Cyber Careers – Business Technology Specialist by Karen Tulloh

Name? Kyle Christian D. Jones

Where are you located? USA

JOB

Who do you work for? Food Supply Company (alias)

Your job title? Business Technology Specialist

How many years in cybersecurity? 5 years

What do you do? Support endpoint devices, which includes patching, version upgrades, repair, and troubleshooting. Daily break/fix of computer systems, patch management, system baseline compliance, network modernization – upgrade network equipment from old out-of-date devices, and first responders for cyber events.

My job role varies, I call it desktop support, but we are titled Business Technology Specialist. So not only do we support devices, we also provide training, and integrate the onsite employees to the new technology standards. One of our biggest challenges is going from the legacy to cloud-based applications. My company has been running on legacy-based software and programs for years, and the individuals who have used this software are beyond content with its functions and functionality. To drive down cost and modernize the way we do business, we have made major changes to many applications, and switched them to cloud-based solutions. The snag that we hit doing so, is not having enough bandwidth to support such a shift. This brought massive resistance to change, but upon upgrading our equipment and changing our infrastructure, cloud-based solutions are finally working for my company.

What do you like most about your job? I really love the fact I get to work with SCCM (Microsoft System Center Configuration Manager) to make sure all my devices comply and are patched. It’s interesting when we must troubleshoot unhealthy SCCM clients; the issue could be DNS, or it could be locally on the device. Recently made a major discovery regarding the pagefile affecting over 200-300 devices enterprise wide. We are still in the process of determining the root cause of the inconsistent client, along with Microsoft and our engineers. What we found was that the clients that were not reporting back to our SCCM server were running out of virtual memory. With the lack of virtual memory, important process and services would not function properly. We’ve noticed by increasing the page file, increasing virtual memory, we were able to instantly restore 100% health to the client. The more we dive the more we find, so we are still addressing the issue.

Least? Mundane tasks can really drag my morale down. I’ve started to automate the majority of my tasks using PowerShell, to keep things interesting. With this I have generated a wealth of down-time that I use for technology updates, cyber events, and certification study. Currently working towards my CEH, GCIH, and hopefully a networking certification.

What work did you do prior to this position? I was a contractor for Barrister Global Solutions. I managed networking projects. I was also a contractor in a similar position. This is how I got my foot in the door.

What do you see as your next step? I hope to become competent enough to finally land a role in cybersecurity (editor’s note: I hate to tell you, but you’re already working in cybersecurity – maybe not quite where you want to be, but you’re in). I have applied and interviewed at many places, but I seem to lack the personality for some roles, followed by imposter syndrome. I am still learning and beginning to overcome this. However, I have put my time in and paid my dues. I feel that I am ready for the next role, wherever it leads me. I stay motivated by keeping up with individuals who have the same dreams and drive as I do – to become the best version of ourselves and accomplish what we desire.

Salary range for your position? Between $50,000 – $63,000

EDUCATION & GROWTH

Degree or no degree? Degree

What degree? Associates in Information Systems, concentration of Information Assurance. Bachelor of Information Systems (in progress) – Cyber Security.

Certifications held? A+ certification, Security + certification. Training for CCNA, Cisco Network Academy. Currently pushing for more certifications.

What do you do to stay up-to-date or grow in cyber? News feed, LinkedIn network, SANS newsletters, cyber events or organizations.

Favorite cyber news source and/or podcast? Reddit r/cybersecurity, r/sysadmin, r/powershell, r/netsecstudents. SANS podcast, Purple Security podcast, and Reddit. Reddit is great resource for information. There is a topic on just about everything. I highly recommend it.

ANYTHING ELSE/OTHER COMMENTS

Last comments are to learn about yourself and learn where you fit. I’ve noticed that many jump into the industry in hopes of earning a decent living. The income is nice in most cases in the industry, but with the income comes great responsibility. I try to preach this to students who do not know much about industry, in hopes of guiding them to the correct field. Cybersecurity takes drive, and that drive can be overwhelming at times. There is so much information out there, it’s hard to know where to start. Recently, I’ve acquired a mentor who is pushing me to gain more knowledge than what the certifications hold, and this has been the best advice I have received since starting in the field.

Best advice for breaking into the industry I am in is to have a strong will to help others and stay curious. This will bring you a long way.

View the original post here: https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/cyber-careers-8-business-technology-specialist-karen/

If you are interested in contributing to this project you can contact Karen on LinkedIn or send an email to KarenTCyber@gmail.com.