Taking a Closer Look at Becoming an Information Security Analyst

Brady Pasco

Ms.McGill

English 4

Taking A closer look at becoming An Information Security Analyst

Ever since I was about 10 years old, I wanted to be apart of the IT field. Growing up I always wanted to play with technology and electronics. I enjoyed to tinker with things because I wanted to know how they worked. Technology always peaked my interest because I wanted to know how all the parts worked and came together. I wanted to take apart my grandpa's computer all the time when I was young. At the age of 11, I learned that my family came from a long line of engineers and analytical thinkers. My great Grandfather was a civil engineer, my grandpa was a computer analyst, my cousin Sam was an electrical engineer, and my Uncle Dan was a Software Developer. When hearing that as a kid, I wanted to be apart of that and carry on the legacy. So as the years passed and I got older, I became more tech savvy. I took apart my first computer when I was 12 and put it back together as fast as I took it apart. I learned each and every component until I knew how it all worked, which didn’t take long for me. I continued growing my computer knowledge in computer hardware, Networking, and a little bit of programming from my Uncle Dan. Once I entered middle school, I took all the computer classes they would let me take along with band. Later on through my 7th grade year, I remember when Sony Entertainment Network got hacked and all playstation users were disconnected and couldn’t get online. After hearing that, I became more interested in hacking how people did it. So I got older and learned all I could about hacking. I watched videos, read books, and even asked one of my other tech savvy friends Jarrid if he could help me. So doing that, I learned how to hack into my neighbor's Wi-Fi, and I put Keyloggers on his network. I could see all his network traffic just from sitting in my room. But I didn’t want to use my computer skills for bad, I wanted to do something good with them. So about my 8th grade year I learned about Cyber Security and how they prevented hacker from infiltrating networks and people's computers. Ever since then, I have wanted to be an Information Security Analyst.

Once I knew I wanted to be an Information Security Analyst, I started to think what I really knew about it, which at the time wasn’t much. I knew when I thought of the word Cyber Security, I thought of something like Cyber Warfare. I thought you would spend your days sitting in front of a computer hacking other people before they got to you. But I knew this was wrong. I knew that technology is always changing and with that, there will always be new ways to hack people and penetrate networks. One of the biggest Hacktivist groups I knew at the time was Anonymous, and I wanted to stop them. Thus,  am writing this research paper to better understand the actual Job Description, to determine exactly the Education and interning requirements, and to get a clear vision of the future earning and advancement potential in the field of an Information Security Analyst.

        After I knew I wanted to an Information Security Analyst, I knew I had to start my research. My first task that I had to do was look at what the actual Job Description was. Only then would I know exactly what I was doing. According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, “Information Security Analyst plan and carry out security measures to protect an organization's computer networks and systems. They also “ Install and use software, such as firewalls and data encryption programs, to protect sensitive information”.  Reading all the duties that an Information Security Analyst was supposed to carry out made me excited for my future to come because they were all task that I could do. According to Florida Tech Online, “Cyber Security Specialist determine who requires access to which information, and then plan, coordinate and implement information security programs. Using a multi- layered approach, they use specialized expertise and up-to-date knowledge to help against Web threats that facilitate cybercrime, including malware, phishing, viruses, denial-of-service attacks, information warfare and hacking.” Being able to do all these tasks didn’t seem that difficult considering that I had nine IT certifications. Three of which already happened to be in computer programming, which I knew would help me on my way to being an Information Security Analyst.