This isn't a typical ShmooCon talk. I'm not an expert. I haven't developed a new tool to share, nor am I sharing cutting edge research. This is a story. A story of adapting from a world with answers and guidance to a world where sometimes, the only way to learn is to flail blindly.
About 3 months into my first job out of school, I received a ticket for malware analysis with 68 samples attached to it. I had no clue where to start and nobody to ask. I started with sample 00a8 and waded aimlessly through the x86, stumbling through anti-analysis techniques I'd never seen. I scoured my books and ran countless Google searches all to no avail. What do you do when all you have are questions and there are no answers to be found? I flailed in the dark. I spent hour upon hour, day upon day immersed in the code. Eventually though, somewhere in the weeks of flailing, I learned and I developed. Of equal importance, I gained confidence to ask for help. I learned a lesson I'd like to share with those new to computer security-flailing is learning.