What does a security architect do and why are these jobs so in-demand?
Most businesses have gone digital and those that haven't yet, will soon. With so much information being digitised, the amount of risk and vulnerability companies are exposed to has increased. Consequently, the demand for security architects and other cyber security professionals is far higher than the supply of talented experts.
What is a security architect?
Every organisation needs strong security measures to protect its information and assets. Consequently, someone needs to be responsible for designing, building and maintaining a security system. That is the role of the security architect.
It’s a senior position with a significant level of responsibility, but even if you’re just starting in your cyber security career, architecture is an exciting and rewarding opportunity to work toward.
What does a security architect do?
The role of a security architect can appear quite simple on paper, but in reality, it's very complex and requires a high degree of knowledge and experience. These experts are tasked with designing security systems and structures to prevent malware, spyware and any other intrusions from entering a computer system. When these measures are put in place, architects have to conduct penetration testing to identify any potential vulnerabilities or weaknesses.
Security architects will regularly meet with senior leaders to gain a comprehensive understanding of the organisation’s current systems and any areas that warrant attention. Sometimes, they’ll be responsible for hiring external parties, such as ethical hackers, to both test and consult on the defences in place.
As a senior cyber security role, architects are responsible for overseeing the wider security team and often create and deliver security training programs for their business. They’ll have the final say when it comes to installing new security measures, such as VPNs, firewalls, servers and routers. Subsequently, they will regularly review the defences in place and update aspects whenever necessary.
What responsibilities are common for security architects?
Security architect jobs are highly regarded and they carry a lot of responsibility. As such, there are a lot of tasks involved in the role. If you’re looking for a career as a security architect, here are the duties you’ll be regularly carrying out. This isn’t an exhaustive list and will vary between companies, but will provide a clear overview of what you’ll have to do.
- Use security architect practices to design and implement security standards and policies
- Consult, advise or oversee the secure design of key IT system and infrastructure projects to ensure alignment with enterprise security architecture
- Identify key metrics to ensure security architecture compliance
- Create and review directives to maintain compliance with industry and regulatory guidelines
- Lead development, engineering, business and IT teams
- Coach and mentor members of your teams
- Educate internal and external clients on current security risks and best practices
- Facilitate the design and implementation of automated end-to-end security tests
- Define and create cloud and infrastructure security programs
- Assist in the security incident response process
- Review existing and proposed systems to identify needs and requirements
- Provide detailed reports to management regarding task and revenue activity
- Identify and report security issues, weaknesses and vulnerabilities
- Keep up to date with new and emerging threats and best practices
Why are security architects in such high demand?
According to the latest Cyber Security Breaches Survey, 39 per cent of UK businesses have suffered cyber attacks within the last year, a similar figure to that of the year before. Consequently, cyber security has never been more important than it is right now.
As a result of COVID-19 and the subsequent lockdown, businesses around the world were forced to make the digital switch, or otherwise risk becoming obsolete. Consequently, more data became exposed to cyber attacks.
Now, there are a vast array of cyber security jobs in the UK that remain unfilled. The demand from employers is causing the talent pool to shrink. The job market favours employees at the moment, so for professionals looking to get into the industry, there’s never been a better time.
