“Every day is different,” says Takeaki Chijiiwa, principal consultant at Security Compass, when talking about what he likes most about his job. “It’s being up-to-date with the technology, the new app, new application, or new buzz that’s interesting.” The need for computer security analysts and technicians in Canada is not only on the rise, but is also becoming more of a challenge in today’s battle against cyber crime. It has become increasingly more complex since the introduction of the common computer virus in the early 2000s.

Mark Shalagan, reseller at Your Sales Team Online (YSTO), a multi-line distributor based in BC, believes the introduction of spyware is the new form of cyber crime and internet “terrorism.” Unlike the typical computer virus, spyware is meant to be malicious without your slightest knowledge.

“It’s logging your keystrokes without you knowing. It’s stealing your identity. It’s feeding that data back from your system down through the internet, and people are sort of monitoring what you’re doing without you knowing,” he says. YSTO caters to small businesses and companies and Shalagan resells security software called Emsisoft from Quebec-based distributor Multi-Visions.

With the increase in online activity comes the rise of computer crime. The role of a security technician will also become more of a challenge as the cyber war against hackers continues. Erez Zevulunov, president and director of operations at MIT Consulting in Toronto says that from his perspective as a software developer, a technician’s role is going to be increasingly demanding in the future. “I think the demands of security applications, encryption applications, various types of services and products will be on an incline quite significantly over the next several years because it’s very much in its infancy on a defending side,” he says.

As large companies have more sophisticated security and software, Zevulunov believes small businesses will suffer the most, thus leading to the demand of security experts like those at MIT Consulting. “We already see that as an increase in business because everybody is telling me that ‘I need better browser protection, I need a better firewall,’” he says.

The main responsibility of a computer security technician is to protect businesses and companies of all sizes from the vulnerabilities that reside on the internet. Some companies, like Security Compass, have taken their job further by incorporating ‘ethical hacking’ into their services. “We essentially hack but we hack ethically, meaning that we work with the client to hack maybe their financial systems or their web applications and see if there’s way to prevent some of their controls,” says Chijiiwa, who is also the company’s practice lead for web and mobile application testing. Ultimately, the technicians are able to hack business computers in hopes to find security issues before online criminals and without the involvement of the police and FBI.

As the war against cyber crime increases, so does the need for security analysts and technicians. Chijiiwa says curiosity is the most important quality to have to succeed in that role. “Curiosity goes a long way especially with what we do. It’s really how you start interacting with it and trying to understand ‘if I change this, how does the system react?’” he says.

“With any university or college students that are interested in this field, I think it’s just a matter of picking any favourite technology and trying to understand it more from taking a look underneath the hood rather than seeing what’s presented at the top layer.” An education or background in developing and coding is also crucial to understanding how an application is built, finding its weaknesses, and improving it for clients. In today’s society, which is heavily built through electronic services, security technicians and software will always be needed to protect its businesses and consumers.

Discussion

How do you know if your computer activity is being tracked by someone else?

For additional careers in IT, take a look at software engineering, a job as an information systems manager, or read up on Armon Rouhani, a technical analyst with CGI.

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