Mr. Kelsey
CNSP | CSIS | SSCP | GFACT | GCLD | ECES | ITIL
I’m a firm believer that everything we do has ripples. Those ripples might not be obvious, and they might not be intended, but they are there regardless.
Therefore, it behooves each of us to be as intentional as possible with every action we make. Think through the ripples we may create and ensure that we are making the types of ripples we desire to leave behind.
As with everything in life, our names are tied to our actions. Good, bad or indifferent: our workmanship is a reflection of who we are. I always strive to do great work and to leave ripples that will make my family proud of the person I was once I’m gone.
Mr. Kelsey
The Right Man For The Job
My greatest strength has always been gaining buy-in. Whether that be the buy-in of coworkers, clients, upper management, or otherwise. It is no wonder then, that I’ve never had a job that didn’t result in a promotion into management.
In the retail world, it was partner buy-in. That is, gaining the buy-in of my staff to support the new policies our company was attempting. Being a test store meant that we saw a lot of different ideas and had to roll with some truly novel ideas from time to time. My ability to relay a logical reason for each new policy helped my staff roll with the punches more consistently and always faster than any other store in the chain.
In development, gaining buy-in is directed at the clients. So often, a client will think they know exactly what they want without having thought through everything that would go along with that particular solution. I would gently point out potential flaws while offering two sets of solutions: one, should we continue the project as they wanted, or two, a new direction for solving whatever problem they were hoping to solve.
With project management, I had to focus my buy-in powers on the various developers beneath me. Each person had a specific focus on a given project. But I had to make everything mesh so that all parts worked cohesively together. Sometimes, this meant encouraging developers to change their solution to a particular problem.
For engineering, it means managing stakeholder expectations. Sometimes, it is just physically impossible to get the exact view that a stakeholder desires. More often, it is cost prohibitive to do so. In either case, talking stakeholders through the various options that they have available and gaining their buy-in on a solution that matches their need can take skill and finesse.
In cybersecurity, I expect the skill will continue to serve me. Whether it is getting non-security related IT staff on board with a new security solution or giving executives a realistic outlook on what limitations a particular solution may have, my power to accurately relay information in a helpful and non-disparaging manner will increase the efficiency of any team upon which I may be placed.
Cybersecurity
A natural path
I like to keep myself busy. When the nation shut down, I was looking for something to do. Being a life-long learner, school seemed like the natural choice. I found WGU and looked over the course curriculum for the various programs they offered. Looking at the traditional computer science degree, I didn’t feel as though I would get enough new information to justify spending my time on the degree.
Cybersecurity, on the other hand, seemed to offer a plethora of information with which I was unfamiliar. So, I enrolled. The program offered the ability to gain a robust education in cybersecurity if one were so inclined. While I found that many students only cared to understand the concepts on a surface level, I continued to dive deeper and deeper into each aspect I came across.
Ultimately, this brought me to binary analysis, network protocol reversing, and exploit development. It is where I found my love for cybersecurity and is where I intend to continue to deepen my knowledge and skill within the broader class of cyber.
