Top 10 Cyber Security Jobs In India – Entry and Advance Level

Cyber security has been a recent overwhelming need not just for private corporations but also for government organisations. India has seen the highest number of IT professionals in the world, yet there is one domain that the country lacks – Cyber Security. This need has led to an increased demand for cyber security professionals in India. And of course, this demand is directly proportional to the salary that these professionals receive which means, that the higher the demand, the higher the salary.

Is A Career In Cyber Security Worth It?

Also, according to various studies worldwide, cyber security positions take longer to fill in than other IT positions. And hence the pay is more on an average than most other IT jobs. The field of cyber security is extremely dynamic, diverse, and fast-paced. This gives you the opportunity to learn and grow continuously in the world of Information Technology. So if you’re planning to start your career in Cyber Security or if you’re already in the IT industry and looking to switch your domain, then Cyber Security jobs are worth considering. Read: Cyber Security Interview Questions Expert Opinion!

Further in this blog, we will be discussing some of the many job roles for cyber security professionals. We have listed both entry-level as well as mid-level/advanced jobs in the field. We will also take a look at the average salary, job description, eligibility, and skills required for each job role mentioned. In the end, we will also be discussing how you can get started and what courses you can opt for. So, stay tuned. Read: What Is Cyber Security!

Cyber Security Job Entry Level

When you say “entry-level job” in cyber security, then there is practically none in particularly cyber security domain as it is a highly technically advanced domain. For the maximum of the organizations, “entry-level” means a bachelor’s with up to 3 years of experience or a master’s with up to 1-2 years of experience. And if you’re a 12th pass out then you would require 4-7 years of experience. 

Now you must be wondering that when there are no entry-level jobs in cyber security, then how and why are organisations seeking professionals with experience. The answer is, that to enter the field of cyber security, you have to first gain experience in relevant IT roles. Since cyber security is a vast field, these IT roles become a small part of the industry and help you with gaining experience for bigger roles in the future. 4 of the most common and most relevant IT roles that you can pursue within the bigger world of cyber security. Read: Cyber Security Salary In India!

#1 Forensic Computer Analyst

Forensic Computer Analysts work on systems affected by cyberattacks to retrieve their data. Their major role is to recover the data that has been deleted, manipulated, or stolen from a system. Computer Forensic Analysts also find digital evidence of cyberattacks for legal purposes and also to prevent further such mishaps. So, if you’re an inquisitive person and enjoy solving puzzles, then this might be the right role for you. 

Average Salary: ₹7,00,000/-

Related Job Roles: Digital Forensic Examiner, Cyber Forensic Specialist, Digital Forensic Analyst, Computer Forensic Specialist. 

Job Description: As a Forensic Computer Analyst, your day to day job might include the following: 

• Analysing hard drives that have been digitally damaged to recover their data that has been erased or encrypted. 
• Analysing devices that have been victims of cyber attacks to find and preserve the evidence of the attack.
• Documenting your entire process of data retrieval. 
• You might also have to work with law enforcement during criminal investigations. 
• You might have to provide expert testimonies in court proceedings as well. 

Eligibility: You are eligible for the job if you have a bachelor’s in forensic computing, cyber security, or any other relevant subject. Any previous related experience or additional certificates is always a plus point.    

#2 IT Auditor

Information Technology (IT) Auditors work on assessing the technology of the organisation they work for, to find potential threats to security, compliance, and efficiency of the technology. 

Average Salary: ₹7,81,117/-

Related Job Roles: Cyber Security Auditor, Internal IT Auditor. 

Job Description: As an IT Auditor, your day to day job might include the following: 

• Plan and perform audits. 
• Document and present the findings in your daily audits.
• Looking for opportunities for better efficiency of the technology.
• Fixing any security risks as well as designing plans in advance for any future security risks. 
• Analysing existing security systems to give recommendations on required security measures.  

Eligibility: You are eligible for the job if you have a bachelor’s in information systems management, computer science, or any other related field. Any previous related experience or additional certificates is always a plus point. 

#3 Information Security Specialist

Information Security Specialists protect the data of their organisation from unauthorised access or from any kinds of cyber threats. It is an important role as you become a key person for security at your organisation. 

Average Salary: ₹10,23,357/-

Related Job Roles: Cyber Security Specialist. 

Job Description: As an Information Security Specialist, your day to day job might include the following: 

• Maintaining existing firewalls and antivirus software as well as testing new ones. 
• Researching about the latest security risks.
• Identifying security weaknesses in the system and suggesting improvements.
• You might also have to implement security trainings.  

Eligibility: You are eligible for the job if you have a bachelor’s in information security, computer science, or any other related field. Any previous related experience or additional certificates is always a plus point. 

#4 Information Security Analyst

Information Security Analysts are responsible for researching and collecting data to maximise productivity by developing secure strategies for the technology of the organisation they work for. They also have to analyse the possible cyber threats to provide security solutions to the company. 

Average Salary: ₹5,85,424/-

Related Job Roles: Cyber Security Analyst, IT Security Analyst. 

Job Description: As an Information Security Analyst, your day to day job might include the following: 

• Implement security principles while keeping in mind the organisation’s strict privacy policies. 
• Identifying security threats and monitoring networks for cyber vulnerabilities and other security breaches. 
• Researching and keeping up with IT security trends. 
• Investigating, reporting, as well as documenting security breaches for records.  

Eligibility: You are eligible for the job if you have a bachelor’s in information technology, network security, computer science, or any other related field. Any previous related experience or additional certificates is always a plus point. 

Advanced Cyber Security Jobs

After gaining experience in cyber security by working in jobs like the ones mentioned above, you can easily venture into more advanced roles. Given below are only a few of the many specialised roles in cyber security which are quite in demand in the industry. 

#1 Security Engineer

Security Engineers work on building and designing software and systems to keep the computers, networks, and their data safe from cyber threats or natural technological failures of the company they work for. The security systems that these engineers design might include technologies like intrusion detection systems, firewalls, anti-virus, etc. 

Average Salary: ₹7,43,743/-

Related Job Roles: Cyber Security Engineer, IT Security Engineer, Network Security Engineer. 

Job Description: As a Security Engineer, your day to day job might include the following: 

• Develop effective as well as efficient computer solutions to enhance the security of the systems and projects of the company. 
• Invent new ways to solve existing cyber security issues to enhance productivity.
• Regularly assess and analyse the current workflows of the company’s systems to identify possible issues in the future.
• Deploy new strategies to solve production problems within the company.
• Developing programs that can automate the process of vulnerability detection. 
• Making sure that the new security systems have been installed and configured properly. 
• Working with the incident response team to provide recommendations on security betterment to the management. 

Eligibility: You are eligible for the job if you have a bachelor’s in computer science engineering or any other related field. Apart from a bachelor’s degree, you must have at least 3-4 years of relevant work experience. A master’s degree is also quite helpful as you are eligible for the job with lesser work experience as compared to a bachelor’s degree holder. 

#2 Security Architect

Security Architects work closely with Security Engineers and lead them in setting the vision for the security systems of the company or organisation they are working for. Apart from developing security policies, Security Architects also have to work on programming as well as do research against cyber threats. It is their job to be a step ahead of cyber hackers. 

Average Salary: ₹21,44,029/-

Related Job Roles: Cyber Security Engineer, IT Security Analyst, Network Security Architect. 

Job Description: As Security Architect, your day to day job might include the following: 

• Designing, building, and maintaining the company’s security systems and networks. 
• Coordinating with the IT and engineering departments for various security operations. 
• Regularly analysing existing systems and looking for any improvement in response to security breach incidents. 
• Testing the security structures developed by the Security Engineers to ensure they do the intended work. 
• Developing policy and procedures for the employees of the company to know how to use the newly developed security structures. 
• Researching about new authentication protocols and keeping up with other cyber security trends. 
• Analysing the newly released security protocols and systems to check for any loopholes and to ensure that they are robust and working fine. 

Eligibility: You are eligible for the job if you have a bachelor’s in cyber security, computer science, or any other related field. Apart from a bachelor’s degree, you must have at least 4-5 years of relevant work experience. A master’s degree is also quite helpful as you are eligible for the job with lesser work experience as compared to a bachelor’s degree holder.

#3 Chief Information Security Officer (CISO)

Chief Information Security Officer (CISO) as the name suggests, is responsible for the complete safety of information of the company. A CISO also has to develop risk management programs in order to maintain information security in an organisation. CISO is a high-level officer and hence has to interact with stakeholders as well to brief them on information security concerns. However, you do not get this position easily. This job needs several years of experience in the cyber security domain.    

Average Salary: ₹22,13,695/-

Related Job Roles: Cyber Information Manager, IT Security Officer, Security Risk Manager. 

Job Description: As a Chief Information Security Officer (CISO), your day to day job might include the following: 

• Dealing with security breaches and devising quick action plans to protect the company’s systems and networks.   
• Supervise the entire process from the development of new security protocols and procedures to their implementation and application.
• Meeting with stakeholders and discussing new security policies and procedures. 
• Devise contingency plans in advance to deal with possible security breaches before any damage has been done. 
• Conduct training on information technology and security systems and provide information about the company’s security policies and procedures to the employees. 

Eligibility: You are eligible for the job if you have a bachelor’s in information security, network security, computer science, or any other related field. Apart from a bachelor’s degree, you must have at least 7-10 years of relevant work experience. A master’s degree is also quite helpful as you are eligible for the job with lesser work experience as compared to a bachelor’s degree holder. An MBA in a relevant field is also a plus point. 

#4 Penetration Tester

If you are fascinated by hacking, then this could be the job for you. A penetration tester looks for security weaknesses within a system or network of an organisation before any hacker can do the same. As a penetration tester, you will have to hack the system of the company, of course with their permission, to find all the loopholes leading to the security breach.

Average Salary: ₹6,17,313/-

Related Job Roles: Ethical Hacker, White Hat Hacker, vulnerability Analyst. 

Job Description: As a Penetration Tester, your day to day job might include the following: 

• Identifying loopholes in the security system by carrying out penetration tests. 
• Making reports on the penetration tests you do and documenting them for recommendations to the IT Security and Engineering teams. 
• Trying to get the employees of the company to disclose confidential company information as a part of social engineering exercises. 
• Offering technical support at the time of any hacking incident.
• Developing and documenting scripts for automation of some parts of the penetration testing process. 

Eligibility: You are eligible for the job if you have a bachelor’s in information technology, cyber security, or any other related field. Apart from a bachelor’s degree, you must have at least 3-4 years of relevant work experience. A master’s degree is also quite helpful as you are eligible for the job with lesser work experience as compared to a bachelor’s degree holder. Any certification course in a particular field can be a plus point as well. 

#5 Information Security Manager 

Information Security Manager is a leadership position. In any organisation, an Information Security Manager is responsible to manage and oversee the security infrastructure. Since it is a management role, the Information Security Manager has to manage both human resources and technological resources. Therefore, this is one of the job roles which is very much in demand today in big and rich organisations. 

Average Salary: ₹15,99,954/-

Related Job Roles: Cyber Security Manager. 

Job Description: As an Information Security Manager, your day to day job might include the following: 

• Leading and management of risk mitigation procedures and efforts. 
• Overseeing the sourcing of the cyber security tools for the company.
• Management of human resources as well as the technological resources within the company. 
• Ensuring that all the employees of the company are complying with the security protocols, rules, and regulations. 
• Tracking and keeping a record of all the changes made in the internal as well as external security protocol. 
• Develop strategies to enhance the network and internet security of all the ongoing projects of the company.
• Resolving issues related to not just software but also hardware equipment needed by different departments of the company. 

Eligibility: You are eligible for the job if you have a bachelor’s in information technology, network security, computer science, or any other related field. Apart from a bachelor’s degree, you must have at least 6-8 years of relevant work experience (not just in IT but in administration as well). A master’s degree is also quite helpful as you are eligible for the job with lesser work experience as compared to a bachelor’s degree holder. An MBA or additional relevant certification courses are a plus point. 

#6 Malware Analyst

As the name suggests, a Malware Analyst works on identifying, examining, and analysing various cyber threats like viruses, spyware, ransomware, trojans, bots, worms, etc. This is to study and understand the nature of these malwares so that they can protect the organisation against them by developing malware protection tools.

Average Salary: ₹5,00,000/-

Related Job Roles: Cyber Security Analyst, Cyber Threat Analyst, Malware Assessor. 

Job Description: As Malware Analyst, your day to day job might include the following: 

• Identify any type of malware like viruses, adware, spyware, botnets, trojans, etc, and report to the Security Team for quick actions.   
• Plan, design, and develop malware protection tools for the company. 
• Document all the reports and methods to avoid any future malware threat. 
• Keep up with the malware security trends so that you are always one step ahead of cybercriminals. 
• Regularly checking the security networks and systems for any spyware and developing protection against them if any. 

Eligibility: You are eligible for the job if you have a bachelor’s in information technology, network security, computer science, or any other related field. Apart from a bachelor’s degree, you must have at least 2 years of relevant work experience. A master’s degree is also quite helpful as you are eligible for the job with lesser work experience as compared to a bachelor’s degree holder. A certification course particularly in malware protection is also very helpful. 

#7 Cryptography Engineer

Cryptography Engineers usually work on encrypting data by developing cyphers, encryption algorithms, or any other security protocols. This is done so that the sensitive and confidential data can not be used by a third party through either unauthorised access or through misuse of authorised access. It is also the job of Cryptography engineers to decrypt any data that has been hacked and encrypted by hackers. In short, they play a big role in protecting confidential data for communication and information exchange purposes.    

Average Salary: ₹6,10,419/-

Related Job Roles: Cryptanalyst, Cryptologist. 

Job Description: As a Cryptography Engineer, your day to day job might include the following: 

• Creating new cryptographic and encryption algorithms. 
• Examining existing algorithms to look for any vulnerabilities and then fixing them. 
• Applying new encryption solutions and then testing them to see if they are doing the intended job correctly. 
• Learning and testing new tools and techniques of encryption. 
• Helping the security team handle cyber attack incidents like ransomware by decrypting important data that has been coded and locked by the hackers. 
• Researching and learning new trends and technologies to keep up with cyber criminals and protecting the organisation by encrypting their confidential data in advance.  

Eligibility: You are eligible for the job if you have a bachelor’s in information technology, cyber security, computer science, or any other related field. Apart from a bachelor’s degree, you must have at least 2-4 years of relevant work experience. A master’s degree is also quite helpful as you are eligible for the job with lesser work experience as compared to a bachelor’s degree holder. And of course, certification courses in this particular field are a great add on. 

Cyber Security Skills that you need to know about

Having relevant degrees, academic qualifications, and the right certifications is great but they are useful only if you have the relevant practical skills. If you are not able to put the theory that you learned into practice, then it will be extremely difficult for you to land a job in the field of cyber security.

If you are just starting out and are looking forward to building a future in the cyber security domain or if you are already in the tech industry and are looking to switch to cyber security roles, then learning and mastering the following skills is a good place for you to start. 

Analytical thinking	Cloud Security basics
Encryption	Intrusion detection
Problem-solving	Risk management
Programming languages(you can start with Python)

• Analytical thinking 
• Cloud Security basics
• Encryption 
• Intrusion detection 
• Problem-solving
• Programming languages(you can start with Python)
• Risk management 

Lastly, you can look for some cyber security specialised courses online and hone your existing skills as well as build new technical skills. There are a lot of cyber security colleges in India that are offering online certification as well as other online courses in cyber security. If you are looking for a good and authentic online college to pursue a course in cyber security or any of its sub-domains, then you can visit College Vidya and find an online college among 50+ colleges that best suits you.