Building a Cybersecurity Mindset

Building a Cybersecurity Mindset: Lessons from a Security Operations Intern

With World Wide Technology, I've had the privilege of diving deep into the world of cybersecurity and gaining invaluable insights. Developing a cybersecurity mindset is crucial in today's digital landscape, where threats can be anywhere. It's all about understanding the risks, staying informed, and taking proactive steps to protect ourselves. Here's some ways I've helped develop my mindset:

1) Keep up with the landscape. As an analyst, new threats and vulnerabilities are emerging daily. It is a MUST to embrace a mindset of continual learning to keep yourself up to date on the latest trends and best practices. If you don't try to stay ahead of the emerging threats, you will quickly fall behind. My SOC manager has told me about his use of twitter, reddit, and discord groups to gain insight into the threat landscape. A quick way to apply this mindset shift: Create an RSS feed. They are super simple to set up--I created a basic account through feedly.com--and start getting insights into the latest threats. Here's a couple sources that I would suggest checking out to get your feed started: Krebs on Security, Graham Cluley, Schneier on Security, and Malwarebytes Labs. Feel free to reach out to me if you're wanting some more insight into how I leverage the power of RSS Feeds:)

2) Documentation. Documentation. Documenation. This aspect is HUGE! As an analyst, your ability to retain information will quickly come to a breaking point. The fix is easy...Just write it down. Whether it's in a notebook or a note-taking app, you never know when you might need to go back and review that thought. If you want to break into cybersecurity, get into the habit of writing things down.

3) Collaboration is key. Information Security is a collective effort that requires everyone's vigilance. WWT has done a phenominal job creating an environment that fosters communication. Because of that focus, I always feel that my opinion is valued. From my experience, it is so insightful to work within a team that has such a wide range of skillsets. Whenever I need to approach someone with a problem, I almost always know who the expert is in that subject matter. Use your team. As teammate Albert Borrego Jr. likes to say, "Iron sharpens iron!"

Can't wait to see what the rest of my time with World Wide holds. Connections, let me know of any suggestions you have on how to get into the cybersecurity mindset. I would love to hear your input!

#alwayslearning

Author: Lukas Burzynski

Security Operations Intern: World Wide Technology

Student: Studying Cybersecurity