meg west

Ask Me Anything! I’m a Sr. Cybersecurity Consultant @CrowdStrike*. I have a Masters degree in Cybersecurity, a CISSP & the CCSP. I’m on ISC2’s DEI task force, have spoken at several conferences, and make cyber content online. What can I answer? *not sponsored by my employer

YAYYYYY, i’ll be presenting at @CrowdStrike’s Fal.Con this year! if you’re planning on going, here’s the link to register to my talk: crowdstrike.com/en-us/events/f… SEE U THERE, FRIENDS 🤩

I think a large part of growing as a cybersecurity professional is expanding your network and challenging yourself to learn new things. Especially today, when technology is changing so rapidly, it can be considerably difficult to stay apprised of relevant topics. Furthermore, with “burn out culture” being so prominent in the IT industry as a whole, it can be difficult to step away from your computer screen at the end of the day. This is one of the reasons I deeply value the opportunity to connect with like-minded cybersecurity professionals at conferences.  The first cybersecurity conference I spoke at was @ISC2’s Security Congress back in 2021. I spoke about the incident response lifecycle and crucial steps to take along the way to mitigate incident impact. I was able to attend many other speaker sessions, effectively subjecting myself to auxiliary security-centric topics I otherwise wouldn’t have had the chance to explore. I also connected with some incredible professionals in the field whom I, to this day, keep in touch with. If your organization provides you a conference stipend - I encourage you to take it. And when you attend a conference, I also encourage you to sit in on presentations that are outside of your typical scope of your day job. Work in a SOC? Sit in on a governance-centric talk. Work in leadership? Sit in on a presentation about alert fatigue. Subject yourself to conversations, professionals, and topics you wouldn’t normally have the opportunity to interact with. ISC2’s Security Congress is taking place from October 24th - 28th this year in Aurora, Colorado (just outside of Denver). Notable topics during the conference include AI security and governance (my personal favorite!), quantum risk and cryptography, as well as incident response, and cybersecurity leadership tracks. The key note speakers feature the former FBI Lead Hostage Negotiator, Chris Voss, and former Acting U.S. National Cyber Director, Kemba Walden. They will speak about strategic decisions to navigate high-pressure cybersecurity situations and about the ways in which AI is transforming our industry, respectively.  Security Congress this year will also have AI security incident hands-on response rooms where you’ll have the opportunity to garner experience responding to AI security incidents in a simulated manner. Security Congress will also feature live table-top exercises centric around prominent securityincident types, as well as detailed lessons from the field presented by top security practitioners. These are highly valuable activities that assist in flexing the muscles necessary to efficiently and effectively respond to cybersecurity incidents (and you know how I love an efficient incident response initiative!).  Security Congress registration is now open, and I have a 10% discount code using “MEG10”!  You can register here:  cvent.me/V2YRyb?RefId=M…

@PeterGregorc now this is the way

@cybersecmeg The only home lab one really needs:

hey there!! i’m a sr. cybersecurity consultant and these are my thoughts on making your career your entire life. you shouldn’t! go touch grass and hug a puppy 🫶🏻

@iamPB thanks for sharing ur opinion!!

@cybersecmeg You need a homelab.

@da5ch0 haha hopefully less burnout soon!!

@cybersecmeg as someone who has been no-lifing cybersecurity since decades before i made it my job i still wholeheartedly endorse all this even though i am the burnout cliche mentioned lmao

@BGolden1979 thanks for watching! :)

@cybersecmeg 🤓 Thanks for sharing Meg.

@SecShoggoth thanks so much for the feedback!! :)

@cybersecmeg More people need to see this. I've been in cybersec ~ 30 years. You are 1000% correct on this.

@chrisjohnston oh i love this so much, Chris! what a wonderful life you lead with your best friend! thank you for the well wishes 🫶🏻

@cybersecmeg Congratulations 🎉. This year my wife and I celebrated 26 years of marriage and 28 years together. It isn't always a sunshine and rainbows but I still think it's one of the best choices I ever made.

MR. & MRS. CYBERSECMEG LOADING 💍🫶🏻

@Eddiemoore235 it’s broken

@cybersecmeg Nice set up...can you gift me the one you removed.....???

hi i’m meg and i’m a sr. cybersecurity consultant!! these are some of the things i attribute to my financial success working in the cybersecurity industry. hope u find it helpful :)

@1n44n6 that’s exactly it lmao 😅

@cybersecmeg Are they hot takes because you’re walking outside?

hi i’m meg and i’m a sr. cybersecurity consultant!! here are some of my ✨hot takes✨ about the cybersecurity industry **note: these opinions are those of my own and not my employer’s

@Iam_Jaja sad day

@cybersecmeg Been at a couple companies and the CMDB was an afterthought vs something being configured upfront. Big headache

@pr1memover agreed on both accounts 😅

@cybersecmeg The problem is "we" keep doing the same shit over and over expecting "it will work this time", then we have scam artists pushing zero trust. Which i can rant (with proof and facts ) on that one ALL DAY LONG.

@Riverplaza1 👍🏻

@cybersecmeg 👍

@skyletmoringa thanks gorllll!!!!

@cybersecmeg spot on meg

@cyberdvlupr thank you for the feedback!! :)

@cybersecmeg Well said Meg. Completely agree. Cybersecurity Architects, Cybersecurity Developers, Sr. Cyber Risk Analysts, and Sr. Cyber Intel Analysts... all gap rules.

@SteveSaikatai thank you for your feedback!!

Thank you! This should be a no brainer but we LOVE to debate the obvious in this field.

@anon39215731180 no one said be average, i said do your job and do your job well but don’t over-work yourself to the point of burn-out

@cybersecmeg What's the plan to level up if you are average and put in the minimal required effort? Curious people will do it regardless out of personal interest. Do you want to go see a doctor that is average? Do you want average people protecting your assets?

@rapterj thanks for sharing ur takes!

@cybersecmeg My Hot Take: most "entry-level" cybersecurity folks in orgs have a better understanding of the overall risks facing the company they work for than most of the same company's high-paid executives. Uber-hot take: Execs hire people to hide risks far more than to actually fix them