How an IT Certification Can Be Helpful in Non-IT Roles

Have you recently acquired an interest in technology or cybersecurity? If you have, you are not alone! Google trends show that search terms cybersecurity courses and cybersecurity certification have gone up 180% and 60% respectively in the past year with breakout topics including cybersecurity and infrastructure security and artificial intelligence. If you were one of the people who searched cybersecurity and infrastructure security, I recommend a Network+ certification course to learn about infrastructure and essential networking skills. Many people are learning more about topics they are interested in through online learning platforms. Did you know online education has risen dramatically over the past two years, almost 15-fold! Yes, the pandemic had a part in this, but advancement in technology and increased online accessibility also played a role. So, if you have been wanting to take some online cybersecurity courses or continuing education courses but could not take that final step to sign up, take this as your sign to do it! You may even be able to get your company to pay for cybersecurity training. An IT or cybersecurity certification would actually be quite useful in a marketing or accounting role, and here is why.  

Marketing 

There are multiple reasons why having cybersecurity knowledge would help you in marketing. Marketers, especially digital marketers, are using a lot of technology, whether it is for data analytics or content management. The more consumer data collected, the more of a target for an attack you are becoming; one cybersecurity mishap could be detrimental to your brand trust and identity, impacting perception at large. And if an attack does happen, it is the marketing team who is relaying the information to the public and answering their questions, which could be non-stop thanks to social media and DMing. It is essential marketers understand what data the business controls, where the data is stored, the relative value of the data, and the ways in which a cybersecurity incident can occur. It is not just consumer data marketers have control of, they also put a target on their back when going to outside vendors and software programs that require confidential information, when installing new marketing tools, and can easily fall victim to email phishing and social engineering attacks depending on the amount of external interview and promotional content they create. At a minimum, understanding online best practices that can be learned from an A+ certification training course or Security+ training course and being in constant contact with the cybersecurity team should be implemented for all marketing professionals. 


Accounting 

Accountants and people working at accounting firms handle a lot of data, with much of it being sensitive financial data. They are the key individuals entrusted with confidential data that could cause a lot of damage to an individual or company. And with 67% of data breaches being caused by humans, through phishing, social attacks or just a mistake, accountants need to take extra precautions for all the information that passes by their desk and how they store and manage all the information they oversee. Specific cybersecurity concerns for accountants include:  

  • Databases being sold on the dark web 
  • Customers receiving phishing emails from "you" 
  • Data being locked behind a ransomware paywall 
  • A hidden worm hiding in a system for a long time, unnoticed, siphoning data 

When we live in an era where almost anyone can be a hacker, it is essential that people who have access to sensitive data receive basic cybersecurity training and are encouraged to be lifelong learners. And who knows, you could even become the first accountant who has also received CySA+ training making you knowledgeable about human behaviour around money and cybersecurity—two coveted topics. 


Written by Lindsay McKay

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