Cybersecurity risk manager to IT auditor
A cybersecurity risk manager already meets 46% of what the IT auditor role asks for. The move turns on 9 required skills not yet in the profile.
56.6/ 100
1 How much of what an IT auditor is expected to do is already part of a cybersecurity risk manager’s work. Directional: the figure for the reverse move differs, because moving into a speciality is not the same problem as moving out of one. 2 Every skill the IT auditor role is recorded as needing, required and optional together. What these numbers mean.
Why this move works
An IT auditor role treats 10 of its required skills as things a cybersecurity risk manager already does. You would walk in with these on day one.
- ICT process quality models
- ICT quality policy
- ICT security legislation
- ICT security standards
- audit techniques
- ensure adherence to organisational ICT standards
What stands in the way is 9 required skills the profile does not yet cover. Table 3 groups them; Table 4 says which to take first.
Table 2 · What you already bring
Of the 15 skills that carry over, these are the ones fewest other occupations ask for. An IT auditor role needs them, and most people applying for one will not have them already. This is the part of a cybersecurity risk manager background worth leading with.
- already held ICT quality policy business, administration and law
- already held ensure adherence to organisational ICT standards assisting and caring
- already held identify ICT security risks information skills
- already held organisational resilience business, administration and law
- already held ICT project management business, administration and law
- already held ICT process quality models information and communication technologies (icts)
All 15 carried skills, including the 10 the IT auditor role treats as required.
Table 3 · What you may need to learn
The 22 missing skills fall into 8 areas of the ESCO skill hierarchy, numbered in the order worth working in. Areas carrying the most required skills come first, and inside each one the required skills sit above the optional ones. Nothing here is a verdict on you: it is a list of what this particular job asks for that your current one does not.
- still to learn develop audit plan required
- still to learn improve business processes required
- still to learn perform quality audits required
- optional, not held develop ICT workflow optional
- optional, not held define organisational standards optional
- still to learn analyse ICT system required
- still to learn perform ICT security testing required
- optional, not held manage IT security compliances optional
- still to learn product life-cycle required
- still to learn quality standards required
- still to learn prepare financial auditing reports required
- optional, not held identify legal requirements optional
- optional, not held monitor technology trends optional
- still to learn engineering processes required
- optional, not held communicate analytical insights optional
- optional, not held develop documentation in accordance with legal requirements optional
- optional, not held inform on workplace safety standards optional
2 further areas in the appendix
Table 4 · Where to start
The 3 entries an IT auditor role is least likely to hire without. The ordering is computed from the skill data, not from what pays.
- 01 analyse ICT system practise this
- 02 engineering processes study this
- 03 perform ICT security testing practise this
Each entry opens a course search for that skill. Career Overlap earns nothing from these links.
Appendix · The rest of the record
All 15 skills that carry over
- already held ICT process quality models knowledge
- already held ICT quality policy knowledge
- already held ICT security legislation knowledge
- already held ICT security standards knowledge
- already held audit techniques knowledge
- already held ensure adherence to organisational ICT standards skill
- already held execute ICT audits skill
- already held legal requirements of ICT products knowledge
- already held organisational resilience knowledge
- already held systems development life-cycle knowledge
- already held ICT network security risks knowledge
- already held ICT project management knowledge
- already held cyber security knowledge
- already held identify ICT security risks skill
- already held information security strategy knowledge
The 2 learning areas not shown above
- optional, not held ICT accessibility standards optional
- optional, not held cloud technologies optional
- optional, not held World Wide Web Consortium standards optional
- optional, not held apply information security policies optional
- optional, not held protect personal data and privacy optional
13 supplementary skills, helpful but not required
- optional, not held ICT accessibility standards optional
- optional, not held apply information security policies optional
- optional, not held cloud technologies optional
- optional, not held communicate analytical insights optional
- optional, not held develop ICT workflow optional
- optional, not held manage IT security compliances optional
- optional, not held World Wide Web Consortium standards optional
- optional, not held define organisational standards optional
- optional, not held develop documentation in accordance with legal requirements optional
- optional, not held identify legal requirements optional
- optional, not held inform on workplace safety standards optional
- optional, not held monitor technology trends optional
- optional, not held protect personal data and privacy optional
57 held skills the IT auditor role does not ask for
- not needed by the target role ICT encryption knowledge
- not needed by the target role ICT performance analysis methods knowledge
- not needed by the target role ICT problem management techniques knowledge
- not needed by the target role ICT recovery techniques knowledge
- not needed by the target role ICT safety skill
- not needed by the target role ICT system user requirements knowledge
- not needed by the target role Internet of Things knowledge
- not needed by the target role Open source model knowledge
- not needed by the target role Outsourcing model knowledge
- not needed by the target role advice on security risk management skill
- not needed by the target role assessment of risks and threats knowledge
- not needed by the target role attack vectors knowledge
- not needed by the target role cloud monitoring and reporting knowledge
- not needed by the target role cloud security and compliance knowledge
- not needed by the target role communicate with stakeholders skill
- not needed by the target role computer forensics knowledge
- not needed by the target role cyber attack counter-measures knowledge
- not needed by the target role decision support systems knowledge
- not needed by the target role define security policies skill
- not needed by the target role define technology strategy skill
- not needed by the target role design for organisational complexity skill
- not needed by the target role develop information security strategy skill
- not needed by the target role develop with cloud services skill
- not needed by the target role domain name service knowledge
- not needed by the target role engage with stakeholders skill
- not needed by the target role establish an ICT security prevention plan skill
- not needed by the target role establish an Information Security Management System skill
- not needed by the target role ethical hacking principles knowledge
- not needed by the target role hybrid model knowledge
- not needed by the target role implement ICT risk management skill
- not needed by the target role implement ICT security policies skill
- not needed by the target role implement a firewall skill
- not needed by the target role implement a virtual private network skill
- not needed by the target role implement anti-virus software skill
- not needed by the target role implement cloud security and compliance skill
- not needed by the target role implement spam protection skill
- not needed by the target role information confidentiality knowledge
- not needed by the target role internal risk management policy knowledge
- not needed by the target role internet governance knowledge
- not needed by the target role investment analysis knowledge
17 further entries not listed here
6 gaps that are knowledge rather than practice
Knowledge gaps usually close through study. Practical skill gaps usually need something you can point at.
- still to learn engineering processes required
- still to learn product life-cycle required
- still to learn quality standards required
- optional, not held ICT accessibility standards optional
- optional, not held cloud technologies optional
- optional, not held World Wide Web Consortium standards optional
Common questions about this move
Can a cybersecurity risk manager become an IT auditor?
Yes, and it is a substantial move. A cybersecurity risk manager already covers 46% of what an IT auditor is expected to do: 15 skills carry over, 10 of which the IT auditor role treats as required.
What skills does a cybersecurity risk manager need to become an IT auditor?
9 required skills are missing, plus 13 optional ones. They fall into 8 areas of the ESCO skill hierarchy, led by management skills. The single most important is analyse ICT system.
How hard is the move from cybersecurity risk manager to IT auditor?
Its learning distance is 56.6 out of 100, which is the substantial band. That accounts for both how much is missing and how specialised those skills are.
How this record was compiled
Both occupations are taken from ESCO, which lists the skills and knowledge each occupation is expected to have and marks every one required or optional. Nothing here is a prediction about hiring, and nothing here knows that a particular employer wants a particular certificate. Treat Table 3 as a starting point for your own research rather than a syllabus. The full method states what these figures can and cannot tell you.