Addressing IT security in practice: Key responsibilities, competencies and implications on related bodies of knowledge

This paper examines the responsibilities and the required skills for Information Technology (IT) security professionals. Content analysis of relevant jobs postings helped identify four types of positions and the associated responsibilities and requisite skills. The identified skills were further analyzed to assess their consistency with the identified responsibilities. Finally, the Body of Knowledge (BOK) for three relevant disciplines (Information Systems, IT and Computer Science) are reviewed to assess the extent to which they cover knowledge needed to address IT security in organizations. Findings identify possible gaps in the BOK and areas for improvement.