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Harvey Wallbanger (a frequent commenter) asks: “How different is the reality of work for a CISO compared to the average 9-5er?”
Well… Let’s start with how busy it is…
Basically, I don’t have much of a life beyond work. There’s a certain “Superman” tendency amongst those who do this which leaves them unable to just walk away from the strain, stress or awareness of unmitigated risk at the end of the day.
For the most part though, I wouldn’t change it, I’m hacking an entire organization instead of one or two piddling little machines.
What would you say is the part of your work which sets you apart from the average 9-5er?
Why do you do what you do?
Gaze into your navel and let us all know in the comments!
[tags]security management, self actualization, new age douchebaggery[/tags]
By it’s very function, an infosec wonk’s version of “going through the motions” vs. an average 9-5er, is that our motions are coastal tsunamis with an occasional rogue wave as opposed to being merely ripples in a small pond.
Info Sec is a life, not a job. Activity requiring our attention is not constrained by time or geography. Just like fire departments, we must always be ready to respond to a digital false alarm, smoke, minor events or fully engulfed (infra)structures.
Where would I start? 9-5 is a joke. I work 4 nights a week 10-12 hours a night, which shows that Info Sec is a never ending battle unlike your usual 9-5 with a nice jog in the morning, coffee breaks every hour, and a nice 1.5 hour lunch break, and then time to go home and play with your dog. From the time I wake from my phone ringing at 6pm about some new threat to the time I leave at 9am it’s non stop security mayhem and trying to stop the black hat type individuals.
I think I do what I do because everything else is just so damn boring and too easy to figure out.