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How to integrate GRC best practices into cyber security strategies

Learn about GRC certifications, jobs, and best practices for overall cyber risk management strategy

Governance, risk, and compliance (GRC) are more than basic guidelines for business security. GRC intertwines with comprehensive cyber security strategies. This article explores how, plus jobs, certifications, and best practices.

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Governance, risk, and compliance (GRC) are more than just basic guidelines for business security. The term has become synonymous with cyber security best practices in recent years. SAP (System Analysis Program Development) is a German company that utilizes GRC cyber security guidelines to optimize business operations. Their influence over the market has intertwined them with GRC practices and career roles in the cyber security realm.

SAP GRC access control refers to the security controls SAP GRC allows you to have over access points in your system. It is just one of the core SAP GRC modules that cover every basic security need there is. SAP GRC jobs have become so valuable in the information security industry that SAP GRC certifications are often a hiring requirement for prominent businesses looking for security officers. Even if a certification isn’t required, many cybersecurity GRC interview questions will reference SAP GRC training or concepts to gauge your experience.

For beginners, an SAP GRC tutorial is a good launching point to begin to understand fundamentals of cyber security and risk governance, but for more experienced IT professionals, there are a number of other important classes and certifications to elevate your professional standing in the industry.

This article will cover a variety of different GRC centric jobs and certifications that can lead to higher salary for GRC professionals and higher levels of security for their companies.

Secure for the known, insure for the unknown

Your destination may be achieving compliance in industry certifications such as SOC2 or ISO27001, but it doesn’t stop there. With Trava, our modern tools can help you bridge the gap between where you are and where you want to be by giving you the control to assess your risk, repair the most vulnerable areas, and transfer risk through insurance.

Cybersecurity Jobs

Cyber security involves a wide range of operations to function properly. This means there are quite a few cyber security jobs to go around. A web search for “cyber security jobs near me” is likely to pull up dozens, even hundreds of jobs depending on your area. The average IT cyber security salary is roughly $94,000 per year across all years of experience.

The roles can range from cyber security analyst all the way up to vCISO (Virtual Chief Information Security Officer). A vCISO is one of the top GRC cyber security jobs to obtain. It requires immense knowledge of risk management and cyber security trends and best practices. Trava’s vCISO consultants work with individuals and their organizations to achieve certifications and security goals by incorporating governance, risk, and compliance guidelines into existing operations and security strategies.

GRC Analyst Jobs

As stated above, GRC analyst jobs are relatively easy to find. According to Talent.com, the average entry-level GRC analyst salary starts at around $87,500 per year. This remains consistent with other GRC cyber security salary numbers. At the highest, a GRC analyst salary has been known to exceed $200,000 per year.

But exactly what is a GRC analyst? An average GRC analyst job description will highlight responsibilities like assessing governance, risk, and compliance protocols concerning an organization's information security.

Cyber Security GRC Certifications

If you are still curious about a cyber security career, you may be wondering, “Is GRC certification worth it?” The short answer is yes. GRC Professional (GCRP) certification can not only prove that you’re an expert, but they can result in higher compensation than those without a GRCP certification. Salary increases are a worthy motivator in seeking cyber security GRC certifications, but where do you start? Here are the top 6 governance, risk, and compliance (GRC) certifications.

  1. GRCP (OCEG) Certification. OCEG is a non-profit cyber security GRC training company that offers a globally recognized certification for GRC Professionals and Auditors. It is a free GRC certification for members.
  2. IIA Award in Compliance Audit and Assurance. This certificate indicates an understanding of the core responsibilities of compliance and assurance professionals.
  3. CGRC. A certificate from the GRC Group, the course is offered to GRC professionals with at least 3 years of experience and has a thorough understanding of GRC responsibilities.
  4. CISSP. Becoming a Certified Information Systems Security Professional through (ISC)2 is considered one of the best GRC certifications because recipients must have a minimum of 5 paid years of experience to qualify for the course.
  5. CGEIT. The Certified in the Governance of Enterprise IT certification is a widely revered certification offered by ISACA requiring 5 years of experience for eligibility.
  6. ITIL 4 Foundation. An intensive program that demonstrates a keen understanding of best GRC practices.

Acquiring cyber security certifications will qualify you for more jobs and higher pay while keeping you up to date with changing trends in the cyber security industry.

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GRC Cybersecurity Course

Getting to know the ins and outs of cybersecurity can be as simple as signing up for a GRC cybersecurity course. GRC courses are easy to find and offer a range of classes for different skill levels to learn and grow from. Many of the courses offer free GRC certifications upon completion of the course. As we know from above, GRC certifications can only help in the search for employment in cybersecurity jobs.

The classes start from a beginner's level in the form of a cyber security foundation course that goes into great detail on each aspect of governance, risk, and compliance in today’s cyber security landscape. For a cyber security management course, you will most likely have to go to a university and complete a number of prerequisites to complete the course itself. Different universities will offer different levels of certification for different courses but they differ from an actual bachelor’s degree.

Gaining an education in cyber security is recommended for anyone looking to break into the industry, or move up within it. With all different types of courses covering beginner’s knowledge and different specializations all the way up to management certifications and degrees, virtually anyone can find a way to learn more.

Cyber Security GRC

No matter which role you think best suits you, you should be aware of some common governance, risk, and compliance interview questions and answers. Whether you’re dealing with GRC ServiceNow interview questions or SAP GRC interview questions, the basic idea will be the same.

If you are interested in a cyber security GRC position, then there are some universal bits of knowledge that you will be expected to have. Most information security interview questions will touch on things like:

The GRC interview questions and answers are designed to gauge your understanding of cyber security governance and compliance. In short, there is no faking your way into one of these roles. They dive deep into your understanding of the systems and can quickly determine your true level of expertise.

GRC analyst interview questions are similar but do expect knowledge of more specific types of assessments and tests to run on systems and possibly SAP modules and their functions. Regardless of your specific role, a genuine understanding of GRC application in information security is the key factor to being successful in the field.

Information Security GRC Roles and Responsibilities

Finally, there are information security GRC jobs that are a bit more focused than some of the entry-level jobs mentioned above. Jobs like information security GRC analyst and specialist. They require at least 2 years of experience in most cases and are usually higher-earning positions to hold as well.

Information security GRC roles and responsibilities will vary slightly between specific titles available, but GRC analyst responsibilities require the analytical prowess to evaluate entire organizations and their information security measures. A GRC officer job description is the one implementing and maintaining security systems that the analyst is monitoring and analyzing.

Most any information security governance, risk, and compliance job description will be closely related to any other, but that is because the systems need dedicated teams to pay close attention to every detail so they are keeping an institution’s information safe.

In conclusion, understanding information security GRC roles and responsibilities comes down to your willingness to stay up to date on certifications and education while maintaining a dedicated team of GRC professionals. If you’re a vCISO in charge of protecting your company’s information, contact Trava to get in touch with expert consulting team and programs today.