An interview with Valeria Scribanti, a Technical Answers Specialist with center of attention on cybersecurity.
Welcome to the Cisco Girls in Cybersecurity’s weblog collection, the place we spotlight the tales of the mentors who’ve impressed and advocated for the careers of the ones in our neighborhood. This collection seeks to turn the significance of allyship, connection, and the way other the trips can also be right into a profession in cybersecurity.
Interviewer Intro:
Valeria and I met quickly when I joined Cisco in 2021. We’re each a part of the “Swiss Cybersecurity Girls” crew, which is an inner on-line crew for girls in cybersecurity based totally in Switzerland. Over time, Valeria and I stayed involved, scheduling a digital espresso or sending each and every different fascinating articles. Final 12 months we even were given an opportunity to satisfy in particular person at Cisco Reside in Amsterdam. The article that moves me about Valeria is her upbeat perspective, power and tenacity. This interview is an opportunity for me to determine extra about Valeria’s trail into cybersecurity and her secret to staying certain in an trade with a bent to concentrate on the darkish facet of affairs.
Questions:
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What impressed you to pursue a profession in cybersecurity?
I’ve all the time been very desirous about generation from a interest point of view, despite the fact that rising up I didn’t see myself as an overly nerdy particular person. I’m a millennial, so I grew up in an atmosphere the place generation used to be no longer all that provide. I nonetheless bear in mind the primary time I noticed an iPod; it in reality fascinated me as a tool, and I instantaneously sought after to determine all about its workings. Later, when my father purchased his first computer and he used to be programming in Visible Studio at house at some point, I stuck my first glimpse of code and that were given me hooked. From there I understood that generation is what I sought after to do, and I determined to sign up first in a bachelors engineering program at Politecnico di Torino after which proceed with the double stage grasp’s program between the Politecnico di Torino and the Hamburg College of Generation (TUHH).
So, it used to be in reality about instinct and interest which led me to make a choice generation as a career. Smartly, that and the truth that I used to be taking part in numerous Nintendo with my brother.
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What used to be your first foot within the door – the place did you get started?
My research in Italy laid the basis for my later paintings in cybersecurity. As a scholar within the Computer systems and Verbal exchange Community Engineering program, I were given to play with numerous Cisco generation, finding out switching and routing. But, as a complete, the college program used to be somewhat theoretical and analysis orientated. It used to be no longer till I went to Germany for the alternate program that I took an ideal route on cybersecurity with a professor from the trade. I used to be fascinated by the subjects he coated on this magnificence – buffer overflow, SQL injections, cross-site scripting. Occasions have modified at the present time, however again then this kind of route used to be no longer a normal a part of the college curriculum. The subject felt so new and tremendous thrilling to me that I determined to believe cybersecurity as a conceivable path after commencement.
I landed my first activity quickly after completing my grasp’s stage. The college helped us discover a place so for me it used to be a in reality easy transition. The activity marketplace again then introduced loopy choice of alternatives, in contrast to the present state of affairs.
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How do you know what position precisely you need to move for?
Through doing the interviews I in fact were given to grasp extra concerning the other roles, what day by day actions they contain and what trajectory I may apply if I have been to sign up for.
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How has your profession developed since your preliminary get started?
My first position used to be a Community and Safety Engineer at a device integrator corporate in Italy. I nonetheless bear in mind the interview with them. We began off with some simple to respond to questions, similar to “what’s a firewall?”. The following questions, then again, have been subjects which have been completely new to me again then, similar to what an IPS (intrusion prevention device) and defense-in-depth and so on. Having a look again, I feel that the interviewers posed the ones inquiries to hone my urge for food for the subject and reveal that they have been coping with state of the art generation. Right through the interview they defined the foundations of the ones safety merchandise and confirmed me what the position would entail.
As a customer-facing engineer there, I started working with numerous Cisco generation, in addition to different distributors. The most productive a part of this position used to be the chance to do hands-on paintings with actual initiatives and actual duty. As a junior engineer, I felt each scared and motivated to be on web site with shoppers and do issues reside, however that is how I discovered lots about safety structure design, implementation and configuration of various safety merchandise similar to firewalls, IPS, WAF, anti-virus, and so on.
In the future I started working with the Cisco Protected Community Analytics (previously Stealthwatch) group on a mission. Through speaking with them I came upon different sorts of roles inside of cybersecurity. The paintings of a safety gross sales engineer, who’s liable for growing and designing evidence of price (POV) for safety merchandise, in reality clicked with me and I joined Cisco in 2018. This is how I moved from the extra technically orientated operations into a job with a mixture of laborious and cushy talents.
Probably the most issues that I actually love concerning the TSS position is that I am getting to paintings with world shoppers and as a part of an international group, have interaction with other cultures and put into observe the a couple of languages that I talk. I noticed the truth that I additionally revel in running intently with shoppers, being attentive to their wishes and being a relied on marketing consultant, any individual that buyers can depend on right through the entire procedure.
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What’s the something you want you had identified firstly of your cybersecurity profession?
I made numerous alternatives for my profession according to a intestine feeling. My instinct served me neatly however taking a look again, I can have used some extra steering and information to come to a decision which path I will have to take. There are such a lot of other paths that exist in the market and it’s value exploring them sooner than selecting a selected profession.
How to try this? A technique is to sign up for cybersecurity communities which can be close to you and to find out extra about the ones other roles. Communicate to pros who’re already within the box and concentrate to their point of view.
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What’s your unmarried maximum vital piece of recommendation to folks bearing in mind a profession in cybersecurity?
Hang around with individuals who like cybersecurity – you are going to be told so much!
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