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For all of you “security experts” out there, how did you get your start in the industry?

A bit of background about me - I do Marketing for an IT company, so as you can imagine, not a hugely technical role, but I do have a foundation of basic stuff that I’ve picked up along the way (HTML, writing basic automation code, server configurations, etc.) I like to think that I’m quick learner, and I’m fairly technically-minded, so I’m cautiously confident that I can pick up new things once I’ve set my mind to it.

I’ve recently started learning a lot more in regards to cyber threats, cyber security, etc., and I think the technology behind both the attacks and the prevention of the attacks is fascinating, and I feel it’s really one of those industries that I would love to be involved in.

I’m not sure exactly what role I’m working towards, I’m not fussed about staying in Marketing, and would prefer a more hands-on role, but whether that’s researching new threats or protecting against them, I’m not sure… Companies like Trend Micro who have a massive research and investigative branch would be ideal really.

So… those of you who are in these types of roles, how did you get started? Is it a matter of starting at a help desk, moving up to Sys Admin, and then refining a focus on security from there? Or is there a different path you’d suggest? What about qualifications/courses that you’d recommend?

Thanks in advance for your help and advice!

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I got my start in security many years ago, at the end of the 1970’s, and the method I used (albeit accidentally) no longer works. Lets just say I came to the attention of a certain Government organisation at the time they were looking for people with my “experience” of breaching system security.

It is the sort of thing that these days would get you blacklisted for employment in the IT security field, so DON’T try it.

These days I think a solid technical knowledge of networking is a basic requirement. A few certs won’t go amiss, and I am sure there are others with a better knowledge of what is current who will chip in with suggestions of which ones are the best at the moment. A thirst for knowledge, a “what happens if I try this” approach rather than not daring to try things unless you know what is going to happen. A vast store of patience will be a great help. Personal networking with people working in the area already (Start with Spiceworks and work from there).

Good luck, and best wishes.

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Cheers Ian - I definitely don’t think I’m at the level of (or have the desire to!) attract the attention of MI5, but networking basics are a good start. Again, I have a pretty base level of knowledge around routers and switches (I get how they work and how to configure them, etc.) but I’m sure there are pretty massive chunks of information that I need to learn, or could get a better understanding of, so will start there.

Cheers!

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Read anything and everything connected to the InfoSec area you’re interested in. Read as many NIST SP 800 documents as you can handle. Learn NMap (ZenMap) and Wireshark up to where you can be fairly proficient with them. Learn as many of the command line utilities as you can (Windows, Linux), and learn them well. Fully understand the OSI model, the TCP/IP packet structure and how routers and switches move information between devices. Understand network/host intrusion detection devices and firewalls and how traffic flows through them.

And that’s just scratching the surface.

If you’re interested in malware analysis, you’ll need to be able to look at the hex view of a file and know what its format is. How the various area of PE32/32+ executables work in a Windows environment and how to tear them apart and look for nefarious code.

That doesn’t even touch social engineering, Kali Linux or pen testing, but you get the idea…

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Fire up a home lab, make it your all. Automate stuff in your home lab, treat it like a production environment and protect it…

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Also, try to apply for this cisco Cyber Ops scholarship:

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She’s too late for the scholarship. The deadline was yesterday…

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Another way is discuss with a Cyber Security recruitment agency and see what guidance they can give, I know some do networking meet and greet sessions tat can be quite useful. It also depends where in UK you are, London and Cheltenham are big Cyber and Cyber MSP areas, less so in some other places apart from some of the bigger cities. I know down in Dorset where I am there is next to nothing in the InfoSec field

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That’s hugely helpful, thanks jonemac. Lahi, a home lab is a really good (slightly daunting) idea - I’ll have a chat with my IT guys at work and see what they’d suggest starting with. The registration still seemed to be open for the scholarship so I’ve gone ahead and applied, but would be keen to do a course like that even if I’m paying out of pocket for it, so I’ll explore that a bit further, cheers! I was slightly apprehensive about doing a vendor-specific course, as they obviously tailor the courses to their specific products, and I don’t want to find out later that I have massive holes in my learning because it’s a technology that Cisco (or whomever) just ignores completely, but I suppose it’s a good place to start, and anything is better than nothing!

Chris, I’m in London, so will have a look. It honestly never occurred to me that there would be anything like that, so will check it out. Any specific agencies you’ve had a good experience with that you’d recommend?

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e-Synergy Solutions ( http://www.esynergy-solutions.co.uk/cyber-security ) I have spoken to in the past, the guys and girls i’ve spoken to seem to know their stuff. I know they have meetups as well,

Cyber Execs ( http://www.cyberexecs.net/ ) and Acumin( http://www.acumin.co.uk/cm/content/cyber_security_jobs ) but not really had many dealings with so can’t comment too much.

3 Years ago I went to a Cyber Security Jobs fair sponsored by Cyber Security Challenge ( https://cybersecuritychallenge.org.uk/ ) which I found quite useful as you can meet a few good contacts that way,

Admittedly you’ve missed the main events season, IPExpo in October and Infosec in June/July are the main ones in London I know of because I normally head up that way for them if I can. They tend to let you know what vendors are doing and quite often have a few recruiters there as well.

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Ah cheers for that. I was at Infosec, Cloudsec, and IP Expo actually, I’m just really rubbish at networking, so just didn’t make any useful contacts while I was there, helpfully :slight_smile:

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I only made day 1 of IPExpo this year as its been manic, seemed a bit quiet overall compared to the previous years. Networking is just all about practice really, it does help when your shopping for ideas admittedly.

e-synergy I did get on well with when I spoke to them up there last year but i’m a bit out of area for them much as I do want to relocate in the not too distant future

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Also read this:

(can we make that a sticky? )

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I agree that being vendor specific can limit your knowledge, however when it comes to understanding networking, you will realize that Cisco is the gold standard and most people who understand Cisco can easily transfer that knowledge to any other vendor.

If network security interest you i highly suggest the Cisco way.

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I bookmarked this a while ago, its the best advice i have read.

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Neally, I have no idea how to make things sticky (besides using glue) but I’ve spiced it, if that helps :wink:

It is actually the perfect article and exactly what I’m looking for, thank you so much! I’ve also ordered the CISSP 4th Edition Study Guide as well for a bit of light reading on the train on my morning commute, and I’ve got some old networking books lying around at home that I’ll have a read-through as well.

Really appreciate all of the help!

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“light reading”?

Not a chance! :wink:

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This link (still good for another 7 hours, it seems) sounds very a apropos of this post.
https://store.bgr.com/sales/pwyw-white-hat-hacker-bundle?per_page=4&publisher_id=65&sort=best_sellers&utm_source=bgr_stackcommerce_deal_feed_widget

But, as the end of the year approaches (end of quarter? time for sales reviews?) these kinds of promotions seem to come up, as vendors try to elbow the others out of the way for any remaining funds in the budgets of calendar-year fiscal plans…

Hope this helps! Opinions welcome on the courses, as I am not a security expert…

VM

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Victormarquez, thanks for sending this, but I’m a bit dubious about these - why are the courses so cheap if they’re good quality? Has anyone actually done these?

I’m very much a believer of if it seems too good to be true, it probably is!

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I’m a bit skeptical about this as well. I saw the exact same bundle through the Macworld store. I think they’re just re-branding the store on different sites. Not sure if this is concerning or not though.