CISSP Volunteer

justus1

Does anyone know if there are any vonlunteer opportunities/resources out there for a "security guru"? Thank you.

justus1

I guess not.

keatron

Usually "security gurus" have trouble finding time for volunteer work. Exactly what kind of volunteer work are you looking for? Just saying security is too vague. What is your experience? And how long have you been at the "guru" status?

JDMurray

I was just Googling yesterday for volunteer InfoSec work to get some InfoSec experience on my resume. There doesn't seem to be any such thing for inexperienced people that do have expertise in other fields (e.g., CS, EE, MBA). Volunteering at security organizations (ISSA, ISACA, IIA, etc.) will have you only helping to organize meetings and conventions, create advertisements and mailings, designing Web sites, etc. and not actually helping to perform InfoSec work. I'd sure like to find some InfoSec "grunt work" somewhere.

keatron

JDMurray wrote:

I was just Googling yesterday for volunteer InfoSec work to get some InfoSec experience on my resume. There doesn't seem to be any such thing for inexperienced people that do have expertise in other fields (e.g., CS, EE, MBA). Volunteering at security organizations (ISSA, ISACA, IIA, etc.) will have you only helping to organize meetings and conventions, create advertisements and mailings, designing Web sites, etc. and not actually helping to perform InfoSec work. I'd sure like to find some InfoSec "grunt work" somewhere.

JD man how I wish you lived in the Midwest, I'd have you buried in work dude. While those volunteer opportunities you speak might sound a little less than attractive, they will certainly put you in front of some of the right people to ask about grunt and volunteer work. That guys coffee you bring might be the very one who gives you your first infosec work and put you on the road to being an infosec god!

By the way, I have a 4 hour flight tomorrow and I'll be spending it writing the blog we talked about concerning getting into infosec and how to break through.

Keatron.

JDMurray

keatron wrote:

JD man how I wish you lived in the Midwest, I'd have you buried in work dude.

Chicago is a wonderful city, but I'm just grounded in SoCal for the foreseeable future. Howz about you open up an office out here in The OC?

keatron wrote:

While those volunteer opportunities you speak might sound a little less than attractive, they will certainly put you in front of some of the right people to ask about grunt and volunteer work. That guys coffee you bring might be the very one who gives you your first infosec work and put you on the road to being an infosec god!

This is very true, but it's so hit-and-miss. There's nothing quick or certain about getting into this biz.

keatron wrote:

By the way, I have a 4 hour flight tomorrow and I'll be spending it writing the blog we talked about concerning getting into infosec and how to break through.

Excellent! I've found several other articles and blog entries on the same subject, but none of them offer any real "inside" information or a specific battle plan.

sprkymrk

JDMurray wrote:

keatron wrote:

JD man how I wish you lived in the Midwest, I'd have you buried in work dude.

Chicago is a wonderful city, but I'm just grounded in SoCal for the foreseeable future. Howz about you open up an office out here in The OC?

Get in line James! I've already asked him to open shop in Charleston.

justus1

Thanks for the feedback guys, I appreciate your efforts in maintaining a useful forum here. I did manage to find volunteer work through volunteermatch.org. It is a pretty good site for finding volunteer opportunities by location, interest, and they even offer virtual volunteer opportunities (I am doing 15 hours per week as a Security PM. Thanks again for your help guys. As far as the "security guru" comment, I was just joking, anyone who considers themselves a guru should reconsider that stance (let others consider you the guru). I have been in infosec for a little over 5 years and an IT for 10, all in the Navy.

dynamik

Interesting site. Unfortunately, the only IT related activities in my area consist primarily of setting up OS9 and X networks for senior citizens. I'd like to get a little more hands on with some Cisco stuff. Maybe I'll just post a volunteer notice in Craig's list or something.