A degree may open the door to a variety of opportunities and diverse career paths. The degree programs offered at AIU will not necessarily lead to the featured careers. This collection of articles is intended to help inform and guide you through the process of determining which level of degree and types of certifications align with your desired career path.
Access and identity management issues, data breaches, new threats from online hackers—all have the potential to threaten both organizations and individuals. Information technology professionals need to stay on top of the latest advances in cybersecurity and information assurance and security to ensure that data and information is kept safe from hackers and other unauthorized users.
Information technology degree programs often offer the ability to choose a concentration or specialization, and depending on your interests and academic goals, it may be hard to choose your focus. Potentially adding to this difficulty is that terms like cybersecurity, information assurance, information security, information technology and IT security sound similar and are often used interchangeably (correctly or not).
So how do you decide whether an information assurance/cybersecurity degree concentration is the right fit for you? While there’s no one-size-fits-all formula for that, one way to begin your decision-making process is by sorting out what the above cybersecurity- and information technology-related terms actually mean. So let’s get started.
Defining Cybersecurity, Information Assurance & Information Security (InfoSec)
What Is Cybersecurity?
The field of cybersecurity is focused on protecting electronic devices and electronic data from internet-based threats. According to the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA), cybersecurity is the “art of protecting networks, devices and data from unauthorized access or criminal use and the practice of ensuring confidentiality, integrity and availability of information.”1 Additionally, it involves preventing damage to computers, electronic communications systems and services, wire communications and electronic communications, including any information contained within them as well as restoring these assets in the event of an attack.2
What Is Information Assurance?
CISA defines information assurance as “measures that protect and defend information and information systems by ensuring their availability, integrity and confidentiality.”3 Similarly, according to NIST, information assurance refers to “Measures that protect and defend information and information systems by ensuring their availability, integrity, authentication, confidentiality and non-repudiation. These measures include providing for restoration of information systems by incorporating protection, detection and reaction capabilities.”4
Information Assurance vs. Cybersecurity: If you think the above definitions sound very similar to those of cybersecurity, you’re not wrong. In fact, there is a note following NIST’s main definition indicating that a particular Department of Defense Instruction “has transitioned from the term information assurance (IA) to the term cybersecurity.”4
In other words, the terms information assurance and cybersecurity really can mean the same thing.
What Is Information Security (InfoSec)?
According to the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), information security (InfoSec) is the “protection of information and information systems from unauthorized access, use, disclosure, disruption, modification or destruction in order to provide confidentiality, integrity and availability.”5
Information Security vs. Cybersecurity: Where cybersecurity involves protecting devices, data and electronic information from attacks in cyberspace, information security is focused specifically on protecting an organization’s sensitive information from all types of threats—whether they originate in cyberspace or not.
Information Technology & IT Security
What Is Information Technology?
Information technology has two primary meanings. It may refer to “the art and applied sciences that deal with data and information,” also known as the field of IT. Or it may refer to actual hardware, software and related components “that can collect, store, process, maintain, share, transmit or dispose of data.”6
Potential Information Technology Career Paths
There are a number of computer and information technology career paths you might choose to pursue with an IT degree:7
- Computer and Information Research Scientists
- Computer Systems Analysts
- Information Security Analysts
- Software Developers & Software Quality Assurance Analysts and Testers
- Computer Network Architects
- Network and Computer Systems Administrators
If you’re hoping to pursue one of these occupations, you’ll need to have at least a bachelor’s degree in a computer-related field.7
Pursuing a Cybersecurity Career Path: Information Security Analysts
- Education & Work Experience: Information security analysts—professionals who plan and carry out security measures to protect an organization’s computer networks and systems from cyberattacks—usually possess a bachelor’s degree in a computer and information technology field (which includes computer science, information assurance and computer programming). Employers may also require that applicants to information security analyst roles have relevant work experience (e.g., previous experience as a database administrator if applying for a database security position) and a certification credential (e.g., in information security, penetration testing or systems auditing).8
- Job Growth: According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, employment of information security analysts is projected to grow 35 percent from 2021 to 2031.8
IT Security
Information security analysts should be well-versed in IT security. IT security refers to a collection of cybersecurity strategies that prevents unauthorized access (by hackers or other unauthorized users) to an organization’s digital assets and network devices. IT security maintains the integrity and confidentiality of information.9
According to Cisco, IT security comprises the following types of security:9
- Network security: Protects data that exists inside an organization’s computer network from hackers or other unauthorized users. It also prevents hackers from interfering with authorized users’ ability to access data or use the computer network.
- Internet security: Protects information that is transmitted over browsers or that involves web-based applications.
- Endpoint security: Refers to security at the device level (mobile phones, tablets, laptops, etc.).
- Cloud security: Protects information stored on the cloud versus on a device and includes the usage of software-as-a-service (SaaS) applications (software that is purchased as part of a subscription and accessed online) and the public cloud.
- Application security: Ensures that software applications are not left vulnerable to cyberattacks and involves coding applications to be secure at the time of their creation.
Is an IT/Cybersecurity Degree Program Right for You?
If you’re interested in pursuing a cybersecurity career path, you might be considering more than one computer-related field or degree. For example, it wouldn’t be unusual to wonder whether you’d be better off pursuing a computer science vs. information technology degree program. But which one is the right program for you?
The primary difference between these two types of degree programs is that computer science curricula may be designed to cover the knowledge and skills required to create computer programs. The courses in an information technology degree program, meanwhile, may be designed to help you develop the ability to evaluate an organization’s digital asset and network device security vulnerabilities and implement IT strategies to address them.
AIU’s BSIT & MSIT Programs in Cybersecurity
An information technology degree program with a specialization in cybersecurity could be a great way to study the fundamentals of the IT field with an emphasis on the skills needed to protect an organization’s digital assets. American InterContinental University’s School of Information Technology offers an online cybersecurity degree concentration option at both the undergraduate and graduate levels.
Our Bachelor of Science in Information Technology (BSIT)—Concentration in Cybersecurity degree program can help you learn to spot weaknesses, create security protocols, and formulate fresh ways to protect an organization's digital assets. When enrolled in the program, you will explore operating system and network security. Coursework covers principles and methods in cybersecurity; ethical penetration testing, and operating systems security; and network defense and countermeasures.
Our Master of Science in Information Technology (MSIT)—Concentration in Cybersecurity program provides an opportunity to study more in-depth cybersecurity topics including cyber-risk management, cyber-risk assessments, disaster recovery, insider threats and more. Courses within the cybersecurity master’s concentration may include Risk Analysis and Planning, Human Factors in Cybersecurity, and Cybersecurity Laws and Ethics.
Considering a cybersecurity degree concentration? Explore AIU’s information technology degree programs in information assurance and security or apply online today.
1 Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA), “What Is Cybersecurity?,” https://www.cisa.gov/news-events/news/what-cybersecurity (visited 7/5/2023).
2 U.S. Department of Commerce, National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), Computer Security Resource Center, Glossary, “cybersecurity,” https://csrc.nist.gov/glossary/term/cybersecurity (visited 7/5/23).
3 CISA, National Initiative for Cyber Careers and Studies (NICCS), Cybersecurity Glossary, “information assurance,” https://niccs.cisa.gov/about-niccs/cybersecurity-glossary (visited 7/6/2023).
4 U.S. Department of Commerce, NIST, Computer Security Resource Center, Glossary, “information assurance (IA),” https://csrc.nist.gov/glossary/term/information_assurance (visited 7/6/2023).
5 U.S. Department of Commerce, NIST, Computer Security Resource Center, Glossary, “information security,” https://csrc.nist.gov/glossary/term/information_security (visited 7/6/2023).
6 U.S. Department of Commerce, NIST, Computer Security Resource Center, Glossary, “information technology (IT),” https://csrc.nist.gov/glossary/term/information_technology (visited 7/6/2023).
7 Bureau of Labor Statistics, U.S. Department of Labor, Occupational Outlook Handbook, “Computer and Information Technology Occupations,” https://www.bls.gov/ooh/computer-and-information-technology/home.htm (visited 7/6/2023). This data represents national figures and is not based on school-specific information. Conditions in your area may vary.
8 Bureau of Labor Statistics, U.S. Department of Labor, Occupational Outlook Handbook, “Information Security Analysts,” https://www.bls.gov/ooh/computer-and-information-technology/information-security-analysts.htm (visited 7/6/2023). This data represents national figures and is not based on school-specific information. Conditions in your area may vary.
9 CISCO, “What Is IT Security?,” https://www.cisco.com/c/en/us/products/security/what-is-it-security.html (visited 7/6/2023).
American InterContinental University cannot guarantee employment, salary, or career advancement. Not all programs are available to residents of all states. REQ1933260 7/2023
Classes Start July 30, 2025