07 Nov Meet Jarrett, ISSO
What do you do?
I take care of the security of our customer’s network, checking for vulnerabilities, hits on the network, viruses, or breaches. Since we have a legacy network, and are located remotely (at Guantanamo Bay), we also have responsibility for network accreditation. We are in the process of transferring this accreditation to the Risk Management Framework (RMF), which represents the bulk of our work today.
What are 5 things you do almost every day?
- Check for USB exceptions – basically people plugging things into the USB of any computer that is not supposed to be plugged into.
- Daily checks of malicious websites.
- Check the scanning of malicious viruses for any that might reach our network.
- Go through daily tickets – issues that come up day to day and issuing tokens for people who have ordered them.
- As lead, I also deal with people in front of me daily.
Do you have a morning ritual? Something you do to start your day?
I try to run every morning! Usually, I get up early – around 4:30 or 5 am – take my run, and then get to work around 6 or 6:15. I am usually first person there. Then I take a quick step across the street to the mini mart across the street to get some water (I don’t drink coffee) and a fruit basket.
What kind of skills do you need to be effective in your role?
- Know how to detect different breaches that hit the network.
- I have learned on the job for the RMF process – it would be a plus if know you it coming in.
- Be organized. There is a lot of paperwork involved as far as RMF processes.
- Have a good relationship with coworkers or manager or people you are working with.
- Be transparent about your methods. Others needs to know what you put in certain places, your organizational approach, labels etc.
You currently work in a remote location. Has this required any adjustments on your part?
It is true, I am not in a Criterion office, but supporting our customer on location. There are about eight Criterion employees here. This is not a family accompanied position, and we are all living and working together. This has been the biggest adjustment. You see the same people all of the time! Most of the people working here are military or former military, but I am not. However, I have really appreciated the opportunity to travel and I have learned a lot on this job, including the RMF process and cultural aspects of how to deal with lots of different people.
What advice would you give to someone looking to become an ISSO?
Make sure you are level headed and open to new experiences. Initially you should have your CompTIA Security + certification to get a foot in the door. After that, the CompTIA Advanced Security Practitioner (CASP) and CISSP certifications are helpful.