Cyber Work podcast write-up: How to become a cybersecurity analyst

Introduction

This article will explore some interesting details from an episode of Infosec’s information security career podcast, Cyber Work. This episode, with guest Jonathan Butler, covers how to become a cybersecurity analyst. 

Jonathan is the professional services and security analytics manager at Distil Networks. He takes us through his journey into information security and discusses how he got his start in security, a little about the day-to-day responsibilities of the role, what someone should enjoy doing if they plan on becoming a cybersecurity analyst and the future of the role.

How did you get your start? Were you always interested in tech?

Jonathan came from a rural upbringing with bad internet service. He attended the University of Virginia and pursued a mathematics degree which required that he take a computer science course, sparking his passion for computers. Another course Jonathan took piqued his interest in programming; this one required a project to recreate Angry Birds that Jonathan found fascinating for how physics were baked into the code. 

When he was in school, the internet was still not quite as ever-present as it is today. Jonathan described it as being the age of the flip phone. Despite this, others around him had a better knack and general understanding of the internet because they were exposed to it much more than Jonathan, making him feel like he was always playing catch-up compared to others. A formative moment came in one class where he decided he would not make excuses and would sit down and learn the material.

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What were some of the steps on your path to becoming a senior cybersecurity analyst?

According to Jonathan, he did not plan out the future. Instead, he put his nose to the proverbial grindstone and then let the universe lead him from there. (Read more...)