Alaska’s information security industry generated 556 jobs for cybersecurity auditors, architects, analysts, engineers, and administrators between 2010 and 2014 according to the workforce research firm Burning Glass Technologies.
Forbes described a critical shortage of cybersecurity experts in the US and stated that more than 209,000 jobs in this field remained unfilled as of 2015. The shortage of professionals to fill key cybersecurity jobs drives up salaries, and Burning Glass Technologies reported that experts in cybersecurity earned nearly $6,500 more a year than their colleagues in other IT fields.
- Grand Canyon University - B.S. and M.S. in Cyber Security
- SNHU - B.S and M.S. in Cybersecurity
- Purdue Global - Bachelor of Science in Cybersecurity
- Arizona State University - Online Master of Arts in Global Security
In 2015, BlueCross BlueShield notified its members of another major cybersecurity breach. In this case, cyber criminals struck Premera BlueCross which is a major insurer in Alaska and Washington State. The company announced that the breach could date back to 2002 and potentially affect 11 million customers, employees, and affiliates according to Buffalo Business First.
The Alaska Dispatch News reported how a new wave of spear phishing scammers is targeting firms in Alaska and Canada. In a take off on the classic Nigerian 419 scam, the hackers target specific people such as CFOs or controllers who have the ability to wire funds. The cybercriminals send them fraudulent emails that direct them to wire money to a vendor and then wipe out the account once they get the wire transfer.
Unfortunately, firms in Alaska have paid dearly. For instance, the Afognak Native Corporation lost $3.8 million to such scammers. Borderhawk, a cybersecurity company based in Georgia, reverse engineered their attack methods and found a huge list of potential victims. The company has been notifying businesses in Alaska to contact law enforcement.
Alaska boasts home grown cybersecurity talent such as Copper River IT and Koniag Information Security Services. In addition, such major national cybersecurity firms as Booz Allen Hamilton and aeSolutions Alaska, LLC—a subsidiary of aeSolutions Inc—have offices in the state.
Salaries for Key Cybersecurity Experts in Anchorage and Fairbanks
The employment site Indeed.com posts jobs for cybersecurity experts throughout the country. The site also provides salary information for these jobs by aggregating the salaries of each type of job offered over the previous year and providing the average salary. Shown below is the average salary for a number of cybersecurity positions offered in Anchorage and Fairbanks over the course of the year preceding July 12, 2016:
Anchorage:
- Technology Risk Senior Analysts: $97,000
- IT Security Analyst Senior: $92,000
- Cybersecurity Analyst: $89,000
- Lead IT Security Analyst: $83.000
- Senior Security Analyst: $75,000
- Senor Information Security Analyst: $73,000
- IT Security Analyst: $72,000
- Cyber Analysis Support Specialist: $68,000
- Network Security Analyst: $63,000
- Data Security Analyst: $64,000
- Network Security Analyst: $62,000
- Senior Network Analyst: $60,000
- Information Systems Security Officer: $51,000
Fairbanks:
- Technology Risk Senior Analysts: $110,000
- IT Security Analyst Senior: $105,000
- Cybersecurity Analyst: $89,000
- Senor Information Security Analyst: $84,000
- IT Security Analyst: $72,000
- Network Security Analyst: $71,000
- Information Systems Security Officer: $51,000
Salaries for Information Security Analysts in Anchorage
The robust job market for information security analysts resulted in the number of positions advertised for these analysts more than doubling between the first quarter of 2014 and that of 2015 according to the Computing Technology Industry Association trade group.
The US Bureau of Labor Statistics provides a detailed salary analysis for information security analysts in Anchorage as of 2015. Information security analysts with a master’s degree can expect to earn on the high end of these ranges: