ENGINEERING
When I was younger, I wanted to be many things: an accountant, a lawyer, a doctor- you name it. However, one thing that stood out for me was engineering.
My dad is an Electrical and Electronics Engineer. Growing up, we loved devices, systems, and mathematics. Nights when we solved maths or fixed bulbs around the house were always my favourites.
So, going to the University, I decided to major in engineering like my dad.
FINDING CYBERSECURITY
Engineering wasn’t all that I imagined or hoped for. What once seemed like fun turned into distaste. In hindsight, I realized I lacked a good study routine, leading me to try various things.
I first started with a front-end development boot camp in my second year in university, followed by UI/UX, graphics design, video animation, freelance writing, and electrical wiring. At this point, freelance writing stuck, and it was going well.
In my fourth year, I came across cybersecurity.
GOVERNANCE RISK COMPLIANCE
In my fourth year in school, I went on a six-month internship. I hoped to be put in the networking department, but I was put in the cybersecurity department.
When I was first told, I dreamt of all those hackers in my drama; is it my Poo Chai from City Hunter or my half-moon guy from Cafe Minamdang? The list goes on. Sadly, my job role wasn’t all that.
Well, in six months, I learned practically what it took to become a GRC analyst, and it was no easy feat. Assigning security tasks, checking if decisions align with industry standards, what policies are involved, etc.
CLOUD SECURITY
After my internship, I gathered more knowledge from Halogen’s three-day boot camp and Tech4dev’s one-month boot camp to CyberGirls’ one-year program.
In Cybergirls, I decided on cloud security. It was it for me. It was another world entirely separate from our world. No matter what you were before, you could always apply it to cloud security.
You can be a cloud security incident responder, penetration tester, engineer, assessor, or architect.
CONCLUSION
After being certain of my path, I decided to take courses and do internships in areas where I was lacking.
I applied for the VTF cybersecurity validation analyst internship and got accepted. During that time, I learnt about the red team, blue team, purple team, and AWS security. One of our practical courses was how the MITRE framework relates to AWS security tools on the ATTACKIQplatform. It was one of my favourites.
I am applying the skills I have gained over the years, doing projects and more.