The threat landscape and opportunity for adversaries have never been more expansive and available - increasingly sophisticated malware, migrations to IoT and the cloud, and a remote workforce are just a few examples of today's risks that IT security professionals must address head-on. Unfortunately, IT Security programs are all too commonly met with a lack of support from organizations as a whole, both from a financial and knowledge standpoint. Furthermore, Cybersecurity Ventures predicts that "there will be 3.5 million unfilled cybersecurity jobs globally by 2021, up from one million positions in 2014." Robert Herjavec adds that "the pipeline of security talent isn’t where it needs to be to help curb the cybercrime epidemic. Until we can rectify the quality of education and training that our new cyber experts receive, we will continue to be outpaced by the Black Hats.”I am passionate and committed in emphasizing the importance of PEOPLE to help combat the latest and greatest threats, techniques, and tactics by promoting hands-on experience with the aforementioned risks. I believe that effective skills development must be the foundation to long-term success in "staying ahead of the bad guys." While having complementary technology and tools are vital for any successful program, the absence of talent renders them obsolete. After all, according to Grady Booch, "a fool with a tool is still a fool."
Listed skills include Information Security, Leadership, Time Management, Customer Service, and 12 others.