Back by popular demand, I’ve interviewed a new group of women and non-males in information security for Spring 2018. I’m really honoured by all of the positive feedback I’ve been getting on this interview series since it launched in the fall of 2016. This series was even mentioned outside of the tech media during my appearance on a popular non-tech podcast, The Way With Anoa.

My first interview of the year is with Amanda Berlin, a Senior Security Analyst and co-author of Defensive Security Handbook by O’Reilly Media. Amanda is also a host of Brakeing Down Security podcast, a show I highly recommend you check out.

Kim Crawley: What do you do in cybersecurity? How did you get into it?

Amanda Berlin: Currently, I am a Senior Security Analyst for a MSSP company in Ann Arbor, Michigan. I do defensive security consulting, write, speak, train and podcast. I started in IT right after college at an ISP in the helpdesk, moved on to working in a hospital at the helpdesk, moved my way up to sysadmin and netadmin, and started focusing more on security about five years ago.

KC: Was there something about cybersecurity that inspired you to pursue it?

AB: Well, I had always had this fascination with “white hat hackers” and always had thought of it as kind of a pipe dream. What changed my mind was when our company had Dave Kennedy show up for a pentest when he was still working as a consultant for another firm. I had several people convincing me that I wasn’t smart enough to pursue it, and Dave let me know that was crap and I totally was. He gave me my first conference tickets to DerbyCon, and it was just all uphill from there.

KC: Do you think (Read more...)