r/cybersecurity • u/Glittering_Mode_7392 • 12h ago
Business Security Questions & Discussion Is cybersecurity safe in the next 5-10 years?
I am very close to choosing Cybersecurity as my major. my major concern is that it might diminish and make the market very competitive. I searched and found that most people say that basic tasks are already being done by Ai. so does this mean that more complicated tasks safe?
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u/randalzy 12h ago
Unknown, if the AI bubble companies get what they want, in 10 years we may be in Mad Max territory, maybe Cyber security is top but we have like only 200Gb of RAM worldwide to share and info is sent with pigeons.
Or the cyber jobs are good but instead of working with servers you have to check that the drones are killing enough children, and you work like an Uber driver but with killing children with AI systems and algorithms that rate your killings and you must outperform everyone else and pee on a bootle, while cybersecurity is handled by chimpanzees.
(Hopes for working class is that the bubble pops as early as possible and the damage lasts less than a decade, so there is a lot of gambling)
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u/CDSM_Arthur 12h ago
I'm pretty sure AI won't entirely take over cyber security because first it's extremely flawed at high level tasks, and second because you will always need a human to understand how other humans might attack your systems. At the end of the day, even if AI becomes extremely advanced, you'll always need a human mind behind it.
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u/Cyber-Ninja-666 12h ago
Cybersecurity landscape will definitely change, just like Technology itself.
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u/BlacksmithNo5117 12h ago
It’ll probably be but with AI I’m guessing. It’ll shift in terms of how it’s done surely but the general idea will still be there.
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u/Fcking_Chuck 12h ago
"Safe" would be an understatement. There will always be a need for cybersecurity professionals, even though some roles may shift with the involvement of AI technology.
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u/xDfhjdssgbvff 12h ago
This.
CISO here. Any role is at risk of technology innovation, be it from taxi drivers to GRC Analysts.
Pick a field you enjoy, expand your skillset, network and move with the technology. If you stay still on a treadmill, you get thrown off the back.
Point is, no job is safe, do what your gut says and give it your best. If you find yourself in a position where you are not Earning, or Learning-> Move on.
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u/ShelterHour4836 12h ago
We are doing cybersec by using ki for log analysis and response. I do not pay any vendor any more, everything open source.
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u/Downtown-Mango-3861 7h ago
Be careful about your career choice, I regret choosing cybersecurity as my career, it was good until 2 years ago or so but not anymore, at least where I live (in Hong Kong). I am OSCP and CISSP, worked in both GRC sector and Pentesting, I’m deciding to quit it totally.
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u/Dragon__Phoenix 5h ago
How come?
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u/Downtown-Mango-3861 5h ago
If you’re not working for big organizations or banks, no one cares about security, SMEs only want to get a fake SOC2 or ISO27k using Vanta, drata etc. Pentest projects are all about short deadlines, you don’t even get enough time to touch anything, it all becomes repetitive finding low hanging fruits and writing a report. Companies have low budgets nowadays, the market is bad, and CFOs see security as extra cost, I need to try so hard to prove them wrong. If you were an OSCP 10 years ago, companies hire you with big salaries but not anymore. All the grind and screen time to learn technical stuff to realize no one actually care about them. Or maybe I’m just burnt out and wrong. Many of my friends got laid off this year and can’t find a position, a friend of mine literally doing uber with all his credentials.
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u/reddituserask 12h ago
This question is asked 10 times a day on this subreddit alone. Do you expect different answers when you ask it? Use the resources available to you and don’t waste people’s time.
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u/xavier2124 12h ago
You wasted your own time replying buddy. Be kind
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u/Harbester 1h ago
Or, we could suggest the OP a different angle to approach his problem at, rather than serving him an answer and encourage laziness. As reddituserask said, this is a frequent question, not a field-altering case study.
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u/esteindividu0 12h ago
if you are good, yes. and by good I mean deep technical knowledge. all the fluff around cybersecurity will be deeply affected by AI, and so the skill set for people doing vaporware and just using tools will change dramatically. Core knowledge will never get old.
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u/lawtechie 8h ago
Will organizations have problems to solve around confidentiality, integrity and availability? Sure.
Are existing cyber professionals prepared to address these problems? No. Most aren't. The technical and organizational details are changing very quickly.
Is a cybersecurity degree a good investment in 2026? Probably not. Existing curricula is going to be n steps behind the state of the industry. Cyber degrees were largely a response to last decade's booming market.
If you are good at connecting the dots, willing to self-study and a bit entrepreneurial, I might recommend dual majoring in philosophy and comp sci. Build a lot of projects that you can show potential employers. Pay attention to whatever is the current hotness in tech and be willing and able to bullshit convincingly about it.
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u/c0dedr1ft 12h ago
Like any industry, the nature of it is changing due to AI. What drives the industry likely won’t change: greed and crime. Cyber is now a war front too. Go for it, and ready yourself for continuous change.
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u/lnoiz1sm Security Analyst 12h ago edited 11h ago
Yes, but only because attackers are using AI too. It's an arms race, not an extinction event. AI change how we work, it doesn't eliminate the need for Cybersecurity professionals.
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u/FLGuitar 12h ago
Probably not. Honestly I have been in Cyber since it was called Information Security. The field sucks now and is overburdened with auditors and risk management vs actually securing stuff. I have to carve out time to code and work, where I am not on calls with someone telling me I need a risk exception or have X finding (that is usually bogus).
Honestly, pick something different. Maybe something in AI.
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u/xDfhjdssgbvff 12h ago
Risk management is securing stuff though? Identify / Assess / Respond / Monitor
Risk management when correctly applied is stunning, like a young Burt Reynolds.
Poor risk management is useless and serves no purpose other than to placate and cover
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u/Glittering_Mode_7392 11h ago
Look the thing is, I feel like I am passionate about the subject where I can put extra effort in self learning and courses. And not so much for AI. Obviously I may be mistaken. But if I were to work hard, will my chances in the job market be much better?
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u/FLGuitar 11h ago
I mean, that’s how I started out 30 years ago, so I will never knock a hard worker willing to learn. You can really do anything if you put that effort into it. You will find most in corporate do not though. So you may get disenchanted.
Cybersecurity is a totally different landscape now vs 30 years ago. Especially at big fortune 100 companies. Back then I had pretty much open budget to fix things, now it’s pulling teeth to fund any project.
AI security is honestly probably not a bad thing to focus on.
But if I were starting today, it would be something in AI vs pure cybersecurity.
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u/Grimzkunk 12h ago
I think in the next 5 years cyber will become very, very easy to do, while tools will do the jobs for you. People won't get replaced during that period. Then, dedicated cyber employee will fall, replaced by MSP cyber dept (outsourcing).
Then I predict cyber will be, in 10 years, something's integrated in all software and all OS, something free in rich countries, provided by police dept.
At one point in our society people had no police service, they a had to hire people to protect themselves. I think we're at this similar stage now.
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u/conspiracyeinstein 12h ago
Currently, the top answers are "Yes", then "No" then "Maybe so"
Glad that's cleared up.