Re: [GPWN-list] breaking in to security, trying to get answers

[CP Constantine <conrad () 1211 net>]

On 02/20/2012 11:17 AM, Josh More wrote:
> There are a lot of people who ask me at events and on IRC how to get
> started, so I wrote up this little HOWTO.  It's very cert-heavy, as the
> most common question I get is "which certification do I need to break into
> security"... so I have to start with the news that it just doesn't work
> that way.

I'm always finding myself having trouble answering this question to
people myself, because I'm from there era when there really was no
security industry. I self-taught myself back in the 80's and early 90's,
and when the internet boom hit, the demand for security people of any
sort whatsoever, completely outstripped the fact that I was a high
school dropout with no degree, who'd taught himself by way of hard-won
hands-on experience.

One of the talks I'm putting together, is a little reminiscing of those
days, and how the time has passed for 'people like me' in some ways (or
at least, we're needed elsewhere in the Industry now). And that many of
the things we disdained early on, are becoming more vital now..

Some things however, will never change: and my #1 bit of advice for
anyone getting into Infosec is "Do something else first!". I still think
that the #1 most effective skill any infosec person can have, is a frame
of reference from outside security. Prior experience in tech support,
systems administration, development is pretty much *always* preferable
over someone straight out of college with a two-year security-related
degree.

Beyond that, the field is growing in scope with each passing year, that
you may as well ask "How do I get a job in IT" for the same effect now.
The best advice is always going to be "By doing stuff with computers".
No amount of formal training is *ever* going to overcome not having an
answer for that ultimate IT interview question "Tell me about the
projects you work on, in your own time"


_______________________________________________
Pauldotcom mailing list
Pauldotcom () mail pauldotcom com
http://mail.pauldotcom.com/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/pauldotcom
Main Web Site: http://pauldotcom.com