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Flush Times For Hackers in Booming Cyber Security Job Market (reuters.com)
The surge in far-flung and destructive cyber attacks is not good for national security, but for an increasing number of hackers and researchers, it is great for job security. From a report: The new reality is on display in Las Vegas this week at the annual Black Hat and Def Con security conferences, which now have a booming side business in recruiting. "Hosting big parties has enabled us to meet more talent in the community, helping fill key positions and also retain great people," said Jen Ellis, a vice president with cybersecurity firm Rapid7 Inc, which filled the hip Hakkasan nightclub on Wednesday at one of the week's most popular parties. Twenty or even 10 years ago, career options for technology tinkerers were mostly limited to security firms, handfuls of jobs inside mainstream companies, and in government agencies. But as tech has taken over the world, the opportunities in the security field have exploded.
The US defense department is practically bankrolling CompTIA with their perpetual certification requirement for Security+.
Ive been in the security field since 2000, and was a developer/programmer fascinated by hacking and crypto for years before that.
Most, not all, of the new people I see entering security in this boom aren't interested in hacking, crypto, forensics, exploitation, etc. Without a curiosity about these things, I dont know how much they will ever contribute. It is very reminiscent of IT in the 90s.
I'm currently halfway through a five-year contract in Government IT to provide security remediation. Just about everyone has 20+ years of experience in IT. Other than a few Raspberry Pi hackers, the team doesn't have any real hackers. Security remediation was 70% we when got started. It's now 95% and pushing towards 99%. .
>> Hosting big parties has enabled us to meet more talent in the community
Take the Nike party at Defcon recently. Huge nightclub, free swag, pumping music, wall-to-wall geeks. However, there was nowhere in the club you could actually TALK to anyone, so you basically cruised in, grabbed anything you wanted and left with your friends. There may have been a signup - if so, it didn't seem to lead to even a single recruitment contact. So...how does this help recruitment?