High school students learn about careers in Cyber Security

A few days ago, experts from different departments of Telefónica Tech's Cybersecurity services visited the Instituto Cardenal Cisneros, in Madrid, to give a talk on professions related to this field.

The talk was aimed at 3rd and 4th year ESO students. At this age, it is still difficult to decide what they want to study and what they want to focus their professional career on. Through this initiative we have tried to bring them closer to the world of Cyber Security and the job opportunities that arise in this exciting and innovative sector.

In this meeting we focused on the day-to-day life of each of the participants, the studies we have done, and what motivated us to work in cyber security.

There was no shortage of anecdotes or examples of how teams face challenges in order to protect the digital assets of companies. These were the talks shared with the students by the team of volunteers:

Experts from different departments of Telefónica Tech's Cybersecurity services.

Experts from different departments of Telefónica Tech's Cybersecurity services.

◾ Svetlana Miroshnichenko Basco, head of the DRP Service Quality and Support team, gave an introduction to cybersecurity professions. She explained the services offered by Telefónica Tech as one of the companies working in the sector, as well as the professional future it offers, including Telefónica's initiatives to incorporate new talent into its workforce: she highlighted the more than 120 job offers published so far this year, the incorporation of interns, the Talentum scholarships and Campus 42.

◾ Maria Riesgo Alcaraz, Team Lead of the Global Analysts team, began studying a degree in Criminology and Security. Her next step was to approach the world of Cyberintelligence by completing a master’s degree in Intelligence Analyst.

She shared with the audience how, after working for years on the operational side, she went on to lead a team of global analysts. These professionals are mainly dedicated to supporting customers in conveying the value of the service, attending to their requests and needs. They also provide support to colleagues in the pre-sales departments.

She commented that, in addition to the importance of technical knowledge, the human factor is also important, as behind each customer there is a team of people to deal with on a daily basis to provide answers and solutions.

The more trust is transmitted to customers, the easier it is to work with them on a daily basis.

She also stressed how important and fortunate it is to belong to a large multidisciplinary team, where each person has different knowledge and skills. The success of the team lies in good communication and trust in the skills and knowledge of each colleague in the face of possible crisis incidents in terms of delegating and organising priorities, in order to give the best response to each customer.

The success of the team lies in good communication and trust in the skills and knowledge of each colleague.

◾ Félix Brezo Fernández, head of the Threat Intelligence Platform & Reports team and regular speaker in cyber security talks, spoke emotionally about the contribution made by the different services to ensure the continuity of companies, especially when they provide critical or essential services such as hospitals, public or energy companies, universities, etc.

Félix emphasised the human dimension of the work of cyber security experts who contribute and return their knowledge to society. If an entity stops providing its services due to a cyberattack, such as a city's energy supply, the successful performance of a surgical operation or the timely delivery of components needed by other industries, the experts who work to keep the systems running securely have a direct impact on the economy of many families.

It is when an organisation suffers an incident that time becomes the most valuable factor, and tasks become time-sensitive activities.

Finally, he also explained to the children the importance of feeling satisfied with the work carried out: to find a profession in which you feel that you contribute and help others is a plus.

For this reason, and because we will dedicate a large part of our lives to our professional careers, he also stressed the importance of choosing our path by focusing on what interests us and, above all, what we are passionate about. Knowing that the challenges that one will face will end up being complicated, if you are working on something that fulfils you, overcoming them and moving forward is always an incentive.

◾ Alberto Campuzano Santaella, a technical cyber security analyst, described how he began studying for a DAM degree and then complemented his studies with a postgraduate and master's degree in cyber security. This led him to work first as a programmer and then as a cyber security analyst. He spoke about his experience in detecting and analysing threats such as information leaks, credential exposure and other types of data.

To illustrate the examples he mentioned, he did email searches on the website haveibeenpwned.com, showing how one email address can be compromised in multiple leaks and explaining the risks involved. The kids were encouraged to check if their email address had been compromised but, to everyone's relief, they could not find that their data had been leaked on that platform.

◾ Carolina Gomez Uriarte, offensive security engineer, from the Offensive Security Services team, highlighted how little education on cyber security issues was available when she started studying compared to what is available today. She shared her experience in the security audits she has had throughout her professional career, and anecdotes of taking control inside client systems in order to show how far cybercriminals could get in.

After the talk, several students and teachers approached our colleagues to ask questions.

The school's guidance department thanked us for the talk and invited us to participate in other initiatives they organise. Like the employment "fair" that they organise in autumn so that professionals and companies participate in guiding young people in their future career or their initiative " Instituto y Empresa", in which high school students visit companies for a couple of days to get to know them, see their facilities, operation, equipment... In this way they have the opportunity to learn first-hand about professions and professional fields that can attract their attention and motivate them.

Featured photo: rawpixel.com in Freepik.