Moving into Cybersecurity

Whether you are a college student, mid-career, technical or non-technical there is a job in cybersecurity for you. There were over a million open positions in 2016 and demand is growing. Below are a number of resources, including your suggestions, that can be used to gain the skills needed to move into a cybersecurity career:

Volunteering

ISSA
Homeland Security Cyber Student Volunteer Program
Open source opportunities
- The Honeynet Project – Honeypot/honeynet research and development
- Libreswan – IKE and IPsec standards for VPN
- Metasploit – Framework for security tools and exploit development and penetration testing
- Nmap Security Scanner – Network discovery and security auditing
- Radare2 – Reverse engineering framework and tools
- Tor – Internet privacy and security
- Kali Linux

Internships

UK Internships in Cybersecurity
Homeland Security Cyber Student Volunteer Program
US Registered Cybersecurity Internship Program
- Recording of webinar on the Cybersecurity internship program
- The slides used during the presentation can be found here.
- Virgina Registered Cybersecurity Internships

Networking or Mentoring Communities

Local security user groups
- “Your local security user groups are invaluable for networking. A city’s security community is small. Everyone knows each other.”
International Consortium of Minority Cybersecurity Professionals (ICMCP)

Programs

CERIAS at Purdue University – Annual information security symposium
Google Summer of Code (GSoC) – Summer program for university students. Students receive a stipend while coding for open source projects over the summer with a mentor. Participating organizations include open source security projects.
National Cyber League – Education incorporating learning and gaming
Offensive Security’s certification program – A university graduate program
Women in Cybersecurity (WiCyS) – Annual conference for bringing together women in cybersecurity

Courses

Cybrary – Free cybersecurity education
IT Security Careers: First Steps – Free course
Coursera
- Cybersecurity Specialization
edX
- Cybersecurity MicroMaster’s Program
Learn Python the Hard Way
SANS

Certifications

CompTIA Security+
GSEC
CISSP
CISM
CCSP
Associate of ISC2

Workshops

NICE – Sign up for the free Webinars. The latest in Cybersecurity Education is described.

“It is not easy to break into or be successful… Success stories all revolve around extreme passion.” – Suzi Wokabi

How to Get into Cybersecurity

I came up with the following diagram to show how to get into Cybersecurity. I’ve linked to youtube video, but there are also free courses available on edx and other sites.

Moving into Cybersecurity

This is an excellent article on moving into cybersecurity. “Several studies have assessed the growing shortage of cybersecurity workers. According to Cyber Seek, a project supported by a grant from the U.S. Dept. of Commerce, the current U.S. shortage is around 300,000. Studies estimate that number increasing to between one and two million by 2022.” To read more go to:

http://www.nonpareilonline.com/news/local/the-internet-wants-you-consider-a-career-in-cybersecurity/article_b069b058-b6ab-11e7-b0c6-ab6ecbc3425e.html

Cybersecurity Scholarships

(ISC)² Foundation Women’s Cybersecurity Scholarship

Click here to apply for the scholarship: https://iamcybersafe.org/scholarships/womens-scholarships/

Raytheon Women Cybersecurity Scholarship Applicants: click here to apply

$10 Million in Cisco Global Cybersecurity Scholarships!

Qualifications

To be considered for a scholarship, applicants must meet these qualifications:

General:

Be at least 18 years old
Be proficient in English

Basic technical competency (possess one or more of the following):

Cisco certification (Cisco CCENT certification or higher)
Relevant industry certification [(ISC)², CompTIA Security+, EC-Council, GIAC, ISACA]
Cisco Networking Academy letter of completion (CCNA 1 and CCNA 2)
Windows expertise: Microsoft (Microsoft Specialist, MCSA, MCSE), CompTIA (A+, Network+, Server+)
Linux expertise: CompTIA (Linux+), Linux Professional Institute (LPI) certification, Linux Foundation (LFCS, LFCE), Red Hat (RHCSA, RHCE, RHCA), Oracle Linux (OCA, OCP)

Candidate acknowledgment:

Planning a career in IT cybersecurity
Prepared to complete training in three months
Willing to share a success story

Click here for more information: https://mkto.cisco.com/security-scholarship

Career in Cybersecurity

Here is a great video series put together about breaking into a cybersecurity career. Currently there is a severe labor shortage in Cybersecurity. There were 1 million job openings in 2016 and is expected to grow to 6 million by 2019. Below is a Video Series on Cybersecurity created by the Virginia Space Grant Consortium.

Reading Resources

News

Cyberwire
Dark Reading
Infosecurity Magazine
SecLists
SecurityIntelligence
Deb Infosec (Disclaimer: This is Debra Baker’s Blog)

Reading

Current news and any books you can get your hands on.

Penetration Testing: A Hands-On Introduction to Hacking Book by Georgia Weidman

Network Security Assessment, 3rd Edition (O’Reilly) By: Chris McNab

Cybersecurity Career Roadmap

Cyber Seek’s Cybersecurity Career Pathway is a great interactive tool that can help you plan transitions in your cybersecurity career.

SANS’ Security Training Career Roadmap is useful for planning your education.

Registered Cybersecurity Apprenticeship

Registered Cybersecurity Apprenticeship (NICE – National Initiative Cybersecurity Education)

• Earn College Credit

• Get paid while learning

• GI Bill – Veteran can get paid from VA and apprenticeship

• Individual makes $300,000 more over career after doing an apprenticeship

• 2,000 hours minimum over 12-18 months and 140 training hours per year

• Will receive with cybersecurity certification (CompTIA A+)

• Currently High School/College model (12-18 months)(CompTIA)

• Moving toward mid-career model (24-36 months)(CompTIA Security+)

A recording of the webinar can be found here.

The slides used during the presentation can be found here.

Interested in the Program?

You need to contact your local state’s agency that handles registered apprenticeships. I’ve started compiling a list of states below. Of course, if your state isn’t listed then you can google and search.

California San Diego area: https://ccap-coastline.org/apprentices/

Arizona: Arizona Department of Economic Security

Illinois: Illinois Department of Economic Security

Strategy for Illinois Veterans: www.illinois.gov/veterans/benefits/pages/education.aspx

Virginia: http://www.doli.virginia.gov/apprenticeship/registered_apprenticeship.html

NC -Wake County: http://www.waketech.edu/programs-courses/non-credit/about-workforce-continuing-education/financial-resources/techhire-grant