Are your communication skills holding your information security career back?
Introduction – Going Beyond “Talking Techie”
Back in 1999, the Mars Climate Orbiter came to a crash-and-burn end. Why? Because there had been a serious miscommunication concerning the units of measurement used in the calculations. One team was producing and calculating in United States standard units, while the other was working on the metric system. The two sides had not communicated well, and the result was a literal disaster.
People who work in the technology sector often worry about not being technical enough. Sometimes it feels like you have to “talk techie” to be taken seriously. However, our industry has been plagued with a lack of good, clear communication in years past. We should be worrying about the ability to communicate effectively.
This concern has opened a debate around the need for soft skills. Soft skills typically refers to non-technical skills, such as being able to communicate across multiple team disciplines; being able to work with team members effectively; and even being decisive. Other skills, like problem-solving and being able to communicate these ideas, come under the soft skills umbrella as well.
Before we continue, a quick note. Instead of using the term “soft skills,” I will continue this piece using the phrase “communication skills,” as this is what it all really boils down to.
The softer side of cybersecurity
The field of cybersecurity has changed a lot in the last 25 years. There is certainly much more of an emphasis on the human factors used by cybercriminals. But this is not really what the use of communication skills is about. Communication skills, both spoken and written, are becoming more important. But why is this so?
A report from the University of Baltimore titled “Skills and Characteristics of Successful Cybersecurity Advocates” came to some interesting conclusions. One of (Read more...)
*** This is a Security Bloggers Network syndicated blog from Infosec Resources authored by Susan Morrow. Read the original post at: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/infosecResources/~3/UCMVBKgM4hs/
