Sneak Peek: Resources for a Thriving Cyber Career

Career development is not a solo activity. The people, experiences, and resources along the way can make all the difference, and every little piece helps. To that end, we are excited to share new resources for aspiring, novice, and up-and-coming security professionals at Black Hat 2023. 

We collaborated with the larger infosec community for these offerings, and we can’t wait to share them with you! 

A career pageturner 📖

First up, we will be handing out a free SOC career guide in physical book form (yes, on paper pages 🤯). We don’t want to spoil too much but check out some chapter and author previews below: 

• So You Want to Be a SOC Analyst, by John Hammond 
  When he’s not hunting threats at Huntress, you have probably seen at least one of John’s YouTube tutorials, as he is a prolific content creator and educator in the cybersecurity community. He starts the guide with some wise perspectives on approaching your SOC career. 

• How to Crush a SOC Role, by Joshua Copeland
  Josh shares his insightful and entertaining “unpopular opinions” on LinkedIn, is a security director at AT&T, and teaches cybersecurity classes at Tulane University. He provides a detailed manifesto on the skills you need to crush a SOC role. Rumor has it this guide will be required reading for his students this fall! 

The full guide includes chapters on the different career paths for SOC analysts, how to avoid burnout, some sage advice on decision-making, and more.  

There will be limited book copies, but you can read a digital version released alongside the hard copy next week. No matter how you want to consume the content, we got you covered. Pick up your copy at booth #2160 while supplies last! 

Personal career coaching IRL 🙏

If you aren’t looking to bury your nose in a book during Black Hat (it will be great reading for the flight home!), stop by the Devo knowledge bar (also located at booth #2160) for interactive career coaching sessions to talk through career topics or questions you may have. 

We are partnering with some fantastic organizations and individuals to conduct these sessions, including:  

• CyberSN: a woman-owned talent matching services company that connects cybersecurity professionals to jobs that are a perfect fit, to receive an individual career consultation 
• Cybermindz: a not-for-profit organization focused on solving stress, burnout, and anxiety in cyber
• Hayley Morgan, Director of Security Architecture & Engineering at Nielsen
• Josh Copeland, Security Director at AT&T
• Jessica Chen, Security Operations Engineer at CarGurus 

These 1:1 consultations will be delivered on a first-come, first-served basis, so make sure you pencil this into the top of your Black Hat schedule. 

See you there!  

We have a ton more planned for Black Hat as well. Chaz Lever, Devo’s Senior Director of SciSec (Devo’s research team), and Josh Copeland, Security Director at AT&T, will host a sponsored session you won’t want to miss. They will share the AI risks your team should prepare for, how to implement AI to reap immediate benefits in your SOC, and the impact it will have on the long-term careers of CISOs, SOC directors, and analysts. 

Industry experts from Devo, alongside our partners Binary Defense and Recorded Future, will also discuss industry trends and how you can streamline your SOC workflow. You’ll also be able to experience interactive demos, dive deeper into our tech, and have opportunities to meet with sales. We can’t wait to see you there!