Considering a Cybersecurity Career? Kyndryl Experts Share Paths to Success

Article 26 Oct 2022 Read time: 1 min

The Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency’s campaign theme for October is “See Yourself in Cyber.” This theme demonstrates that while cybersecurity may seem like a complex subject, ultimately, it’s really all about people — and the field needs more skilled people.

Earlier this year, Kyndryl added its name to the list of Founding industry partners to announce the first Global Cyber Hub & Talent Marketplace. It joined ThriveDX, the global leader in cybersecurity skills training and talent development, and Night Dragon, a dedicated cybersecurity, safety, security and privacy investment firm in the announcement. The hub unites educators and employers across commercial and government organizations and serves as a comprehensive ecosystem designed to attract, retain and continuously develop cyber talent. Kyndryl is committed to closing the cybersecurity talent gap and building a more diverse and inclusive workforce.

Kyndryl’s Security & Resilience Global Practice has thousands of highly skilled cyber resiliency practitioners that work closely with more than 3,000 customers, helping to protect their vital operations and navigate the evolving landscape of regulatory standards around the world.

Here, a few Kyndryl professionals reveal what drew them to the field, and why they are excited about its future.

Flick (Felicity) March

Global Vice President of Growth, Security & Resiliency Practice

I got into cybersecurity after learning to program at a very young age and having a job as technical support and installing some of the first anti-virus software.

The skill that helped me become successful was understanding the importance of communication and kindness in business interactions.

I would tell my younger self to just be herself and be bold.

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Jimmy Nilsson

Director, AIS S&R and Global domain lead Zero Trust

You should consider a career in cybersecurity because you’ll be part of an exciting and challenging future; it is a career that will grow together with you. You might start in one area of cybersecurity and over the years you’ll likely touch very different aspects of cybersecurity.

The types of careers in cybersecurity are endless within cybersecurity. A few examples include technical specialists, analysts, architects, strategists, researcher, auditors, responders, etc.

At Kyndryl, I’m less than a year into my role here and it feels like I joined only a moment ago. I guess time flies when you are having fun! What I enjoy most with Kyndryl is the fact that we are a startup, and in a startup environment you must be flexible and dynamic. But more specifically, some of my role includes supporting anything from delivery, sales/pre-sales and service development, and some of my time I devote to strategy.

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Rhonda Childress

Kyndryl Fellow and Chief Innovation Officer, Security & Resiliency Practice

I got into cybersecurity because I love to solve mysteries. Agatha Christie was my favorite author, and I always wanted to solve the mystery before the book revealed “whodunit.”

The skill that helped me become successful was being able to recognize patterns — in numbers, diagrams, actions, colors, etc. And those word search puzzles or code cracking exercises we got in school also helped.

I would tell my younger self that it’s OK it took you a while to land in cyber — your other career experiences help you a lot with solving those cyber ransomware cases. Programming, architecture, etc., are skills you need to have, as well as understanding how systems work, which allows you to follow some of the actions the actors have taken and why they took that course of action.

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Uroš Slak

CEE&EM Security & Resiliency, Applications, Data & AI Practice Leader

You should consider a career in cybersecurity if you want to work with the latest technology, have an impact on customers and organizations, and achieve personal growth — a career in cybersecurity will bring that to you.

The types of careers in cybersecurity range from consultancy and customer leader facing roles, to cybersecurity analyst and penetration testers, to protect solutions implementor to cyber security sales.

At Kyndryl I have had an opportunity to work as CEE&EM Security & Resilience Practice leader working on promoting Kyndryl security strategy and security offerings, as well as working with Kyndryl’s best security architects to architect security solutions for our biggest clients.

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Virginia Mayo

Kyndryl Distinguished Engineer

I got into cybersecurity by way of software engineering. I developed self-contained packages for enterprise infrastructure security that upgrades and hardens endpoints. 

The skill that helped me become successful was learning to be comfortable being uncomfortable and to move into the unknown to discover new ways of solving things. 

I would tell my younger self to never stop dreaming big, stay curious, work hard, be gritty, do what you are passionate about, and most importantly, be kind.

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Kim A. Eckert

Kyndryl Distinguished Engineer

Master Inventor

I got into cybersecurity to help my parents from being victims of cyber scams. I had to teach them (and I’m still teaching them) how to identify phishing and other scams and to call me immediately if they suspect something suspicious.

The skill that helped me become successful was my analytical nature and my personal need to keep my data private and secure — and that enables me to be empathetic when our clients get attacked. This in turn drives me to ensure we are doing all we can to protect our client’s data.

I would tell my younger self to get into cybersecurity much sooner than later, and to always speak out if there is even a hint of something suspicious.

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Christian Eichin

Global Security & Compliance Delivery Partner Executive (DPE)

Switzerland Security & Resiliency Practice Lead

You should consider a career in cybersecurity if you’re looking for a versatile, dynamic and interesting environment. There is a huge demand for (cyber)security experts, it’s a very customer-driven area and the security topic will be around for a long time.

At Kyndryl I have had overall responsibility for security and compliance topics in large accounts, served as audit and review leads for accounts, done security and resiliency consulting for external and internal customers, and handled operational aspects of security (patching, hardening, inventory, malware).

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Michelle Weston, Ph.D.

VP, Global Offerings, Security & Resiliency Practice

I got into cybersecurity because of my love for the Backup and Recovery market, which has evolved to include ransomware detection and Cyber Recovery. 

The skill that helped me become successful was the ability to describe things so that people understand why they matter to them. 

I would tell my younger self that you will work on things that matter to the world.

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Cyrus Niltchian

Portfolio Lead for Cyber Resilience

I got into cybersecurity because it found its way into the area of data protection and storage, driven by hackers becoming smarter in attacking backups — it’s where I started my career and have been ever since. Today, cyber and data protection are inseparable fields.

The skill that helped me become successful was having deep, expert knowledge in the data protection field.

I would tell my younger self to never give up learning, as businesses, like the rest of world, is in constant change.

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Topics

Security and resiliency