How to Become a Cyber Security Architect in Steps

Dec 8, 2022

min read

Everywhere you turn, there are reports about corporate cybersecurity breaches, phishing scams, internet fraud, and other terrifying situations. Cybercrime is a major issue these days, emphasizing the significance of good cybersecurity policies. Everyone wants their information to be secure, whether they are a corporation, government agency, organization, or private citizen. Personal information, financial transactions, and day-to-day work are all done online, which is a huge aspect of our life.

Cybersecurity architects are critical components of the cybersecurity puzzle. This essay will explain what cybersecurity architecture is, why you should consider becoming one, and how to get started. Continue reading to learn why this is a popular career path.

Who is a Cyber Security Architect?

A cybersecurity architect (sometimes just called a “security architect”) is responsible for designing, creating, and maintaining the security systems within an organization’s IT network, including the computer systems and data. A security architect evaluates the security of the organization's systems for vulnerabilities. They perform penetration tests, risk analyses, and ethical hacks on LANs, WANs, and VPNs. To determine the efficacy and efficiency of routers, firewalls, and comparable systems, they also evaluate these systems.

In other words, they are the go-to person, the one in charge, in the area of cybersecurity.

What Does a Cyber Security Architect Do?

The above definition takes away some of the mystery, sure, but what does it mean in real-world terms? How does that definition translate into job responsibilities? Cybersecurity architect roles and responsibilities include:

Gaining a total understanding of the organization’s technology and information systems
Planning, researching, and designing reliable, powerful, and flexible security architectures for all IT projects
Performing vulnerability testing on the completed infrastructure, including risk analyses and security assessments
Researching the latest security standards, new security systems, and updated authentication protocols
Defining, creating, implementing, and maintaining all needed corporate security policies and procedures, making sure that all employees abide by them
Developing requirements for all IT assets including routers, firewalls, local area networks (LANs), wide-area networks (WANs), virtual private networks (VPNs), and any other related network devices
Reviewing and approving the installation of all firewalls, VPN, routers, servers, and IDS scanning technologies
Preparing cost estimates for all cybersecurity measures and identifying any potential integration issues
Designing critical public infrastructures (PKIs), including digital signatures and certification authorities (CA)
Testing the organization’s final security structures to make sure they function as planned
Providing technical guidance and supervision for security teams
Taking charge of any security awareness programs and educational efforts to better prepare non-IT personnel
Responding immediately to any security-related incidents (e.g., data breaches, viruses, phishing scams) and providing a complete post-event analysis once there is a resolution
Updating and upgrading the organization’s security systems as needed

Bear in mind, not all organizations or businesses will want their cybersecurity architect to do every one of these tasks. Conversely, some companies may ask even more of their architects.

Cyber Security Architect Salary and Career Potential

By this time, you may be wondering about the viability of cybersecurity as a career. For instance, what does a cybersecurity architect's salary look like? Are there many cybersecurity architect jobs out there? What about the perks and benefits?

The average cybersecurity architect salary clocks in at USD 122,634, according to Payscale. Of course, this can fluctuate based on location, how many years of experience you have, and the nature of your relevant skillset. Payscale further points out that a cybersecurity architect pulls in generous health benefits and may even be eligible for bonuses and profit-sharing.

Indeed’s blog has encouraging news for anyone who’s wondering about demand. Considering that cybersecurity is the number one concern of CEOs in the United States, it’s hardly surprising that the need for cybersecurity architects is on the rise. Fears related to cybercrimes have risen thanks to several high-profile cybersecurity incidents over the last couple of years.

There is a projected 37 percent growth rate for cybersecurity jobs between 2012 and 2022, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Also, there appears to be a growing skills gap in the field, as boomers retire and millennials haven’t been replacing them at a comparable rate.

All of this, coupled with the reality that we live in a society that increasingly conducts its business and leisure activities online, points toward a high demand for cybersecurity architects. This is a field that you can enter and write your ticket, provided you get the proper skills and training.

How Do You Become a Cyber Security Architect?

We need to be up-front about this: it takes some work and dedication to become a cybersecurity architect. This is a prestigious, well-paying career with lots of potentials, but you need to put in the time and effort to get there. Fortunately, we’ll show you how to do this!

First of all, you need some academic acumen. Conventional wisdom says you need a degree (Bachelor’s or Masters) in cybersecurity, computer science, information technology, or some other related major. If you don’t have this kind of educational background, you may be able to squeak by taking some classes that focus on IT.

Moving away from academia to actual work experience, most businesses and organizations look for candidates with five to 10 years of IT experience in the workplace, including some work with systems analysis, application development, and business planning. Three to five of those years of IT experience should focus on security matters.

So, if you have your education and work experience squared away, you’re ready to go.

Not exactly.

It takes a particular set of skills to excel at cybersecurity architecture. In the realm of “soft” skills, the ideal candidate is an excellent communicator, a capable leader, and enjoys solving problems. A cybersecurity architect needs to be able to oversee projects, direct teams, and be able to talk with non-technical people in the organization, relaying concepts that may be difficult for them to grasp.

A good cybersecurity architect needs many of the following hard skills:

Knowledge of Windows, UNIX, and Linux
Understanding of ISO 27001/27002, ITIL, and COBIT frameworks
A grasp of perimeter security controls such as firewalls, IDS/IPS, network access controls, and network segmentation
Network security architecture development and definition
Experience with the various aspects of wireless security such as routers, switches, and VLAN security
Knowledge of security concepts related to DNS, including routing, authentication, VPN, proxy services, and DDOS mitigation technology
An understanding of third party auditing and cloud risk assessment methodology

Now, as if all of that isn’t enough, it’s also important to have certification in various subjects crucial to cybersecurity architecture. But with the right training, certification is within your reach.

Benefits of Cyber Security Architect Certification

You earn certification in a given subject by taking a course (or courses), completing all of the work, and passing a certification exam. Certification is crucial because it provides documented, quantifiable proof that you possess the appropriate knowledge in that subject.

Most businesses and organizations look for certification for this very reason. If they see that you’re certified, then they have an assurance that you’re capable of handling the position for which they’re hiring you. That’s why getting certification is such an essential part of your cybersecurity architect training.

Here’s a partial list of appropriate certifications: