Why Is Cybersecurity Training So Important?

Co-written by Chéryl Chauvin & Alexandre Nikodem

Before you ask if you need cybersecurity training, you should understand precisely what it is. Do you know the difference between cybersecurity and IT security?

Companies are spending more and more money on cybersecurity, so it’s important to understand the issues, concerns, and other considerations involved.

Publishers are responding by offering awareness and security proficiency training courses for their platforms. We’ll be looking at the options available from Microsoft.

Cybersecurity and IT Security: Two Sides of the Same Coin

IT security and cybersecurity are two different disciplines that work toward the same goal: keeping the information system, data, users, and the company’s assets safe.

Despite their similarities, these fields each focus on a different aspect of security, so they must work well together.

IT Security: Using Technical Solutions to Protect Assets

IT security focuses on protecting the IT system and putting in place the mechanisms (generally tools) to protect the company’s assets. As a result, it is concerned with protecting the company’s resources from hackers and preventing sensitive data from being stolen, compromised, or leaked. The first step toward the discipline’s protection goal is to determine the criticality of each company asset by weighting the CIAT criteria:

• Confidentiality
• Integrity
• Availability
• Traceability or authentication

By weighting these criteria, the company can inventory its assets and classify them by criticality. Having a clear picture allows the company to put the right tools and technologies in place to defend those assets.

Cybersecurity: Defining Policies, Procedures, and Operational Strategies

Cybersecurity focuses on preventing internal and external risks by defining strategic and operational plans based on standardized frameworks (such as ISO: 27001 and the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST)) to reduce the risks a company faces when using digital technology.

The first step in prevention is to develop an Information System Security Policy (ISSP). This policy then acts as a roadmap for the company’s actions, enabling it to apply best practices to foresee and avoid security risks. This policy must be split into procedures that create a framework for each control point or activity, such as network security, application security, disaster recovery, etc. Lastly, each procedure must be broken down into its component parts so it can be put into practice within the organization.

High Stakes

Cyber attacks are becoming more common: the French National Agency for Information Systems Security (ANSSI) reports a 37% rise in the number of confirmed breaches of information systems reported to them between 2020 and 2021. Since no industry is immune (although some sectors remain favorite targets), IT security and cybersecurity make it possible to prevent and combat espionage, attacks, ransomware, phishing, and much more. The challenges companies typically face are financial and legal.

Companies are well aware of the consequences of these various internal and/or external attacks. A survey conducted by mc2i and ICD found that in 2021, 70% of French companies with more than 500 employees increased their expenditure on cybersecurity, up from 45% in 2020. This figure is set to continue rising, as 55% of companies say they want to spend more on employee awareness, which 64% of respondents say is a priority for the next two years.

In light of this, cybersecurity training ensures employability and job security.

A New Azure Security Training Course from Microsoft

In early 2022, Microsoft launched a new training pathway focusing on IT security and cybersecurity in Azure and Office 365. This pathway is split into two tiers of training:

• SC-900: Microsoft Security, Compliance, and Identity Fundamentals” is an entry-level course aimed at reviewing the basics and moving forward with a solid foundation.
• After that, several modules complete the course:
  • SC-100: Microsoft Cybersecurity Architect
    • At the end of this course, you will be able to design a Zero Trust strategy and architecture, design infrastructure security, design a data and applications strategy, and evaluate technical governance, risk compliance, and security operations strategies.
  • SC-200: Microsoft Security Operations Analyst
    • This course covers using Microsoft 365 Defender, Microsoft Defender for the Cloud, and Microsoft Sentinel for threat prevention and mitigation.
  • SC-300: Microsoft Identity and Access Administrator
    • This training course will teach you how to set up and manage identity authentication and authorization for users, devices, Azure resources, and applications.
  • SC-400: Microsoft Information Protection Administrator
    • This course will equip you to implement information governance, protection, and data loss prevention.

For every course taken with Cellenza Training:

• Official Microsoft course material is included.
• You are given a practical environment that you will have access to for up to 180 days after your training. You can use it to revise the concepts you learned in the course.
• You will receive a certification voucher worth €165.
• You will be trained by a Cellenza Training consultant.

Still not sure? Have a read of our 8 Reasons to Get Microsoft Azure Certified.