Mentoring & Cybersecurity: My story

I served 17 years of my life as a law enforcement officer dedicating my life to chasing bad guys. The attack vectors I dealt with while trying to apprehend suspects were almost always reactionary, and, in my opinion, the skillset to become a successful police officer were easy to learn. Responding to crimes in progress typically involved pursuing the person, either on foot or in a vehicle. Clearly the goal is to apprehend the suspect before additional harm is caused to property or life. The stakes were high, and if a mistake was made during the process, there were grave consequences to human life. 

Weapon, tactics, and physical training were vital to staying sharp and ahead of ever evolving threats. Navigating the complexities of a law enforcement career was challenging, especially for a new officer. One of the ways in which a police department gets their investment back is through effective and measurable mentorship. Typically, the leadership pillars were passed on mentorship. This mentorship was key in the professional development of an officer. I never forgot the vital leadership lessons learned from those "old-timers" and how much I cherish their leadership's impact to this day.

Following my law enforcement career, I decided I would go back to my first love, technology. More importantly, I chose the path which fits my educational and skill set best: Cybersecurity. I have invested an exponential amount of time, not only on my academic education but also on my technical abilities. I firmly believe Cybersecurity is unlike any other discipline because this exciting field encompasses all disciplines, and the occupation forces you to be exceptionally well versed in many different areas. However, the one aspect I wish there was more of was professional mentorship. I strongly feel that the current state of cybersecurity lacks a proper mentorship program. 

Recognizing there is a lack of leadership is the first step to mitigating the leadership posture within the Cybersecurity industry. We owe it to our next generation of cyber professionals.  More importantly, this can be rectified with finding talent in or outside a given company. Like in law enforcement, guidance should commence at the onset of a new employee onboarding. The objectives of the company should be passed on immediately upon being hired. This would enable the employee to align their goals to the mission and vision of a respective organization and continue to flourish from there. This would set a direction to the employee and yield dividends to the company who invested the time to foster a thriving and positive environment. What do you guys think?