Is it spelled cyber security or cybersecurity?
We’ll answer that question below.
Before we get there, let’s examine why so many people are interested in the cyber security industry.
- First, the job outlook for cyber security professionals is growing at an extremely fast rate. According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, the average job outlook across all occupations sits at 5%. However, for information security analysts, that number will increase to a rate of 32% over the next eight years.
- Second, there will be 3.5 million job openings in the cyber security field according by 2025. The number of open cyber security positions in the world will be enough to fill 50 NFL stadiums.
- Third, as STEM-related jobs are nearly always in demand and provide higher salaries, cyber security will remain an attractive field for job candidates.
This brings us to the main question: is cyber security one word or two? Furthermore, what does the term mean? Finally, is there an actual difference between cyber security and information security?
Cybersecurity or cyber security: The definition
Before we get into the actual spelling, let’s define what cyber security actually means.
According to Gartner, cybersecurity (which Gartner spells as one word) refers to the systems, technologies, processes, governing policies and human activity that an organization uses to safeguard its digital assets.
Who’s responsible for the organization’s cyber security? Gartner’s survey found that CIOs and CISOs were accountable for it at 85% of organizations.
Cyber security is a term that includes a range of IT control areas that for a line of defense against cyber attacks. These include
- Network and perimeter security
- Endpoint security
- Application security
- Data security
- Identity and access management (IAM)
- Zero trust architecture
Cyber security vs. information security
What’s the difference between cyber security and information security?
According to Gartner, information security is a subset of cyber security.
However, others look at cyber security as the defense of digital data and architectures against threats – whereas information security is about managing the confidentiality and availability of data, regardless of whether it’s physical or digital, and protecting it from unauthorized access, modification, or disruption.
Cyber security professionals also take a more active role in protecting endpoints, databases, networks, and servers by finding misconfigurations that create vulnerabilities. Information security professionals are also concerned with this, but their work takes a broader role in protecting their most sensitive data.
Because information security encompasses both the physical and the digital realms, cyber security could be seen as falling under the umbrella of information security
Cyber security: Is it one word or two? Here’s the verdict
Let’s answer the main question: is it cyber security or cyber security?
According to the Associated Press and Merriam-Webster, it’s one word.
However, according to cyber security expert Craig Ford, 70% of attendees at AusCERT 2019 conference noted that they prefer the term as two words: cyber security.
It may also come down to spelling preference, as Americans tend to use cybersecurity as one word, and British audiences separate it into two.
Although the spelling differs, the definitions remain the same.
At Cyber Talk, you’ll notice that we use the two-word spelling of cyber security.
So what’s the correct answer? It depends. The conclusion is that both spellings are correct, and you should use whatever resonates most with you and your audience.