Cybersecurity vs. Computer Science: What’s the Difference? was originally published on Forage.
The difference between cybersecurity vs. computer science is subtle since cybersecurity is a specialization within computer science. Cybersecurity specialists primarily deal with protecting companies, data, and systems from cyberattacks, like ransomware, viruses, or phishing attempts. On the other hand, computer science is a broad discipline and includes different specializations like data engineering, software development, and web design.
What Is Cybersecurity?
Cybersecurity is an area of computer science and engineering that protects people, data, companies, and systems from cyberattacks. Implementing cybersecurity practices in your personal life or business can keep you and your data confidential and safe.
Cybersecurity specialists use risk analysis, cryptography, threat analysis, and information security processes to protect users and their data from attackers. Wrongdoers use various methods to steal information and data or shut down systems.
For example, an attacker may use phishing emails that appear legitimate to try and steal your data, like login credentials or credit card information. Or, a hacker could use social engineering, where they use text, email, and social media to trick people into giving them information.
Specializations in Cybersecurity
Many people on the cybersecurity career path specialists in cybersecurity work as analysts, focusing on a specific area of cybersecurity.
One central area is communications cybersecurity. In this specialization, security engineers and analysts “focus on analyzing data traffic and on the parametrization of the underlying infrastructure to maximize protection while preserving functionality,” says Sergio Tenreiro de Magalhaes, associate professor and chair of cybersecurity programs at Champlain College.
Another subdivision of cybersecurity is forensic cybersecurity analysis, which involves “identifying what happened in a security incident in an organization, including any internal actors, or assisting law enforcement in collecting evidence of computational devices used while committing a crime,” says Tenreiro de Magalhaes.
Other areas of cybersecurity include:
- The internet of things (IoT): protecting internet-enabled devices from cyberattacks
- Risk analysis: reviewing and finding ways to avoid potential risks in computer systems and applications
- Compliance: ensuring programs and systems align with company policies and local, state, and federal regulations
- Application security: keeping application programs safe for users
- Network security: controlling computer networks, ensuring the network is secure, and keeping users abreast of ways to keep themselves and the network safe
What Is Computer Science?
Computer science is an area of technology that encompasses a broad range of topics and study areas, such as computer software development, algorithms, data science, and information theory. One main priority in computer science is determining what actions or systems computers can handle entirely through automation and artificial intelligence.
Ultimately, computer science is typically considered an academic discipline, with many different careers and specializations stemming from it. Data is a core part of most computer science careers since data is necessary to form a foundation for automated systems.
Specializations in Computer Science
Many careers in computer science center around computer programming and software engineering. Some software engineers focus on back-end development or the parts of an application or operating system that a user doesn’t see. Others handle front-end development, which is the areas of a program that users do see, such as web pages, widgets, fonts, and images. Full-stack engineers handle both back- and front-end processes.
“Usually big companies prefer a more niche skill set for a specific task, such as back-end software engineer for API [application programming interface] development and front-end developer for UI [user interface] development,” says Shashank Agarwal, senior decision scientist at CVS. “But, in small startups, a full-stack engineer is usually responsible for both these tasks.”
Other types of roles and specializations in computer science include:
- Cybersecurity and information security analysts
- Data engineers
- Web designers
- Computer user support specialists
- Data scientists
“My daily routine as a data scientist involves data exploration, algorithm development, and problem-solving,” says Agarwal. “I clean and preprocess data, write code for mathematical and statistical algorithms, and collaborate with domain experts and software engineers.”
Computer Science vs. Cybersecurity Salaries
Salaries in computer science vary depending on the specialization. For instance, computer user support specialists make an average of $61,580 per year, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. On the other hand, data scientists have an average annual salary of $115,240.
Cybersecurity careers similarly have different salaries depending on specialization, location, level of seniority, and company. For instance, information security analysts make an average of $119,860 annually, but those working in industries like web search portals, computer manufacturing, or motion picture production often see higher salaries.
