How to Become a Cloud Security Architect

Cloud security architecture defines the security layers, design, and structure that uphold a cloud security solution. This includes the platform, tools, software, and infrastructure within that solution, and provides the model to configure and secure operations within the cloud. 

Harvard Extension School cybersecurity instructor David Cass shares his insights on the value of cloud security and how to develop your career as a cloud security architect.

Why Cloud Security is More Important Than Ever

The rise of cloud computing

Cloud computing is ubiquitous in contemporary business operations, including widespread adoption of public, private, and hybrid cloud solutions. 

The COVID-19 pandemic shut down traditional in-office work across the globe and was a catalyst for the rapid adoption of cloud computing. According to Cass, many organizations didn’t have infrastructures sufficient to support remote work. Cybersecurity professionals needed to quickly adapt.

“Where you once had traditional infrastructure security people who may have managed your routers, switches, other security hardware, now all of a sudden that’s infrastructure as code and you need to understand, how does this work in the cloud and how do I change?” says Cass. “You’re able to accomplish a lot of the same controls, but in a different manner.” 

Accelerated digital transformations like the rise of remote work and SaaS have heightened security needs — and increased the necessity for trained cloud security professionals. 

Evolving threat landscape

Cyber threats are growing in complexity and sophistication. Common threats include misconfigurations, data breaches, account hacking, insider threats, deepfakes, and refined phishing scams.  

Personal information is more accessible than ever, and phishing attacks can be highly targeted. Scammers can find social media profiles and tailor their approach to each target. 

“Gone are the days where you have really bad typo phishing emails. If I’m a scammer, I can look people up and find out their kids are in a soccer league,” says Cass. “Then, maybe I can craft something that looks like it’s from the coach and say, ‘Here’s a change in soccer schedule; log in here to get the update.’ It makes it very easy for people to fall for those phishing attempts. But that’s still the easiest way because if I can get you to give me your information, then I don’t have to break into anything.”

On an organizational level, cyber threats are highly variable depending on the industry. One of the key roles of a cybersecurity expert is to learn the threat landscape of your business or organization, says Cass. Protecting complex cloud ecosystems and essential infrastructures are critical to keeping businesses safe.

For example, financial services are vulnerable to financial hackers or front runners, whereas health care is at risk of ransomware or exposed patient information. Geographical location or political stances can also invite different forms of attack, such as hacktivism. Continually evaluating your threat landscapes can anticipate these existing or incoming threats.

Is Becoming a Cloud Security Architect Worth It?

High demand & salary potential

Cloud systems are essential to a wide range of our day-to-day lives, from shopping to entertainment to education. This integral role means that cloud security professionals are in high demand and career opportunities are constantly evolving. 

According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the 2024 median annual salary was $130,390. Senior-level positions can earn upward of $240,000, according to job search website Glassdoor. Furthermore, employment is projected to grow 13 percent from 2023 to 2033 — notably quicker than other industries. 

“There are a lot of different career fields within cybersecurity risk and compliance that need these types of personnel,” says Cass. “There are opportunities for everyone depending upon what you like and what you’re good at.” 

Value and impact 

Cloud security architects are essential to any organization. They are task with protecting it from threats and communicating the technical components to senior leadership. 

Explaining how the security measures and potential risks impact operations, how the organization can recover from setbacks, and any necessary interim plans give peace of mind to C-suite executives.

Cloud security architects also need to build relationships across the business, including with communications, legal, and production. Knowledge sharing, transparency, and clear communication foster trust and prevent confusion if issues arise. 

“You have to have the knowledge of the business, but you also have to do the outreach,” says Cass. “When incidents happen, they shouldn’t be conducted in a silo. It’s no longer, ‘Oh, just the technical teams will fix this.’ There’s impact to these things.” 

I like it that every day is never the same. To be in cyber, you just have to be a continuous learner.

David Cass

Challenges

The high-level responsibility of securing critical infrastructure can be stressful. Cybersecurity professionals need to balance business needs with security needs, keep pace with the regulatory climate, and gain buy-in from leadership on security risk and compliance — without generating fear and uncertainty. 

Another challenge is planning for system updates on a proper timeline to prevent disruption to operations and to ensure correct implementation. In traditional environments, cybersecurity teams have more control over when and how updates are applied. In the cloud, there is less pressure on cybersecurity teams to manage their own kit. But cloud service providers also enforce their own update schedule. This means organizations must be prepared for updates to happen on the provider’s timeline.

“Most of the big cloud service providers will not let you get too far behind in updates. When people are running their own infrastructure, they’re used to updating things on their own time,” says Cass. “Whereas a lot of the cloud service providers have a schedule that will not let you get too behind on updates, and if you do, they will push that update. If you let it come to that, things might break.”

While this environment can be demanding, cloud security architects gain personal fulfillment from safeguarding data and intellectual property, and strengthening customer trust. 

Long-term relevance

The continued adoption of cloud services— including containers, serverless computing, and multicloud — ensures sustained demand for cloud security architects. 

The rapid pace of technological change means that cybersecurity professionals are continuously engaged in ongoing learning and professional growth.

“I like it that every day is never the same. To be in cyber, you just have to be a continuous learner,” says Cass. “What was valid last year may or may not be valid the next year. You have to reevaluate programs and practices on an annual basis to make sure you’re meeting the business needs. Every day something changes in security, whether it’s new regulations or new attacks.”

What Does a Cloud Security Architect Do?

Cloud security architects design, implement, and manage secure cloud frameworks. When building a cloud network or environment, the architecture refers to the high level design of the systems and how the systems interact, perform, and comply with the organization. 

Cloud security architects also evaluate how an organization functions, then divide up those functions based on how they communicate with one another — all while ensuring business needs are met, regulatory compliance is maintained, and appropriate data protections are in place. 

These roles require a combination of technical expertise, strategic planning, and leadership skills to be successful.

Core responsibilities

Cloud security architects oversee and administer a wide range of functions, including: 

• Risk assessment & mitigation: Identifying vulnerabilities in cloud environments and deploying solutions.
• Designing secure infrastructures: Configuring networks, identity management, and encryption strategies.
• Compliance & governance: Ensuring cloud deployments meet standards, such as GDPR, HIPAA, or PCI-DSS, depending on the industry. 
• Collaboration: Working closely with DevOps, networking, and executive teams.

Who Can Transition into Cloud Security Architecture?

Professionals with or without an IT degree can transition into cloud security architect roles if they have relevant technical experience. While the move may seem daunting at first, many career paths provide a solid foundation for this shift.

Professionals from the following roles likely have opportunities to pivot due to shared fundamentals: 

• IT/system administration: Familiarity with on-prem networks and servers translates well to cloud architecture.
• Network or infrastructure engineers: Knowledge of networking protocols, firewalls, and routing.
• Software developers or DevOps engineers: Experience with cloud services, IaC (Infrastructure as Code), containerization.
• Cybersecurity analysts: Already adept at threat detection and security best practices, looking to specialize in cloud.

Transferable skills for non-IT professionals

If you have not pursued an IT career but you are interested in transitioning into cloud security architecture, there are several skills that overlap across industries. These roles include:

• Project management/business analyst roles: Strong organizational, compliance, or stakeholder management abilities.
• Finance/accounting, legal, or risk professionals: May have compliance and risk assessment backgrounds applicable to cloud governance.

Key soft skills

While strong technical skills and industry expertise are valuable, successful cloud security architects possess key “soft” or durable skills, too.

A problem-solving mindset, the ability to learn rapidly, and strong communication skills enable cybersecurity professionals to thrive in fast-paced, high-pressure environments. Effective leadership guides cross-functional teams and sets security standards with authority.

Intellectual curiosity and creativity are also fundamental, says Cass, and the variety of career options allow cybersecurity professionals to play to their strengths. 

“You can be creative, where you’re working in training and compliance and you have to think about how to get the general corporate employees to absorb training knowledge in a manner that’s going to make sense to them,” he says. “It’s really open to all types. That goes back to the fact that there’s so many different fields because there are roles in risk compliance, governance, application security, network architecture, and security engineering. There’s opportunities all over the place.” 

Steps to Becoming a Cloud Security Architect

Step 1: Build a strong IT foundation

To set you on the right path, learn the basics of system administration or network engineering. Entry-level cybersecurity roles like SOC analyst and incident responder offer practical exposure. 

Step 2: Gain hands-on cloud experience
Create personal cloud projects like hosting services on AWS or configuring Azure networks to strengthen fundamental skills. A variety of self-led education resources offer specialized courses or labs to hone cloud platform knowledge. 

Step 3: Earn relevant certifications
Certifications are more specific and formalized and designed to boost and validate your expertise. Options include (ISC)² CCSP or vendor-specific training like AWS, Azure, or GCP Security.

Step 4: Pursue advanced education

Formal higher education provides targeted coursework, hands-on learning in secure environments, and community and mentorship within the cybersecurity community.

Harvard Extension School offers a graduate certificate in cybersecurity — which can then stack toward a master’s degree in cybersecurity. 

Both educational paths give students a contemporary foundation of the field, taught by working professionals. 

“As an instructor, [I can confirm that] the curriculum is really bridging the textbook knowledge and actually putting the knowledge in the practice,” says Cass. “It’s one thing to read about these concepts, and it’s very different to have to go in and start building programs and practices within corporations. I look at myself as a practice professor because I’ve had experience in everything from Fortune 100 companies to startups. I have a pretty good feel of what’s worked and what hasn’t.”

Step 5: Build a portfolio & network

Through your academic program, you will be able to collect documented projects and labs into a portfolio. It will also give you access to meetups, conferences, and LinkedIn communities to connect with fellow industry professionals and grow your network. 

How a Master’s in Cybersecurity Can Elevate Your Cloud Security Career

Deep dive into specialized topics

Harvard Extension School’s graduate program in cybersecurity features a comprehensive range of courses and a robust curriculum, covering topics such as artificial intelligence and the internet of things, cloud computing, managing deployment infrastructure, communication protocols, ethical hacking, and information system forensics. 

The culminating capstone project is a collaboration between student teams and an industry partner, working to execute an innovative, real-world cybersecurity project. 

Bridging technical & managerial skills

The curriculum not only ensures technical expertise, but it also prepares students for senior cloud architect or cybersecurity leadership roles with a variety of advanced business and strategy skills.

“A master’s degree or graduate certificate sets a common baseline, so I know you have a certain fundamental understanding of some fairly broad domains,” says Cass. “There may be some nuance depending upon your industry, but it gives me the fact that you have more than just the baseline.”

Career advancement & networking

One of the most valuable benefits of a master’s degree or graduate certificate is the opportunity for networking.

Connections with instructors, guest lecturers, industry partners, and fellow students foster a supportive network. Elevating yourself as a professional improves potential for faster promotion, as well as your ability to pivot within an organization seeking cloud security leadership.

“One of things that I enjoy is the diversity of thought of the students,” says Cass. “You have a good mix of people who are pure students, versus already working professionals who are coming back for training, or looking at transitioning industries. Everybody brings a very unique perspective, so that fosters a lot of good dialogue during class time.”