What is a cyber security engineer? Think of them like an offensive line in football. The O-Line (engineers) is there to protect the quarterback (sensitive information). With a poor O-Line, the QB remains under pressure but with the right O-line and tools, the QB stays calm and collected.

Cyber security engineers are responsible for protecting the networks and systems of an organization against threats from adversaries in the cyber space. They are the first in defense when it comes to protecting your personal data such as medical records, social security number, banking information, etc. Since cybercrime is becoming more and more popular the more advanced technologies get, cyber security network engineers are becoming more and more important.

These engineers are responsible not only securing the network but also testing it. Before diving into the software, itself, they can stand back, look at the situation, and make recommendations on how to improve a security system just by using their knowledge of security and cyber security. Cyber security engineers are often viewed as the first line of defense from the outside world. This means they have an extremely important job. Not only do they understand how to pinpoint potential threats, but they also understand how to plan ahead and prepare for any cyber-attack. They are kind of like an all-in-one cyber defense force by incorporating and testing security strategies, reporting any incidents for future practices, logging the status of network security, and educating other employees on network security.

Some responsibilities cyber security engineers have include, but are not limited to:

• Developing network security standards
• Creating new ways to solve existing security issues
• Installing and using software
• Conducting penetration testing
• Monitoring networks and systems for security breaches
• Testing security solutions
• Reporting findings to management
• Supervising changes in software, hardware
• Educating staff members on information security