Spencer Alessi

Spencer Alessi

hacker | pentester | researcher | active directory connoisseur | wiz-bang exploit slinger hiding in the shadows | Live now, be yourself, remember death 🛹🏂👨🏼‍💻🎮❄️🏔📷

3 Important Qualities for Infosec Practitioners

  1 minute read  

What qualities do you think are important for Information Security Practitioners? While I realize this kind of sounds like a cheesy interview question, I challange you to entertain the thought. What qualities, be it technical or emotional, are important for every Information Security Practitioner?

3 Important Qualities for Infosec Practitioners

1. Humility

While this list is not in order of importance I do believe that humility is one of the most essential qualities any person can have or strive towards.

Humility to me is, not being too proud of oneself. Not getting too “high on thy own supply.” Not always thinking about what’s in it for me or what do I get out of this.

“Humility is not thinking less of yourself, it’s thinking of yourself less.” – C. S. Lewis

2. Curiosity

At a macro, technology and security moves at an alarming rate. In order to stay up-to-date you have to have an certain level of innate curiosity. Especially for security, you need to have a desire to learn how things work in an effort to better protect said thing. Be that a process, a technology or a tool.

“Curiosity is the engine of achievement.” – Ken Robinson

3. Resilience

Security is hard. The concepts themselves are not too terribly complex. It’s hard because the information and the skills build upon eachother. It’s hard because adulting and people and relationships are hard. You have to have the will power and the gut to “stick with it” and to learn how to work with people and handle your emotions and get work done and continue to learn and develop your skills and so many other things. It can be overwhelming but that’s why reslience is so important.

“Enthusiasm is common. Endurance is rare.” – Angela Duckworth

This of course is by no means an exhaustive list of important qualities for infosec practitioners. This is also by no means exlusive to just information security. These are qualities that make us good humans.

As you read this list I am sure you thought of more, so please, share them with me on LinkedIn! I am curious to see what you come up with and why.

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