WHAT DOES A CYBERSECURITY CONSULTANT DO?

Updated: October 3, 2024 - The Cybersecurity Consultant is responsible for assessing the current state of cybersecurity across various organizational systems to support mission objectives. This role involves coordinating with stakeholders to understand and formulate security requirements in alignment with established policies. Additionally, the consultant conducts research and provides recommendations on new tools and technologies to enhance cyber resiliency, while also developing implementation plans and standard operating procedures for operational teams.

A Review of Professional Skills and Functions for Cybersecurity Consultant

1. Cybersecurity Consultant Duties

  • Cybersecurity Consulting: Delivering cyber security consulting services to existing clients.
  • Client Oversight: Oversee and contribute to client mandates (e.g., procedure development, training, and exercising) across cyber security.
  • Relationship Management: Build and maintain strong client relationships across numerous industry sectors.
  • Industry Contribution: Contribute at industry events, seminars, and conferences on behalf of RiskLogic.
  • Profitability Oversight: Oversee project profitability and other key performance indicators.
  • Strategic Partnerships: Assist with building local strategic alliances and partnerships.
  • Quality Management: Contribute to ongoing quality management and continuous improvement activities.
  • Collaborative Outcomes: Collaborate with other internal divisions to provide integrated client outcomes.
  • Audit Planning: Support the development of the cyber audit plan.
  • Reporting: Report to the security manager.
  • Support Tasks: Provide support to the security manager on any other tasks under his responsibility.

2. Cybersecurity Consultant Details

  • Autonomy Development: Gain a good level of autonomy in daily activities, improving relationships with customers and partners.
  • Project Security: Work on security projects covering topics such as threat intelligence, security analytics, threat hunting, endpoint security, threat detection and response, and security automation and orchestration.
  • Solution Design: Actively contribute to the design and development of complex security solutions and architectures.
  • Management Support: Support the management and tutoring of junior colleagues.
  • Project Oversight: Take care of project activities, in terms of both delivery and organization.
  • Technical Skills Acquisition: Acquire many technical skills to be shared with co-workers.
  • Risk Assessment: Work with industry experts to perform cyber risk assessments to identify digital threats.
  • Client Protection: Work directly with clients to guard them against cybercrime.
  • IT Security Coordination: Coordinate an IT Security Management System and governance frameworks.
  • Security Auditing: Perform audits on security (internal and 3rd party).
  • Architecture Development: Develop security architecture requirements.
  • Maturity Assessment Support: Support cybersecurity maturity assessments.

3. Cybersecurity Consultant Responsibilities

  • Project Ownership: Owning and delivering cybersecurity projects while working with a team of consultants.
  • Delivery Responsibility: Deliver projects and take responsibility for individual outputs.
  • Asset Protection: Help clients understand what information/data assets are valuable and need protection.
  • Maturity Assessment: Conduct cyber maturity assessments, help develop training within the firm, and assist clients in implementing solutions.
  • Professional Presentation: Present findings to clients in a professional manner, working with client teams at all levels.
  • Integrated Solutions: Work with technical experts to deliver integrated solutions and draw out recommendations from their technical findings.
  • Business Development Support: Work with other departments and stakeholders within the firm to support business development.
  • Opportunity Development: Participate in client meetings and proactively develop business opportunities.
  • Proposal Development: Develop proposals for future client work and support project scoping and pricing by understanding clients’ requirements.
  • Marketing Collaboration: Work alongside the marketing team to assist them in generating additional exposure for the firm's cyber offerings.
  • Relationship Cultivation: Cultivate long-term relationships with clients and support the growth of the cybersecurity department.
  • Methodology Refinement: Help refine cybersecurity methodologies and approaches, identifying potential new areas of growth and opportunity, contributing to the professional development and training program.

4. Cybersecurity Consultant Accountabilities

  • Solution Delivery: Deliver end-to-end solutions in complex infrastructure environments.
  • Service Design: Design services on infrastructure platforms, on-premise, and cloud-based solutions, primarily in Azure, within tight timeframes.
  • Cloud Implementation: Follow through with the implementation of cloud services for customers.
  • Infrastructure Management: Work with networks, storage, virtual machines, and access control for customers.
  • Troubleshooting: Troubleshoot to identify issues and work to solve problems as efficiently as possible.
  • Configuration Management: Use configuration management as part of a practice and tooling to automate the delivery and operation of infrastructure.
  • Security Project Execution: Execute technical security projects for clients.
  • Subject Matter Expertise: Act as a subject matter expert for information security services to clients.
  • Vendor Communication: Interact and communicate with vendor support organizations and engineers.
  • Security Architecture Design: Design security architectures for clients and maintain a healthy project status.
  • Innovative Research: Research innovative solutions for client needs.
  • Proof of Concept Delivery: Deliver a successful proof of concept for clients.
  • Customer Management: Handle customer demands and requests.

5. Cybersecurity Consultant Tasks

  • Cybersecurity Assessment: Assess the current state of cybersecurity across the various systems being used by the organization in support of its mission.
  • Stakeholder Coordination: Coordinate with stakeholders and partners to understand and formulate security requirements as defined by various policies and doctrine.
  • Technology Research: Research and make recommendations for courses of action on new tools and technologies to be implemented to increase cyber resiliency.
  • Implementation Planning: Upon solution selection, develop a plan to implement the technology solution and develop standard operating procedures for use by the operations team.
  • Risk Strategy Development: Develop an ongoing strategy to conduct risk assessments and provide risk mitigation recommendations.
  • Access Control Leadership: Lead access control validations and ensure the process is aligned with the CRO assurance processes and frameworks.
  • Validation Management: Manage and maintain access control validation processes for both users and roles.
  • Access Control Modeling: Create and manage role-based access control models.
  • Control Effectiveness: Ensure that Fidelity’s logical access controls are effective and operating as designed.
  • Process Improvement: Identify opportunities for process improvement and efficiency that enable the expansion of skills in other areas of the identity and access management environment.
  • Internal Partner Support: Provide a superlative experience for internal business partners as they assess their needs and create solutions.
  • Risk Management: Protect Fidelity’s reputation and lower its risk profile.

6. Information and Cyber Security Consultant Roles

  • Consulting Development: Develop Information and Cyber Security consulting functions.
  • Regulatory Awareness: Stay abreast of Information and Cyber Security issues, and legal and regulatory changes affecting financial services.
  • Professional Development: Engage in continuing professional development to maintain the professional skills and knowledge essential to the position.
  • Risk Framework Management: Review, update, and deliver the group-wide Information Security risk framework and maintain and improve the Information Security policy and associated standards and guidelines.
  • Asset Protection: Protection of the group's assets (people, physical, informational, and IT systems) from identified risk.
  • Security Implementation: Implement and gain assurance on appropriate security controls.
  • Vulnerability Management: Ensure necessary vulnerability assessments and penetration testing are carried out.
  • Risk Assessment: Conduct Information Security Risk Assessments on new business applications, IT changes, and group projects to identify residual risk and recommend appropriate mitigating action.
  • Security Consultation: Provide an expert point of contact for security champions.
  • Third-Party Security: Ensure security reviews are conducted on relevant third parties and recommend appropriate mitigating action.
  • Policy Assurance: Conduct and report on IT and Information Security policy assurance activities.
  • Threat Assessment: Assist in continuous group-wide threat assessments to identify and report on the risk appetite position.
  • Risk Reporting: Identify, track, and report IT and Information Security risks and mitigating options.

7. Senior Cyber Security Consultant Additional Details

  • Cybersecurity Assessment: Conduct cybersecurity assessments and assure information security, providing advice and guidance on all aspects of cybersecurity.
  • Stakeholder Engagement: Engage directly with project teams, clients, and stakeholders to support the security risk assessments.
  • Security Architecture: Develop security architectures and controls.
  • Vulnerability Investigation: Conduct IA elements of Cyber Vulnerability Investigations and Assessments.
  • Documentation Development: Author and develop Information Assurance and Security-related documentation, including Risk Management Accreditation Document Sets (RMADS), in line with current security and risk management frameworks.
  • Requirement Analysis: Analyze and understand customer requirements and expectations and advise on priorities to meet the needs of a project.
  • Risk Communication: Effectively communicate information security risks to technical and non-technical stakeholders, advise on how best to mitigate security risks.
  • Solution Responsibility: Take responsibility for the solution, ensuring that it is pragmatic, appropriate, and cost-effective, meeting the requirements of clients.
  • Report Writing: Work independently and with team members to create high-quality reports and comprehensive, high-standard bid writing.
  • Team Development: Contribute to the development of the existing Cyber Security team by sharing knowledge, leading by example, and helping team members to develop.
  • Relationship Building: Cultivate good relationships and build contacts across peer-level networks and clients.
  • Business Development: Identify opportunities to support the development of the Cyber Security Business Unit.
  • Core Values Compliance: Ensure the business is consistently delivered in accordance with the Ebeni core values.
  • Stakeholder Education: Educate and communicate security requirements and procedures to business/internal stakeholders related to projects and strategic initiatives.
  • Technology Research: Research and improve knowledge base of current technology advancements, trends, and directions and identify potential threats and exposures to clients.

8. Cyber Security Consultant Essential Functions

  • Firewall Management: Manage, document, and log support for Firewall configuration with end-user or external requirements.
  • Email Support: Responsible for supporting email gateway requirements, tracking emails, and troubleshooting email delivery.
  • Network Planning: Plan, implement, and monitor the network for the company, overseeing new deployments related to computer networks, voice, and video requirements.
  • Diagram Development: Hands-on experience in developing and maintaining network and application-related diagrams.
  • IT Project Support: Support IT projects in network, voice, and information security issues.
  • Vendor Coordination: Coordinate with external vendors in renewing and purchasing current support and new products.
  • Audit Coordination: Handle, coordinate, and support audits with internal/external regulators.
  • Threat Management: Responsible for managing and understanding information security risks/threats.
  • Audit Support: Handle, coordinate, and support audits with internal/external regulators.
  • Risk Management: Responsible for managing and understanding information security risks/threats.
  • Vendor Collaboration: Handle external security vendors on threat hunting and other information security-related issues.
  • Strategy Development: Create and implement new strategies for successful information security solutions.
  • Process Optimization: Analyze and optimize both IT processes and IT-supported business processes.
  • Consultative Support: Support senior consultants in providing consultative security services and participate in designing and leveraging new opportunities.
  • Threat Monitoring: Maintain a list of emerging security threats and knowledge of how configurations and settings in applications can combat those threats.
  • Data Analysis: Look at data and trends to determine appropriate operational responses to mitigate risks.

9. Cyber Security Consultant Role Purpose

  • Proposal Preparation: Participate in the preparation of proposals and bids submitted to customers.
  • Project Management: Participate in consulting projects, focusing on top deliverables to ensure customer success—handle project administration, research participation, team discussions, and preparation of deliverables (presentations and reports), preparation of the work plan, and monitoring communications with the client.
  • Cyber Risk Assessment: Conduct cyber risk/maturity surveys for assessment of clients’ posture.
  • Gap Analysis: Perform gap analysis, establish a suggested roadmap, and provide recommendations on tailored solutions per each customer’s needs.
  • Technical Consultancy: Provide technical advice, recommendations, and consultancy on networks, infrastructure, products, services, and other cybersecurity domains.
  • Issue Analysis: Analyze cybersecurity and data protection issues and implement solutions.
  • Cyber Exercises: Establish, produce, and manage cyber exercises and simulations for clients.
  • Regulatory Monitoring: Ongoing monitoring and analysis of international regulations in the areas of cybersecurity, privacy protection, and related fields.
  • Project Coordination: Plan and coordinate project consulting assignments - schedules, costings, and resource plans.
  • Project Coordination: Coordinate and regulate projects conducted by sub-contractors.
  • Action Planning: Develop and execute action plans for completing projects, and maintain status reports and customer engagement.
  • Business Development: Support the development of new business opportunities and research of new market opportunities.
  • Client Relationship Management: Maintain a proactive, professional, ongoing relationship with clients.
  • Content Development: Perform research and analysis and support in the development of professional content and materials for commercial activity, marketing, publications, and webinars.
  • Initiative Support: Support business development initiatives and tasks as needed from time to time.

10. Cyber Security Consultant General Responsibilities

  • Policy Development: Create and revise security policies, rules, and procedure documents.
  • CSIRT Implementation: Design and implement the Cyber Security Incident Response Team (CSIRT) in the customer organization.
  • Security Design and Operations: Design, deploy, and operate security products and tools, including vulnerability security diagnosis (Network or Web), information security, and system auditing.
  • SOC Management: Manage Security Operations Center creation, operations, and monitoring.
  • Subject Matter Expertise: Provide technical subject matter expertise, security standards, and define security tools, systems, and solutions.
  • Documentation Management: Produce and maintain documentation for security standards.
  • Compliance Assurance: Ensure compliance with security policies, standards, and regulations.
  • Automation Development: Build automation to actively audit the infrastructure for security misconfigurations and compliance purposes.
  • Policy Guidance: Provide clear guidance and education to the business regarding group policies, legal requirements, and procedures related to security issues.
  • Vendor Liaison: Liaise with third-party service providers on all matters relating to information security.
  • Change Advisory: Support the business in advising on key information security changes.
  • IT Security Solutions: Provide IT security solutions (e.g., penetration testing, vulnerability assessments, SIEM, IPS) to clients across various industries.
  • Log Management: Manage log review assessments and security event management.
  • Process Improvement: Lead the improvement of existing security processes and frameworks.
  • Training Delivery: Conduct information security awareness training for business users.
Relevant Information
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