An interview with Valeria Scribanti, a Technical Options Specialist with deal with cybersecurity.
Welcome to the Cisco Ladies in Cybersecurity’s weblog collection, the place we spotlight the tales of the mentors who’ve impressed and advocated for the careers of these in our neighborhood. This collection seeks to indicate the significance of allyship, connection, and the way completely different the journeys could be right into a profession in cybersecurity.
Interviewer Intro:
Valeria and I met quickly after I joined Cisco in 2021. We’re each a part of the “Swiss Cybersecurity Ladies” group, which is an inside on-line group for girls in cybersecurity primarily based in Switzerland. Over time, Valeria and I stayed in contact, scheduling a digital espresso or sending one another fascinating articles. Final 12 months we even received an opportunity to satisfy in particular person at Cisco Reside in Amsterdam. The factor that strikes me about Valeria is her upbeat angle, power and tenacity. This interview is an opportunity for me to seek out out extra about Valeria’s path into cybersecurity and her secret to staying optimistic in an trade with a bent to deal with the darkish aspect of affairs.
Questions:
-
What impressed you to pursue a profession in cybersecurity?
I’ve at all times been very fascinated about expertise from a curiosity perspective, despite the fact that rising up I didn’t see myself as a really nerdy particular person. I’m a millennial, so I grew up in an surroundings the place expertise was not all that current. I nonetheless keep in mind the primary time I noticed an iPod; it actually fascinated me as a tool, and I instantaneously wished to seek out out all about its workings. Later, when my father purchased his first laptop computer and he was programming in Visible Studio at house at some point, I caught my first glimpse of code and that received me hooked. From there I understood that expertise is what I wished to do, and I made a decision to enroll first in a bachelors engineering program at Politecnico di Torino after which proceed with the double diploma grasp’s program between the Politecnico di Torino and the Hamburg College of Expertise (TUHH).
So, it was actually about instinct and curiosity which led me to decide on expertise as a career. Effectively, that and the truth that I used to be taking part in lots of Nintendo with my brother.
-
What was your first foot within the door – the place did you begin?
My research in Italy laid the inspiration for my later work in cybersecurity. As a scholar within the Computer systems and Communication Community Engineering program, I received to play with lots of Cisco expertise, studying switching and routing. But, as a complete, the college program was fairly theoretical and analysis oriented. It was not till I went to Germany for the trade program that I took an excellent course on cybersecurity with a professor from the trade. I used to be fascinated with the subjects he coated on this class – buffer overflow, SQL injections, cross-site scripting. Instances have modified these days, however again then this sort of course was not a normal a part of the college curriculum. The subject felt so new and tremendous thrilling to me that I made a decision to contemplate cybersecurity as a attainable route after commencement.
I landed my first job quickly after ending my grasp’s diploma. The college helped us discover a place so for me it was a very clean transition. The job market again then provided loopy variety of alternatives, not like the present scenario.
-
How do you know what position precisely you wish to go for?
By doing the interviews I really received to know extra in regards to the completely different roles, what day-to-day actions they contain and what trajectory I may observe if I have been to hitch.
-
How has your profession advanced since your preliminary begin?
My first position was a Community and Safety Engineer at a system integrator firm in Italy. I nonetheless keep in mind the interview with them. We began off with some straightforward to reply questions, reminiscent of “what’s a firewall?”. The subsequent questions, nevertheless, have been subjects which have been completely new to me again then, reminiscent of what an IPS (intrusion prevention system) and defense-in-depth and many others. Wanting again, I believe that the interviewers posed these inquiries to hone my urge for food for the subject and display that they have been coping with cutting-edge expertise. Throughout the interview they defined the ideas of these safety merchandise and confirmed me what the position would entail.
As a customer-facing engineer there, I set to work with lots of Cisco expertise, in addition to different distributors. The perfect a part of this position was the chance to do hands-on work with actual initiatives and actual duty. As a junior engineer, I felt each scared and motivated to be on web site with clients and do issues dwell, however that is how I realized tons about safety structure design, implementation and configuration of various safety merchandise reminiscent of firewalls, IPS, WAF, anti-virus, and many others.
In some unspecified time in the future I set to work with the Cisco Safe Community Analytics (previously Stealthwatch) workforce on a undertaking. By speaking with them I found different forms of roles inside cybersecurity. The work of a safety gross sales engineer, who’s liable for creating and designing proof of worth (POV) for safety merchandise, actually clicked with me and I joined Cisco in 2018. That’s how I moved from the extra technically oriented operations into a task with a mixture of exhausting and mushy expertise.
One of many issues that I really love in regards to the TSS position is that I get to work with world clients and as a part of a worldwide workforce, work together with completely different cultures and put into apply the a number of languages that I converse. I spotted the truth that I additionally get pleasure from working carefully with clients, listening to their wants and being a trusted advisor, somebody that clients can depend on all through the entire course of.
-
What’s the one factor you would like you had recognized firstly of your cybersecurity profession?
I made lots of selections for my profession primarily based on a intestine feeling. My instinct served me nicely however wanting again, I may have used some extra steerage and information to determine which route I ought to take. There are such a lot of completely different paths that exist on the market and it’s price exploring them earlier than deciding on a selected profession.
How to do this? A method is to hitch cybersecurity communities which can be close to you and discover out extra about these completely different roles. Speak to professionals who’re already within the area and take heed to their perspective.
-
What’s your single most essential piece of recommendation to folks contemplating a profession in cybersecurity?
Hang around with individuals who like cybersecurity – you’ll study loads!
We’d love to listen to what you suppose. Ask a Query, Remark Under, and Keep Related with Cisco Safe on social!
Cisco Safe Social Channels
Share: