The Importance and Opportunity of Veterans as Cybersecurity Professionals

I recently had the honor of joining Gary Berman and three of my fellow veterans (and fellow cybersecurity professionals) - Robert Ungemach, Tyler Cohen-Wood, and Max Justice - for a Veterans Day podcast on LinkedIn titled Veterans & Cybersecurity: The Perfect Force Multiplier! I want to thank Gary for having me, along with all the veterans and active service members in the U.S. Military. Thank you for your service!

You may know Gary as the CEO of Cyberman Security, LLC and the creator/host of the CyberHero Adventure Show: Defenders of the Digital Universe! As for the other veteran and cybersecurity leaders on the podcast: Robert Ungemach is Cybersecurity Sales Engineer at Appgate, Tyler Cohen-Wood is Host of My Connected Life, and Max Justice is a NASA SENSE Security SME who was promoted to  Abile Group Chief Engineer.

I enjoyed learning about all their stories, challenges, and opportunities, both from their time in the military and civilian cybersecurity careers. Along with discussing potential career opportunities in cybersecurity, we explored encouraging individuals to join cybersecurity as “Defenders” through education, podcasts, grant/scholarship programs, and poster contests. Cybersecurity is a critical infrastructure role in every company, and as an industry, we must continue to grow the ranks of our community rapidly.

When Gary asked Max Justice of Abile Group about his thoughts regarding the number of job openings, he responded, “Military folks are great resources to come into cybersecurity. In fact, there was a recent study done by ISC², an institute known around the globe for Cybersecurity certifications. They identified that 16% of those participating in cybersecurity have a Military background. One of the reasons why I think there are so many military folks, again it goes back to the military being able to be AGILE: Adapt, Overcome, and Improvise.”

If you are a veteran and interested in a career in cybersecurity, the healthcare industry can use a few good folks - reach out! For Cybersecurity Career Awareness Week October 18-23, 2021, NIST, the National Institute of Standards and Technology U.S. Department of Commerce, released an article on their website highlighting the recruitment of Veterans in Cybersecurity. NIST has a wealth of Veteran Resources directly on their website as well. Additionally, if you are looking to begin preparing for a role in cybersecurity, I recommend you start with online training and education. There are several programs to choose from including, the presenting sponsor for this episode, Fortinet, a Cybersecurity company that created  The Fortinet Veterans Program that specifically transitions the military community and fellow Veterans to careers in cybersecurity. This program is just one of the many ways that you can explore the rewarding field of cybersecurity.

For those in cybersecurity who have not heard of the CyberHero Adventure Show, I highly encourage you to check out this week’s episode. Gary certainly has a way with humor and brings light to essential Cybersecurity topics today.

Sincerely,
Ed Gaudet