WANT A JOB IN CYBERSECURITY?

I just returned from a cybersecurity conference + job fair, this one was held at one of our local colleges. This the 3rd cybersecurity conference I've attended during 2019, and it is very encouraging to see so many young people finding meaningful work and career opportunities in this space.

People often ask me "How do I get into this industry?" so I decided to write down some of my thoughts.

My own recent focus has been in AI in cybersecurity, helping companies like Google and Adobe to find cybersecurity AI experts, but there are tons of other entry points into this discipline.

But prior experience or a specific degree isn't required for many of the jobs, and it's a much more welcoming community than you would imagine.

My entry point came by accident. It was in 2007 with a Los Alamos company where we built cybersecurity systems for the Department of Defense, NASA and other organizations with highly sensitive data. Then in 2012 I was the CEO of a facial recognition startup in Los Angeles helping banks to protect the identity of their customers. From there I just kept getting pulled into cybersecurity projects. Now I'm recruiting cybersecurity algorithm experts, which gives me a fascinating view into the future. That will be another article.

History: An industry with "ancient" roots.

The idea of storing, hiding and protecting data came soon after the first primitive data was created thousands of years ago, so this is a very old "industry", yet feels very state-of-the-art. Hiding and encrypting information was common in ancient Egypt and Greece, where they obfuscated information on hidden rock carvings and papyrus and divided the messages into several parts, similar to some of todays methods of data encryption and distribution.

Wading into the world of modern Cybersecurity gives a different perspective than just studying it as an outsider. As you start attending conferences, studying the white papers and interact with experts, an enormous and fascinating world opens up, with decades of history and learning.

Geeks and Freaks

Many of the people I meet in this niche are different than the average corporate worker, even at the college level. They often have handles instead of names. They have strange hair-dos, their own lingo –– white hat, black hat, phishing, back door, FIDO, Botnet, ransomware, ethical hackers, Catfish, Brandjacking and hundreds more. That's part of the fun. Lots of black torn jeans and black t-shirts with cryptic sayings on them. These people also expertly use software tools and algorithms most of us have never heard of. Many, probably most, are self-taught, and are driven by their passion for the discipline.

But there is also a large contingent of more mainstream business people in this world. The two types seem to mix very well.

The buzzwords, acronyms, certifications and job titles are seldom heard outside of these circles, although they are fairly easy to learn and more are becoming mainstream like ransomware and malware as we see their impact on our daily lives.

There is an urgent need for more people to enter this field.

The enormity of the task of protecting the worlds digital data becomes more apparent when you listen to talks and study the problems. Below the surface of what we hear about election hacking or a retail site shutting down, there are thousands of sub-niches of work happening to protect data. I see new innovations almost every day.

Cryptography is also a very old industry, now becoming mainstream as Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies have caught our attention. That's a sister industry that has seemingly sprung up overnight.

O.K., but in practical terms, where does one start?

Here's my list

1. Attend Conferences and Job Fairs. These are great places to find your niche. In addition to software engineering, there are jobs in marketing, sales, HR and other areas of expertise.
2. Try typing "cybersecurity job fair" into Google. You'll be amazed at what you find.
3. Study job descriptions. They will tell you what specific certifications are needed, if any.
4. Meetups. Every city now seems to have a cybersecurity meetup or several. Many are outlets for jobs.
5. Read articles in Wired and other general tech pubs. You can educate yourself before interacting with others. Try reddit, Linkedin, Facebook, twitter, instagram.
6. Come up with your own idea. I met a woman in Los Angeles recently who is a Spanish teacher, has no tech background. She has an idea for securely translating children's personal information into Spanish securely. Amazing to see such innovation from a non-tech person. She's now working with a group of hardcore cybersecurity developers to try to launch her idea.

So if you're interested in cybersecurity, start the process. You will find your place. Send me a note or DM me on twitter @tomnora if you want to discuss.