and experience to meet their post-graduation goals.

In addition, ambitious students can find well-paid jobs in the security sector or work in foreign companies with an average annual salary of 150,000 US dollars. At this point, you know what skills you need to improve, such as: B. Foreign languages, professional knowledge, participation in competitions in order to have a good profile when you apply.

Cyber ​​​​​​Jutsu Academy founder Nguyen Manh Luat believes that students in the information security industry often face four main problems, namely, extensive knowledge and the need to constantly update it, no clear development guidelines, but a lack. hacker mentality. , and many people do not understand the nature of the problem.

Mr. Luat suggested that security people should first practice programming skills, understand lines of code to understand the root of the problem, and develop the mindset of a product developer or hacker. Also, security is a competitive industry, so it’s a good idea to engage in the real world first rather than reading newspapers.

Also like Dr. According to Pham Duy Trung, the trend of cyber attacks is shifting from consumers to industrial networks, critical infrastructure, cloud computing and smart devices. Therefore, the security personnel of the new era must also be equipped with deeper skills, expand their knowledge in areas such as Internet of Things, blockchain, cloud computing, 5G, while using AI to improve. forums

Lu Kui