Cybersecurity Analyst - 10 Best Practices, Portals & Career Development

Colleagues, this post will help you accelerate your career and income potential in the Cyber domain. Whether you are new to Cybersecurity or or looking to advance your existing Cybersecurity Analyst career this post has valuable information for you.

Best Practices

1. Continuous Learning & Specialization: Master evolving threats (SANS, Hacker News).

2. Strategic Certifications: Validate skills with relevant industry certs (ISACA, SANS).

3. Hands-on Experience: Build projects, do CTFs, ethical hacking (Black Hat, CISA).

4. Strong Communication: Bridge technical/non-technical gaps.

5. Networking & Mentorship: Connect at conferences (Black Hat) and professional groups (ISACA).

6. Framework Proficiency: Understand NIST, ISO, CIS Controls (CISA).

7. Emerging Tech Focus: Specialize in AI/ML, cloud security.

8. Business Acumen: Align security with organizational risk.

9. Personal Brand: Share knowledge, contribute to open source.

10. Diverse Paths: Explore government (CISA, CYBERCOM) and private sector roles.

Resource Portals

• Black Hat

• CISA

• Cisco Security

• DEF CON

• EC Council

• GitHub Cybersecurity

• Hacker News

• IBM Security & Privacy

• Interpol Cyber

• ISACA Global

• ISC2

• Microsoft Security

• Pen Tester Academy (Skill Drive)

• SANS Institute

• US Cyber Command

Specializations, Master Classes and Certifications

• Applied Cybersecurity Specialization 

• Certified Ethical Hacker (CEH)

• Certified Information Systems Security Professional (CISSP)

• CompTIA Security+ (SY0-701) Complete Course & Exam

• Google Cybersecurity Professional Certificate

• Cybersecurity: Foundations using R Specialization

• Cybersecurity Fundamentals with Python and SQL Specialization

• Cybersecurity Specialization

• Google Data Analytics Professional Certificate 

• IBM Data Analyst Professional Certificate

• IBM Cybersecurity Professional Certificate

• IBM and ISC2 Cybersecurity Specialist Professional Certificate 

• IBM Cybersecurity Analyst Professional Certificate

• Learn Ethical Hacking From Scratch

• Microsoft Cybersecurity Analyst Professional Certificate

• Understanding Cybersecurity 

Enroll today (teams & executives are welcome).  

Much success in your career journey, Lawrence E. Wilson - Cybersecurity Certification Center (share with your team) 

Cybersecurity - Interviews, Project Portfolios & Certifications (Your competitive edge)

Colleagues, are you seeking to land the next job in your Cybersecurity career journey … either within your current company or with a new employer? All hiring managers need to answer three fundamental questions in the interview process before making a job offer.

Interview Questions

1. Skills: Can you do the job?

2. Motivation: Will you do the job?

3. Fit: Will you be a team player and fit into the company culture?

Professional Portfolio

Creating a high qualityCybersecurity professional portfolio combined with having industry-leading certifications - along with relevant work experience - will put you at the top of the candidate pool when answering the “Skills” question.

What is a Project Portfolio? 

1. A project portfolio is a collection of projects, programs, and operations managed collectively to achieve strategic objectives. 

2. It demonstrates your diverse skills, experience, and proven ability to deliver results, showcasing your value and strategic impact to potential employers or for internal advancement.

What Makes a Project Portfolio Valuable?

1. Strategic Alignment: Connecting projects to organizational goals.

2. Resource Management: Efficient allocation of people and assets.

3. Risk Management: Identifying and mitigating potential threats.

4. Performance Monitoring: Tracking progress and outcomes.

5. Stakeholder Communication: Keeping all parties informed and engaged.

What are the best portals to host your project portfolio?

1. GitHub

2. LinkedIn

3. Behance

4. Dribbble

5. Kaggle

6. Hugging Face

7. Personal Website (WordPress, Wix, Squarespace, Webflow - Offers maximum customization & a professional brand presence)

Industry-Leading Certifications & Training

• Applied Cybersecurity Specialization 

• Certified Ethical Hacker (CEH)

• Certified Information Systems Security Professional (CISSP)

• CompTIA Security+ (SY0-701) Complete Course & Exam

• Google Cybersecurity Professional Certificate

• Cybersecurity: Foundations using R Specialization

• Cybersecurity Fundamentals with Python and SQL Specialization

• Cybersecurity Specialization

• Google Data Analytics Professional Certificate 

• IBM Data Analyst Professional Certificate

• IBM Cybersecurity Professional Certificate

• IBM and ISC2 Cybersecurity Specialist Professional Certificate 

• IBM Cybersecurity Analyst Professional Certificate

• Learn Ethical Hacking From Scratch

• Microsoft Cybersecurity Analyst Professional Certificate

• Understanding Cybersecurity 

Enroll today (teams & executives are welcome).  

Much career success, Lawrence E. Wilson - Cybersecurity Certification Center (share with your team)

CISA: Certified Information Systems Auditor (cert exam prep)

Cyber Colleagues, the “CISA: Certified Information Systems Auditor” credential will help accelerate your career and earning growth. This course focuses on the components of the certification exam, including: Information Systems Auditing: Audit fundamentals and audit execution, Governance and Management of IT: IT governance and IT management, Information Systems Acquisition, Development, and Implementation: IT systems acquisition and development and systems implementation, Information Systems Operations and Business Resilience: Information system design and business reliance, and Protection of Information Assets: Protecting information assets. Skill-based training modules address: 1) Information Systems Auditing - Fundamentals and Execution, 2) Governance and Management of IT, 3) Information Systems Acquisition, Development, and Implementation - Project Governance and Management, Information Systems Implementation, 4) Information Systems Operations and Business Resilience - Information Systems Operations, Business Resilience, and 5) Protection of Information Assets - Information Asset Security and Control, and Authentication and Access Control. 

Enroll todays (teams & execs are welcome): https://tinyurl.com/2s4bsj8r 

Much career success, Lawrence E. Wilson - Cybersecurity Certification Center (share with your team)

Cybersecurity - Discover the Top 3 Career & Earnings Growth Strategies

Cyber Colleagues, on average a Cybersecurity Engineer earns $143k USD in the US according to Glassdoor. The first strategy is to Get Certified: A high quality credential from a reputable vendor or professional association can boost your income by 10%+. Topping our list is the CompTIA SecurityX (CAS-005) cert. Next up is the EC-Council Certified Ethical Hacker (CEH). Third is the Google Cybersecurity Professional Certificate. Fourth is Cisco’s CCNA 200-301 credential. Fifth is the IBM Cybersecurity Analyst Professional Certificate. And sixth is the Microsoft Cybersecurity Analyst Professional Certificate. Second, Get Published: Write a series of posts or articles on Best Practices, Industry Trends and Emerging Technologies, and publish on the Hacker News portal, SANS Internet Storm Center (ISC) Diary, OWASP Foundation (Open Web Application Security Project), and Dark Reading. Then reate a “project portfolio” on GitHub or LinkedIn that showcases your hands-on expertise. A high quality portfolio proves your expertise to future employers and gives you a competitive advantage over other job candidates. Then create a “project portfolio” on GitHub or LinkedIn that showcases your hands-on prowess. A high quality portfolio proves your expertise to future employers and gives you a competitive advantage over other job candidates. And third, Get Connected: Professional networking and referrals are the most effective method for landing your dream job - within your current employer or at a new company (rather than simply applying for jobs online and standing in the Human Resources queue with the masses). Join and participate in 2-3 high profile groups or professional associations. Join the US NIST Federal Cybersecurity and Privacy Professionals Forum. Engage with the SANS Community online. Participate in the Cybersecurity Conferences 2025 - 2026 programs. And attend an annual Black Hat conference.

Get started today by enrolling in one or more training-certification programs:

• Certified Information Systems Security Professional (CISSP) 

• Certified as an Ethical Hacker (CEH)

• Certified Information Systems Auditor (CISA)

• Certified Information Security Manager (CISM)

• CompTIA Cybersecurity Analyst CySA+ (CS0-001) 

• CompTIA SecurityX (CAS-005) 

• EC-Council Certified Ethical Hacker (CEH)

• Google Cybersecurity Professional Certificate

• Cisco’s CCNA 200-301

• IBM Cybersecurity Analyst Professional Certificate

• Microsoft Cybersecurity Analyst Professional Certificate

• Certified Information Systems Security Professional (CISSP) 

• CompTIA Cybersecurity Analyst CySA+ (CS0-001) 

• Certified as an Ethical Hacker (CEH) 

• Certified Information Systems Auditor (CISA) 

• Certified Information Security Manager (CISM)

Success awaits you! Lawrence E. Wilson - Cybersecurity Certification Center (share & subscribe)