Careers Need Aspiration.

Source: Info Security Magazine, the publication of (ISC)2, September 2010.

Introduction

If you work and network with leaders who have nurtured your growth, then you aspire to greater things and likely provide support to others. Solid leadership highlights the difference between showing up each day for a job and participating in a career.

Change is constant. To remain relevant, a conscious, constant commitment to ongoing education is required to maintain competence. So, get an attitude! Take responsibility for your education and use every opportunity available, whether in your own time or not—personal days, vacation, and online education are all options.

Gaining a recognized certification will differentiate you. Look to leaders you respect and ask for their help – most are willing to share their skills and your network will blossom.

We are challenged with “always on” technology, in ways we have not previously considered. Security professionals have a special responsibility to be effective educators about choices, to operate ethically, and within the scope of the law.

Understand why the technology you work with exists, and what it means. How do such insights affect us in the context of our careers and our interactions within the industry?

Try this exercise: Write a response to, “What is it you do for a job?”

You can answer in several ways and here is an example of how much impact different responses have:

“I work for xyz company and do security audits”

I’m a career security professional who works with a great team at xyz company to make our enterprise safer for our customers and company. We do this by identifying and managing security risks.

The second response is much more interesting. Go a step further: be more specific. Identify specific data points and use them in your elevator pitch. “In the last year, we averted 1700 attacks, saving our customers and xyz approximately $200 Million.

Security professionals who explain in simple, effective terms, the business value of our profession, are better regarded, and elevate our profession. Our role as educators and story-tellers is vital.

The rate of change for technology is accelerating. Almost all technical innovations have security issues; not just the technology, but the way they are configured, the ways that people use (and abuse) them, and the unintended consequences.

Globally-connected cloud networks contain applications that manage millions of identities for access to physical and virtual devices. Unified access and trust models are emerging. The line is blurred between physical and logical security, creating new opportunities for much needed competencies. IT and Physical Security are no longer separate fields; each is required for the other to function effectively on a continuing basis.

We are reliant on appropriate, effective security to protect the lives and well being of people, assets, and information. Understanding the subtleties related to securing systems with both physical and virtual elements adds great value to an organization’s security posture.

We each aspire to different goals, competencies, and positions. To what do you aspire? Your future starts now.

Shayne Bates.