97 Things Every Information Security Professional Should Know

Chapter 1. Continuously Learn to Protect Tomorrow’s Technology

Alyssa Columbus

The exponentially increasing volume and variety of data being generated today is proving to be an unequivocal target for cyberattackers who see great value in destabilizing enterprise and national ecosystems to create political chaos and drive financial gain.

The SolarWinds hack successfully penetrated the executable files of a leading network monitoring system and is a stark example of the future of cyberattacks. To thwart future attacks at this level of sophistication, change management and ongoing education are needed at a professional level. Personal responsibility and ownership of staying current in information security on the latest vulnerabilities and exposures and with the latest technologies aren’t optional anymore. What’s needed is a framework for continual self-improvement. I have provided the foundations of a framework that has worked for me here:

Learn with a community.

I’ve personally found that I’ve developed new and existing skills much faster (by a magnitude of months) when I’ve joined a community of learners than when I was trying to learn the same skills alone. By attending local and online user groups, conferences, and other events, you can discover new concepts, hone new skills, and network with possible future colleagues. Also, in a community, you will gain a more holistic perspective ...