Cyber security technician

K1

Principles of organisational information security governance and the components of an organisation's cyber security technical infrastructure including hardware, operating systems, networks, software and cloud

K2

Cyber security policies and standards based on an Information Security Management System (ISMS)

K3

Types of physical, procedural and technical controls

K4

Awareness of how current legislation relates to or impacts upon the occupation including Data Protection Act, Regulation of Investigatory Powers Act, Human Rights Act, Computer Misuse Act, Freedom of Information Act, Official Secrets Act, Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard (PCI-DSS), Wireless and Telegraphy Act, professional body codes of conduct, ethical use of information assets

K7

Core terminology of cyber security – confidentiality, integrity, availability (the CIA triad), assurance, authenticity, identification, authentication, authorization, accountability, reliability, non-repudiation, access control

K29

How to use data ethically and the implications for wider society, with respect to the use of data

K5

Cyber security awareness and components of an effective security culture, different organisational structures and cultures, the importance of maintaining privacy and confidentiality of an organisation's information and the impact of a poor security culture

K6

Principles of cyber security compliance and compliance monitoring techniques

K25

Importance of maintaining privacy and confidentiality of an organisations information and the impact of a poor security culture

K30

Roles within a multidisciplinary team and the interfaces with other areas of an organisation

K8

Common security administrative operational tasks e.g. patching, software updates, access control, configuring a range of firewalls, security incident and event management tools (SIEM) and protection tools (Anti-virus, Anti-malware, Anti-spam)

K22

The significance of customer issues, problems, business value, brand awareness, cultural awareness/ diversity, accessibility, internal/ external audience, level of technical knowledge and profile in a business context

K26

Concepts of service desk delivery and how to respond to requests for assistance received by a service desk and be able to describe different methods of escalation, when to escalate to a higher level where necessary and the need to communicate accurately and appropriately during an escalation

K9

Cryptography, certificates and use of certificate management tools

K10

Processes for detecting, reporting, assessing, responding to, dealing with and learning from information security events

K17

Types of information security events – brute force attack, malware activity, suspicious user behaviour, suspicious device behaviour, unauthorized system changes

K19

Standard information security event incident, exception and management reporting requirements and how to document incident and event information as part of a chain or evidence

K11

Principles of identity and access management - authentication, authorisation and federation - and the inter-relationship between privacy and access rights and access control, and the types of access control, access control mechanisms and application control

K12

Types of digital information assets used in a controlled environment and the need to maintain an inventory of information assets used in a controlled environment and the need for and practice of secure information asset disposal

K13

Disaster prevention and recovery methods and the need for continuity of service planning and how an organisation might implement basic disaster prevention and recovery practices using conventional and incremental secure backup and recovery techniques and tools both onsite and offsite including geographic considerations

K15

Components of a vulnerability assessment scope and techniques to evaluate the results of a vulnerability assessment and provide recommendations based upon the evidence provided by the vulnerability assessment tools. The impact that vulnerabilities might have on an organisation and common vulnerability assessment tools and their strengths and weaknesses

K14

Categories of cyber security vulnerabilities and common vulnerability exposures –software misconfiguration, sensitive data exposure, injection vulnerabilities, using components with known vulnerabilities, insufficient logging and monitoring, broken access control and authentication, security misconfiguration, incorrect cross-site validation

K16

Threat sources and threat identification and network reconnaissance techniques and the impact that threats might have on an organisation

K18

Computer forensic principles – the importance of ensuring that evidence is not contaminated and maintaining the continuity of evidence without compromising it

K20

Common information security policies – acceptable use, incident management, patching, anti-virus, BYOD, access control, social media, password, data handling and data classification, IT asset disposal

K27

Risk assessment, risk management and business impact analysis principles

K21

Cyber security audit requirements, procedures and plans, need to obtain and document evidence in an appropriate form for an internal or external auditor to review

K23

Evolving cyber security issues in the digital world including the application to critical national infrastructure, communications technologies, the need for information assurance and governance, control systems and internet of things (IoT) devices

K24

Different learning techniques and the breadth and sources of knowledge and sources of verified information and data

K28

How their occupation fits into the wider digital landscape and any current or future regulatory requirements

S1

Follow information security procedures

S2

Maintain information security controls

S21

Communication skills to co-operate as part of a multi-functional, multi-disciplinary team using a range of technical and non-technical language to provide an effective interface between internal or external users and suppliers

S22

Keep up-to-date with legislation and industry standards related to the implementation of cyber security in an organisation

S3

Develop information security training and awareness resources

S4

Monitor the effectiveness of information security training and awareness

S5

Handle and assess the validity of security requests from a range of internal and external stakeholders

S6

Follow technical procedures to install and maintain technical security controls

S7

Monitor and report information security events

S8

Recognise when and how to escalate information security events in accordance with relevant procedures and standards

S9

Review and modify access rights to digital information systems, services, devices or data

S10

Maintain an inventory of digital information systems, services, devices and data storage

S11

Scopes cyber security vulnerability assessments

S12

Evaluate the results of a cyber security vulnerability assessment

S14

Undertake digital information risk assessments

S15

Identify and categorise threats, vulnerabilities and risks in preparation for response or escalation

S13

Perform routine threat intelligence gathering tasks through consulting external sources

S16

Document cyber security event information whilst preserving evidence

S17

Draft information management reports using standard formats appropriate to the recipients

S19

Perform cyber security compliance checks

S18

Review and comment upon cyber security policies, procedures, standards and guidelines

S20

Translate audit requirements and collate relevant information from log files, incident reports and other data sources

B2

Work independently and take responsibility for own actions within the occupation

B4

A structured approach to the prioritisation of tasks

B5

Treat colleagues and external stakeholders fairly and with respect without bias or discrimination

B6

Act in accordance with occupation specific laws, regulations and professional standards and not accept instruction that is incompatible with any of these

B1

Manage own time to meet deadlines and manage stakeholder expectations

B3

Use own initiative

B7

Review own development needs in order to keep up to date with evolution in technologies, trends and innovation using a range of sources