What is cybersecurity?

Protecting computers, networks, and data from damage and unauthorized access — the NIST definition.

What it means

NIST defines cybersecurity as the "prevention of damage to, protection of, and restoration of computers, electronic communications systems, electronic communications services, wire communication, and electronic communication, including information contained therein, to ensure its availability, integrity, authentication, confidentiality, and nonrepudiation."

It is a broad field, not a single job: it spans entry roles (SOC analyst), specialist roles (incident responder, penetration tester), and senior roles (security engineer, security architect), each with different skills and credentials.

Definitional only — not a ranking of roles or a claim about pay or demand.

Sources

• National Institute of Standards and Technology — NIST CSRC Glossary — cybersecurity: https://csrc.nist.gov/glossary/term/cybersecurity

Citation Ledger