Vibe Check: IDK About This…. Why Students May Shy Away From Cyber in a Surveillance State

Presented at Black Hat Asia 2021 Virtual, May 6, 2021, 11:20 a.m. (40 minutes).

<p>Are you a threat researcher? Interested in ethical hacking, but worry you might wind up on a “list”? Surveillance is nothing new to the Asia Pacific region. Facial recognition is ubiquitous. But how does the pressure of complying to strict laws and censorship change or influence cyber talent in the region?</p><p>If you are a member of the information security community, or a proponent of the next generation of pentesters, analysts, and investigators - you might also be concerned about filling vacant positions. Many college students are about to enter the workforce. Those with the potential to be great white hat hackers may “play it safe” instead of exploring their skills. Can what they learn at hack-the-box or pwn2own actually hurt their chances of landing a decent job at a bank? How do governments or employers judge grey hat hackers?</p><p>This talk will present community insight and some general guidelines to help attendees navigate offensive security education. These first-hand accounts (mostly anonymous) come from researchers in the field or on college campuses. </p>

Presenters:

  • Mika Devonshire - Digital Forensics and Incident Response Specialist, S-RM
    Mika Devonshire is a specialist in digital forensics and incident response. She recently spent two years investigating cyber crimes based out of Hong Kong, and has worked with cyber insurance carriers across the globe on improving their risk underwriting methodology.<br /><br />She is currently with S-RM, a special risks and intelligence firm out of London. Prior to her time with Blackpanda, Mika spent several years in Washington DC gaining depth and experience across the cyber attack lifecycle. She was an offensive cyber systems engineer at BAE Systems, served on the internal security team at Silent Circle, and got her start in product management.<br /><br />Mika holds a Masters in Digital Forensics from George Washington University and a Bachelors in Comparative Literature from Princeton University. She holds several certifications including CISSP, CISM, and GCFA among others. She regularly appears as a speaker and panelist at professional associations and conferences, and works with those looking to pivot from non-technical professions into information security.

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