Page 15 - Cybersecurity Career Guide

Watch out for scams. Learn to
identify email scams and shady web-
g i e e i really convincing, just like lots of other
emails in your inbox. Phishing hackers
os ing on to t car r
e e
i example, should reflect behaviors and
language that you are willing to live with
e. dubious words from the past have come
back to bite many people when college
admissions officers and prospective
employers come into the picture. Count
ey s, what they will reveal about you.
ec or r, just website visitor, always remember
that any personal information we pro-
e
bac we us no idea how much we tell companies
about ourselves online. Data merchants
harvest and sell data by the terabyte,
making money off our personal informa-
t. A e o ers scour the web for bits of personal
data like birthdays, pet names, or favor-
ur words and other login tools. Whatever
yo b t home address, birthdate, and phone
e game chat room? No way!
Speaking of banks, sensitive informa-
tion should always be encrypted. Have
you ever noticed that web addresses be-
gin with either “http” or “https”? The “s”
stands for “secure,” meaning your data
ri in . A the key to translate, or decrypt, the gib-
berish back into your personal data.
ev ur s laws say about the use of marijuana, let
alone other recreational drugs, federal
law continues to make it illegal. Many pri-
vate-sector employers follow federal law
and will disqualify potential employees
ve d g security clearances require clean drug
tests over extended periods of time.
Be cautious — and thrifty. Start
monitoring your bank accounts and
ha t c d your name. Avoid high consumer debt
of your own — you don’t want your credit
card balance to make it look like you
could be bribed for access and informa-
tion. How you spend your money will
also be visible through your credit rating
o o p job. Showing irresponsibility with your
o in be trusted with other people’s sensitive,
personal data and resources. Whether
t a u-
e e n t t s a cybers rity professional, keeping things clean
online and IRL will always be the right
approach.
Which leads us to cybersecurity
careers. Indeed, establishing trustwor-
in professionals’ work, but so is maintain-
it fl e fl e secur st o a o a at t ec rity. Learning how to build strong pass-
words, distinguish real emails from
phishing scams, and track how far your
data can travel beyond the website you
just gave it to can well serve as the basic
training needed to launch you towards
K ith
a to prevent things from going wrong with
other people’s online lives.
RSE URITY CAREER