Since information security is one of main concerns of the modern communications industry, demand for information security professional is growing high. This also helps principally for the information technology industry as many professionals find a new avenue for career enhancement.

At the beginning of the information technology, the information security was anot an issue. At this stage, there were only a fistful of computers in the globe and only a few dozen of people had access to the installation. There was no risk of computers are being hacked or attacked and stolen information, which resulted no need of information security professionals. Once the computer started becoming the people s toy for info management, a lot more information was stored in the computers than the first days. With the introduction of the Internet, people started to connect their computers to the Internet (also known as the Cloud ), so the information access was easier. The same scenarios made the info more vulnerable to attacks and theft by the unauthorized people.

Next, the information in the computers required to be protected, so the need of information security serfaced. This was the birth of information security professional. Although it started as a basic information technology profession, by now, it has formulated to become one of the most elevated careers in the domain of information technology.

In case if you are keen on getting in to the field of information security, you got to have a sound educational background and a few unique skills within you. First of all, you need to have a hacker s mind to become a information security professional. The objectives and responsibilities of an information security professional can be compared to a crime investigation professional as both the professions require the same mindset.

Formal knowledge in info security is one of the key requisites in addition to the mindset. Since there are thousands of technologies and techniques used in securing information systems, knowledge in almost all these areas is required for you to become an information security professional. Cryptography is one of the crucial areas that one should pay particular attention when studying information security. For you to learn cryptography in great depth, you will require a sound mathematical knowledge and analytical skills.

Giac information security professional stream can be seen as one of the special kind of information technology profession as information security professionals are supposed to know every aspect of info systems from algorithm level to business use. At the same time, they should have a lot of self discipline to use their knowledge only for constructive work.