Career
Information security analysts
Protect the systems everyone else depends on.
Here's what you actually need to know.
The work
What people in this job do
- Develop plans to safeguard computer files against accidental or unauthorized modification, destruction, or disclosure and to meet emergency data processing needs.
- Monitor current reports of computer viruses to determine when to update virus protection systems.
- Encrypt data transmissions and erect firewalls to conceal confidential information as it is being transmitted and to keep out tainted digital transfers.
- Perform risk assessments and execute tests of data processing system to ensure functioning of data processing activities and security measures.
- Modify computer security files to incorporate new software, correct errors, or change individual access status.
The outlook
How the forecast changed this year
AI
BLS now cites artificial intelligence in this occupation's outlook: “share increases as firms increase their IT security staffs and capabilities as a response to increasing threats of cyberattacks aimed at sensitive or financial data, offset slightly by efficiencies gained through increased use of automated and artificial intelligence (AI) technologies to improve security measures.”
The deeper question
What kind of person does this path ask you to become?
What this work centers on
O*NET interest profile, scored 1–7.
The work
Do you want most of your days spent on information & systems, then ideas & analysis?
Responsibility
Are you willing to be the one responsible for this?
“Develop plans to safeguard computer files against accidental or unauthorized modification, destruction, or disclosure and to meet emergency data processing needs.”
Development
What would you need to build over the next 5–10 years?
Reading Comprehension, Critical Thinking, Active Listening, Complex Problem Solving.
Trade-offs
What does it ask of you in exchange?
4 years of education after high school (bachelor's degree), for a median of $129,180 a year and 14,100 openings nationally each year.
Paths in
Degrees that lead here
- Computer and Information SciencesSee the degree →
- Computer ScienceSee the degree →
- Health AdministrationSee the degree →
- Information Technology ManagementSee the degree →
- Information TechnologyCIP 11.0103
- Computer ScienceCIP 11.0701
Paths across
Careers that use similar skills
- Information Security Engineers
- Penetration Testers
- Digital Forensics Analysts
- Network and Computer Systems Administrators$99,130 · -4.1%
- Computer Systems Analysts$105,850 · +7.9%
Ask anything about this career.
“Would this make sense if I don't want to sit at a desk all day?” Answers will come from the sources on this page, with citations. Coming soon.
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Sources
- BLS Employment Projections, 2025–35, U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Retrieved 2026-10-01.
- BLS Employment Projections, 2024–34 (archived), U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Retrieved 2026-10-01.
- O*NET 31.0 Database (August 2026), National Center for O*NET Development / U.S. Department of Labor. Retrieved 2026-10-01.
- CIP 2020 to SOC 2018 Crosswalk, NCES and BLS. Retrieved 2026-10-01.