Cecil Martin

 I would like to introduce you to Cecil Martin. Cecil works at BrightInsight which has developed a digital health platform for pharmaceutical companies. Cecil is the Governance, Risk and Compliance (GRC) Manager. He reviews policies and procedures, respond to client and auditor questions, and ensures that all ISO and HITRUST controls are being followed.

Cecil got into cybersecurity after his time working in IT with Koch, Sabre, and Compaq. At the time, he leading a team made up of recent college graduates when HP purchased Compaq. He and his team were notified by leadership shortly afterward that their roles were being outsourced as a cost cutting measure. That is when he made the decision to make the move away from IT and into cybersecurity. Just like every position there are pros and cons. Some of the pros he has found are 1) making many industry contacts. Since he likes to network this is a key role for him. He does much of his networking via virtual sessions and in person. 2) There are always numerous experts in key areas with various views that one can turn to if you need help. 3) and job security is big. Cybersecurity will not be going anywhere anytime soon. The only negative he mentioned was that you must put in the time and effort to learn the trade and continually read up on the recent technology and methods to remediate vulnerabilities that are published.

To be certified for cyber security you will need a fair amount of hands-on experience, along with studies, reading and attending boot camps in order to pass the certification exams. The continuing education requirements dictate that every three 3 years, one must complete 120 hours of ongoing training. There are a couple of obstacles Cecil had to overcome. Being back in the “classroom” after being away for some time and trying to juggle a family at home, which was not easy at first. It required some serious adjustments in the beginning. The required certifications were also difficult at first. Once you get into a routine the work and tasks become easier to handle.

Cecil had a great manager who help promote him and helped with his training. For that he will always be grateful for her mentorship. In Cecil’s opinion, Cyber Security is a great profession to get into. If you are thinking about a career in Cyber Security, he would highly recommend that you study and attend as many classes as possible and participate in bootcamps if you can. The work is not as difficult once you get the hang of it and so many people are willing to help you out along the way.

Growing up his father taught him to look for the problem areas before they became a major issue and look to find solutions to solve them. Over the years he has been using that lesson to tackle projects others would not want to touch. He attributes this to much of his success. It is a lifelong lesson he will never forget. Cecil believes working remotely for the majority of his time since 2001, has made his work/personal life balance easier. During his downtime after hours, he often finds himself working to get ahead for the next day. Working from home has also given him time for the flexibility to take care of himself. The time he would use commuting is instead spent as is daily his wellness time.