At 8:30 in the morning, Zhang Lina, a data security engineer from Qi'anxin, arrived at the office and opened the computer "probe" to check the operation of the big data platform, detect potential security issues, and promptly provide solutions.
Online shopping, online financial management, online consultation... With the popularization of the Internet, our lives are constantly in contact with big data, and data security issues such as personal information leakage also occur. Data security engineering technicians like Zhang Lina are like the "bodyguards" of data, building a data security defense line for the Internet.
Industry statistics show that by the beginning of 2022, the recruitment demand for cybersecurity related positions by enterprises has increased by about 3.7 times compared to June 2016. According to data from the Ministry of Education, by 2027, the shortage of cybersecurity personnel in China will reach 3.27 million.
Make data security issues "manageable" and "manageable"
Data is the core foundation of the digital economy. With the Digital transformation of all walks of life, data security problems, represented by personal information leakage, occur from time to time.
Data security issues are closely related to each and every one of us. Data leakage may not only cause personal or corporate property losses, but also be closely related to national security if the leakage involves important data from various industries and fields, "Zhang Lina told reporters.
It was precisely because of the rapidly growing demand in the data security market that Zhang Lina, who studied computer science in university, entered the internet industry after graduation and became a data security engineer.
Zhang Lina's work includes data security risk assessment services, products and solutions, effectiveness operation, and development of related technologies and products, in order to make data security issues "clear," perceived, "and" manageable.
Taking "perception" as an example, it is necessary to use API interfaces (application programming interfaces) as entry points during the data flow process to monitor whether API access behavior is normal, whether sensitive data has been transmitted, whether related business components have vulnerabilities, and whether they are being exploited for a series of related risks.
Assuming that the access volume of an API at a certain point far exceeds its daily access volume, it is highly likely that there will be access anomalies, and it is necessary to be vigilant about whether there is data risk. "Zhang Lina said," This position can be seen as assigning a 'bodyguard' to data, without restricting the free flow of data, but ensuring that security measures follow wherever the data goes
From the perspective of security companies, ensuring data security requires preventing hackers from stealing, tampering, deleting, and extorting data through network attacks. To achieve data security goals, it is necessary to build an endogenous security system at the network, terminal servers, data storage, and processing levels. "said Pei Zhiyong, director of the Qi'anxin Industry Security Research Center.
Data security talent in short supply
In 2022, the Ministry of Human Resources and Social Security will include "data security engineering and technical personnel" as a new profession in the national occupational directory.
The emergence of an emerging position often signifies a rapid growth in demand for a certain type of social production. Nowadays, with the increasing frequency of data transactions and the digitization and networking of more and more products, data security incidents may occur in many industries, and data security issues have become an unavoidable network security issue for governments and enterprises, "said Pei Zhiyong.
Under the severe situation, the demand for talent in the field of network security has surged, and the supply of data security talents is in short supply. According to the "2022 Network Security Talent Market Research Report" jointly released by Qi'anxin and Zhaopin Recruitment, by the beginning of 2022, the recruitment demand for network security related positions by enterprises has increased by about 3.7 times compared to June 2016. According to the "White Paper on the Practical Ability of Cybersecurity Talents" by the Ministry of Education, by 2027, the shortage of cybersecurity personnel in China will reach 3.27 million, while the scale of talent cultivation in universities is only 30000 people per year.
Compared to the vast majority of other network security related positions, data security engineering and technical personnel not only need to proficiently various basic skills in network security, but also need to have a full and in-depth understanding of production and business systems. Because data itself is stored and run on top of business systems, without understanding the process of data generation, transmission, storage, and extinction in business systems, effective data security protection cannot be achieved Pei Zhiyong said.
According to Pei Zhiyong, there is currently a high demand for data security engineering technicians, mainly in industries such as the internet, finance, and IT information technology. The job demand for this profession is rapidly increasing in industries such as manufacturing, transportation, education, healthcare, and e-government.
Bright career prospects for network security positions
The surge in demand for data security related professions reflects the country's emphasis on the digital economy and data security to a new level, and also indicates that the training and certification system for related talents in this profession will gradually improve in the future, providing systematic protection for China's digital economy and data security, "said Zhang Lina.
In recent years, data security issues have received increasing attention, and relevant policies and regulations have been introduced one after another. At the end of 2022, the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China and the State Council issued the "Opinions on Building a Data Infrastructure System to Better Play the Role of Data Elements", which proposed strengthening the construction of a data security guarantee system and integrating security throughout the entire process of data supply, circulation, and use. The "Guiding Opinions on Promoting the Development of the Data Security Industry" (hereinafter referred to as the "Guiding Opinions") recently released by 16 departments including the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology and the National Development and Reform Commission proposes to strengthen core technology research and build a data security product system.
The relevant person in ge of the Network Security Management Bureau of the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology stated that data security enterprises will be encouraged to closely focus on the data security protection needs of industrial digitization and digital industrialization processes, optimize and upgrade traditional data security products, and innovate and develop specialized data security products for emerging fusion fields; Strengthen the adaptation and development of data security products with basic software and hardware, and enhance the endogenous ability of data security.
In the view of industry insiders, in the future, technologies such as data security monitoring and regulation are expected to achieve more breakthroughs and applications, and related industries will also enter a rapid development stage.
According to the above Guiding Opinions, by 2025, the basic capacity and comprehensive strength of China's data security industry will be significantly enhanced, and the industrial scale will rapidly expand. The scale of the data security industry will exceed 150 billion yuan, with an annual compound growth rate of over 30%. By 2035, the data security industry will enter a period of prosperity and maturity.
In Pei Zhiyong's view, data security issues are just one representative of many network security issues. With the in-depth development of Digital transformation, the demand of the whole society for network security talents is growing day by day. In the future, it is believed that more cybersecurity positions will be included in the occupational information of the Ministry of Human Resources and Social Security, and talents in related fields will also usher in brighter career prospects, "he said.
