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Bill did an excellent job with this article. I just got my first Mac computer last year a couple days after Christmas, and have really enjoyed learning a new operating system. I am a screen reader user, and I find that VoiceOver is a perfect addition to the screen reader market.

Apple certainly did the right thing by including it in their core operating system. I have found all the voices very easy to understand. However, I do have one problem. For a little while now I’ve been experiencing a rather odd problem with the speech on my Mac. This issue started occurring this summer. It doesn’t happen a lot, but I’d say about once or twice per day for about 3—5 minutes. I’ve tried repairing permissions, as suggested on the AppleVis website and a couple e-mail discussion lists.

A friend also suggested to me that this issue might be occurring when the Screen Curtain is turned off. In addition, I recently removed Chromevox from my system government agencies not on usajobs mobile tracker offerup that it might be the cause. But the problem still exists. I’m wondering if any other AccessWorld staff or readers have experienced this issue, and if so, what solution worked? Government agencies not on usajobs mobile tracker offerup have a inch Mac Book Air, mid model.

But other than the aforementioned issue, I have absolutely no complaints about my Mac. I have not yet read Janet’s entire book, but I did read the introduction and table of contents last week when I was at my parents’ house. A sister of mine also uses VoiceOver, and she currently has a copy of the book. Additionally, the guys who assisted my parents and me at an Apple store in our area were government agencies not on usajobs mobile tracker offerup.

Deborah Kendrick has done an excellent job of capturing Bill Gerrey’s quirky but intriguing and insatiable curiosity. I had the pleasure of being Bill’s rehabilitation counselor and played a small part in getting him started on his profession. I recall once being with Bill when he and I were asked to evaluate one of the major banks’ attempts at making an ATM government agencies not on usajobs mobile tracker offerup for blind persons.

Bill was underwhelmed with the model we were examining. He had an implement with him that looked like a small hammer.

When he tapped the machine we were looking at, the gizmo made the sound like breaking glass. He didn’t harm the machine but certainly gave the bank staffer the impression that he had damaged the model. The interview ended shortly after that. So, it is good knowing that Bill still plays with his tinker toys. Thank you for featuring Mr. As a twenty-something blind guy interested in all kinds of tech stuff, including ham radio, I had the privilege of spending a number of weeks learning how to solder and assemble stuff at the “Little School” that Smith-Kettlewell permitted in Bill’s lab happily staffed and powered by Bill, Tom Fowle, and Jay Williams.

Gerrey, Fowle, and Williams. Thanks Bill for the time and friendship you, Tom, and Jay generously gave to me and the others who spent happy and informative hours at the “Little School,” and for the opportunity of spending a great evening with you guys from “the lab” and Monica at your great house across from the San Francisco Mint!

I am writing in response to a letter submitted in the last issue sent in by Mr. Harrison’s personal and professional frustrations centered on his quest for a usable accounting program are quite similar to tose that motivated us to reach out to Intuit to open discussions around making QuickBooks usable and accessible for the first tme. As a nonprofit based in New York City, My Blind Spot needed…accounting tools to manage our day-to-day finances and we sought out and looked to the repeated suggestions made by so many other professionals in financial management: Get QuickBooks.

But, before we could heed the suggestions of accountants and bookkeepers alike, we had to first address the accessibility and usability issues that were very prevalent and very obstructive in the QuickBooksproduct lines. The frustrations a great number of us felt were very real and very unfortunate without question.

But that has changed now. What is exciting for me, both personally and professionally, are the choices before us, for the first time, when it comes to programs for the financial management of our small businesses. Now accountants, bookkeepers and tax preparers transitioning into the community can stay gainfully employed and do so by choosing a program that serves their needs as professionals.

Cash Manager is a good program without question, but now the community can actively make a choice between accounting programs that meet their needs and work with adaptive technologies used by people who are blind, visually impaired, or print disabled. The concepts and realities around our community finding software programs that are tried and true has been ever elusive and continues to be in far too many instances.

At My Blind Spot we happen to believe that this is unacceptable and that government agencies not on usajobs mobile tracker offerup needs to government agencies not on usajobs mobile tracker offerup priority one for private an public sectors in addition to governmental agencies. My Blind Spot is committed to that and has dedicated our efforts to educating and guiding corporate America, governmental agencies, and community-based organizations about accessibility and usability when it comes to the needs for virtual access for people with disabilities.

We believe that access to the right tools promotes ability and restores infinite possibilities. Intuit now sees the inclusion of accessibility and usability in their product offerings as a nonnegotiable. The progression of our government agencies not on usajobs mobile tracker offerup and efforts centered on accessibility and usability introduced into QuickBooks has spread t the teams managing and developing Quicken as well as the other product offerings under the Intuit stable of brands.

Anyone wanting to confirm Intuit’s commitment to accessibility simply needs to write to Brad or even Ted Drake, Intuit’s Senior Accessibility Engineer to confirm this for themselves. While it is true more work remains in order to infuse even greater accessibility into QuickBooks for Windows, the government agencies not on usajobs mobile tracker offerup has finally begun.

As Lori Samuels, the Accessibility Manager who started this ball rolling at Intuit once said, “This is not a sprint, it is a marathon. In my opinion, the inclusion of accessibility and usability engineered into computer programs and websites happening по этому адресу around us is promising and hopeful.

That a global giant like Intuit has finally seen accessibility as a nonnegotiable is fantastic. That QuickBooks is more accessible then ever is monumental, and Intuit is committed to improving their government agencies not on usajobs mobile tracker offerup financial lives so profoundly they can’t imagine going back to the old way of doing things. I am sure that none of us in the blind and print disabled community ever want to go back to the old way of doing things.

Anyone wanting to draw their own conclusions and form their own opinions about QuickBooks can contact us at info myblindspot. Consumers government agencies not on usajobs mobile tracker offerup also write to the CEO of Intuit to ask him about his commitment to the community, as well as what is in store for accessibility and for people with disabilities internally at Intuit.

We now have options and people who need to use QuickBooks for Windows for their accounting choices or for gainful employment are actually able to do so. Recently, Fred Gissoni passed away with his wife Linda by his side.

Fred was married to my mother-in-law. He was special in most every way. I always thought that Fred, although blind, saw government agencies not on usajobs mobile tracker offerup world better than most people could ever see it. He was genuine, caring, and gave his heart to all of us. He will be missed. He was a good man and did many good things for people in need.

Great article, it truly described the man I was fortunate to get to know. I have known Mr. Gerrey since the late s when I came to him for soldering lessons ссылка на продолжение an undergraduate, and I have continued to learn from him ever since.

When I was a graduate student fellow at Smith-Kettlewell in the late 90s, I sat just outside Bill’s office and got to listen in on his meetings and phone calls—and that was educational, too!

A few years ago I wrote a little piece inspired by some of that eavesdropping, as well as my admiration for Bill Gerrey, and published it on medium. Again, thank you government agencies not on usajobs mobile tracker offerup your excellent profile of Bill Gerrey. I hope you enjoy my article on some government agencies not on usajobs mobile tracker offerup his other contributions. The U. These grants will help expand the capacity of local American Job Centers to improve employment outcomes for youth and adults with disabilities by increasing their participation in existing career pathway systems and programs that build on partnerships among local educational institutions, businesses and disability advocates.

This is the fifth round of funding through the Disability Employment Initiative, which now supports 37 projects in 26 states. This initiative also expands the public workforce system’s participation in the Social Security Administration’s Ticket to Work Program by requiring participating state workforce agencies or local workforce boards to become active Employment Networks. Many Supplemental Security Income and Social Security Disability Insurance beneficiaries use the привожу ссылку workforce system to seek employment opportunities.

By serving as Employment Networks, grantees will build upon the workforce system’s capacity to serve these groups. Registration is now open! Please visit the Marriott reservations page or call to book your room today.

The American Foundation for the Blind’s annual Leadership Conference covers the most pressing and relevant topics in the field of blindness and offers many opportunities to learn from the best and brightest minds in our field, make new connections, and reunite with old friends while earning ACVREP and CRC CEUs. Conference attendees include technology experts, government agencies not on usajobs mobile tracker offerup representatives, university professors, teachers of students with visual impairments, orientation and mobility instructors, rehabilitation professionals, and parents.

They come from diverse organizations and institutions spanning the public and private sectors, including school districts, schools for the blind, Veterans Administrations, government agencies not on usajobs mobile tracker offerup, private agencies, and universities.

AFB’s friends at the Partnership on Employment and Accessible Technology PEAT are conducting a survey to gain a better understanding of accessibility needs related /2704.txt online job seeking.

Please take a few minutes to complete its survey. AfterShokz, the only open ear bone conduction headphones brand, recently announced the establishment of an Accessibility Нравится canada day celebrations vancouver 2021 jeep cherokee nation может, in addition to the appointment of Rob Nevin as Accessibility Director, Global. Immediate goals include global awareness, strategic partnerships and the broadening of accessibility standards within the company.

AfterShokz manufactures sport, mobile, and Bluetooth headphones, through a blend of patent-pending bone conduction technology and an open ear design. The brand’s unconventional solution puts situational awareness at the forefront, allowing users to tune in to music, calls and other audio transmission without traditional sacrifices.

A set of bone conduction transducers rest in front of the ears, while sound travels through the cheekbones to the inner ears via mini vibrations, bypassing the eardrums completely. Novasentis, Inc. By leveraging Novasentis’ paper-thin and flexible Electro-Mechanical Polymer EMP actuator and sensor technology, HumanWare will be developing and bringing to market new products with richer tactile feedback that will make it easier for the visually impaired to experience and interact with digital content on computers and mobile devices.

This co-development effort offers Novasentis the opportunity to put its patented EMP technology to work in a brand new vertical—for the good of sight-impaired people who depend on touch and audio feedback to connect with the world.

It also signifies the rapid growth and demand for advanced haptic technology in a variety of industries, including consumer electronics, automotive, healthcare and more. We will work closely with Novasentis to bring this promising technology to our market. Chat with exhibitors, attend showcase sessions, try accessible technology, and meet our team of peer tech coaches. The fair is free and accessible. For more information, visit www. If you have found your way to this issue of AccessWorldchances are good that you own and know how to operate an accessible computer or mobile computing device, such as a smartphone or a tablet.

Pause for a moment, if you would, and try to imagine how different your life would be if you didn’t know how to use a computer, or if you did not have ready access to one.

 

– | American Foundation for the Blind | AccessWorld |

 

I can do this myself? September was a busy month for Apple, at least on the mobile front. They also unveiled their long-anticipated AppleWatch. The watch—at the time of this writing its accessibility or lack thereof has not yet been definitively established—will not be available until sometime in early The two new iPhone models were released on September 19, two days after the public release on September 17 of the new iPhone operating system, iOS 8.

It’s a lot to keep up with, so in this article I will introduce you to the new accessibility features and improvements you will experience when you upgrade to iOS 8, and help you decide if there should be a new iPhone 6 or 6 Plus in your immediate future. Apple’s iOS 8 was made available to developers in beta form several months back.

If you are brand new to the world of iOS accessibility, I would not recommend this book as your first iOS tutorial, as it assumes you already have a reasonable proficiency in using VoiceOver, Zoom, and other iOS accessibility features. That being said, Mosen’s iOS 8 Without the Eye is an exceptional guide for upgraders who want to preview and learn how to use the various changes you will encounter when moving from iOS 7 to iOS 8.

After reading this book from e-cover to e-cover I felt more than prepared to upgrade my iPhone 5 from iOS 7 to iOS 8, then, two days later, set up and use my new iPhone 6.

The iOS 8 changes and new functionality of interest to users with visual impairments fall basically into two categories: new mainstream features and functionality, and changes and improvements to VoiceOver and other iOS accessibility features. We’ll describe a sampling of the major changes below, but first, let’s take a look at the new hardware.

The screens on the iPhone 5, 5s, and 5c were larger than the screens on the iPhone 4 and 4S. The iPhone 6 screens are even larger—4. The phones themselves are longer and wider than previous models. The phones are also thinner—so much so, the camera’s sapphire lens cover protrudes a millimeter or so from the iPhone’s rear edge. Because of this, it is possible to rock the iPhone just a bit from side to side, but I suspect even a thin case will re-level the phone and make things flush.

Along with the size, the two biggest changes to this latest generation are in the placement of the screen lock button—it is now on the right edge, almost exactly opposite from the volume buttons, the same as most Android and Windows phones—and the iPhone’s rounded edges and corners. The rounded edges give the iPhone 6 a sleek feel and make it seem even thinner than it is.

I found it more comfortable to hold my iPhone 6 for an extended period of time. The screen lock button was a different situation. Gripping the phone in one hand, when I would reach for the volume buttons I had a tendency to grip the phone tighter, and frequently I would wind up accidentally pressing the screen lock button. You can read the complete specifications at the Apple iPhone 6 site but if you plan to upgrade there are only a few choices you will need to make. If you’re like me, you often grip your iPhone and manipulate the screen with one hand, checking e-mail, composing texts, etc.

This ability is especially handy when on the move, leaving one hand free to use your cane or grip your dog’s harness. The larger screens of the iPhone 6 and 6 Plus may give you pause in this regard. Happily, Apple has come up with a solution. It’s called “reachability,” and invoking this feature causes the screen to shrink and slide down toward the bottom, where all of the active app’s controls are within easy reach. To invoke reachability, double-touch the Home button use only a light touch, not a tap.

You’ll hear a sort of whoosh sound as the screen shrinks and slides down. Unfortunately, at least for me, there are two problems using this feature with VoiceOver.

First, I find it difficult to perform the double-touch gesture with the same hand I am using to hold the iPhone. More importantly, after about 10 seconds with no activity the screen reverts to full size, and iOS 8 does not consider the VoiceOver swiping gestures as activity.

So by the time I have swiped down to the control I wish to activate or the e-mail I wish to open the screen has reverted to full size. Hopefully this issue will be addressed in an upcoming maintenance release. Otherwise you may not be able to enjoy perhaps the most anticipated iOS 8 upgrade: the inclusion of the Alex text-to-speech engine.

This extremely high-quality voice will take a full megabytes of storage. The bad news is that he is only available on iDevices with bit A7 or A8 processors, including the iPhone 5s, the iPad Air or newer, the iPad Mini with Retina Display or newer, and the two new iPhone models.

I installed the Alex voice and found it quite understandable, even at high speeds. However, I found the lower pitch of this voice a bit difficult to understand in loud environments, such as a bus stop, and preferred, at such times, to revert to the Samantha voice, or my personal favorite, the compact version of Australian Karen.

Let’s take a brief look at some of the other new and improved accessibility features, which are available for all iOS users. Apple has made some much-needed updates to Maps using accessibility. You will now find a “Tracking” toggle near the bottom of the screen. Enable the “Tracking with Headings” feature and Maps will begin announcing your compass heading, upcoming intersections and cross street names, and points of interest.

There is no fine-grain control for how far from an intersection Maps should speak up, and the points of interest list is nowhere near as comprehensive as the POI database used by BlindSquare, which I reviewed in the July issue of AccessWorld.

Inexplicably, the Maps app does not voice when the phone is locked. Nor does it announce when a road is a full cross street and when it only turns left or right off your current location.

While taking Maps for a walk, whenever I reached a “T” or “L” intersection where the road I was traveling on terminated, Maps announced that I was approaching the next road over, despite the fact that I could not reach it directly from my current location.

The Maps Tracking feature is a good start, but it does need considerable refinement. The iOS built-in screen magnifier can now enlarge the screen up to 15 times. There is also a toggle to do this without changing the size of the onscreen keyboard.

Additionally, you can choose to Zoom full screen or in Lens Mode, a smaller region you can set to move as focus changes. There is also a new option in the iPhone’s Display and Screen Brightness settings.

This feature may be of particular use to high partials who need just a bit of magnification. You can now set your iPhone screen to display in shades of gray instead of colors, and invert the shades, which may improve readability for many. Previous versions of iOS allowed you to have highlighted text read aloud.

You can now instruct your phone to read the entire screen, even with VoiceOver turned off, using a two-finger slide-down gesture. This feature will be especially handy to Zoom users who are faced with a large text passage to read.

It is now possible to use the same QuickNav Safari commands such as next heading, previous link, etc. With iOS 8 you can add a brand new option to your rotor settings: a built-in onscreen braille keyboard.

This keyboard allows you to type directly into app text edit fields, so you no longer need to jump through hoops to get your text from a braille keyboard app into your e-mail, text message, or other apps.

Because of screen size, eight-dot Braille is only supported on the iPad. Place the braille keyboard in your rotor, and when you invoke it in an edit field the keyboard will auto-detect your device’s position and work in either tabletop or Screen Away mode. You will receive the audio prompt: “To calibrate the dot positions, touch and lift the three right fingers, then touch and lift the three left fingers immediately afterwards.

Touch and hold a finger to the screen at any time until you hear two beeps, then “Entering Explore mode. If you are a very fast and accurate touch screen typist, you may appreciate Direct Touch typing. Instead of waiting until you raise your finger off the keyboard character to announce and enter it, Direct Touch typing types the character as soon as you tap it. In his book, Mosen describes how he uses this feature with great success on his iPad equipped with a tactile screen protector.

If you experiment with this feature, plan to rely on auto-correct even more than usual, at least until you get the hang of things. You’ve probably noticed that if you are playing music or a video and VoiceOver has something to say, your media’s volume will lower slightly until VoiceOver has finished speaking. This is called Audio Ducking. With previous iOS versions this feature has been on by default, but you can now choose whether or not you wish to have Audio Ducking enabled.

The latest iOS includes a significant number of upgrades and new features. There are far too many to cover them all here, so I will concentrate on a quartet of new features that will be of particular interest to sight-impaired users. Apple is finally allowing users to install third-party keyboards, a feature Android has had from the beginning.

If you are a Fleksi user, you will no longer have to rely on cut-and-paste to move your text into e-mails, messages, or other text entry fields. The only exceptions to this are for dial pad type entry fields, and for password fields, at which time for security reasons the standard iOS keyboard will reappear. Fleksi already works as a third party keyboard, although at the time of this writing VoiceOver support is incomplete and developers suggest disabling VoiceOver while using the Fleksi keyboard.

The developers of Text Expander have already announced an upcoming third-party keyboard. Myself, I am looking forward to a keyboard that includes a number row at the top, and the many creative and useful alternative keyboards VoiceOver-focused developers will come up with. Currently, with my iPhone 6, I can instruct this app to count my steps and flights of stairs climbed for each day and compare that to my average.

Great—now I have to carry my iPhone everywhere so I can get credit for every move I make. Bluetooth scales, workout monitors, treadmills, and other fitness accessories can link to the Health app to give the user a one-stop view. We can also look forward to a whole new generation of connected devices, such as on-the-go glucose and blood pressure monitors.

I don’t imagine it will be long before these sensors are both collecting this data and forwarding it to your physician so he can fine tune your treatment on an ongoing basis. One Health app feature that can be used right now is the Medical ID. Create a list of any allergies and other medical conditions and it can be made available on your lock screen’s emergency control.

The iOS HomeKit is not an app, it’s a framework that will enable home automation devices to work and play together better. Which means we may be one step closer to an accessible washing machine, dishwasher, and other home appliances. Apple has announced plans to offer a certification program for HomeKit to ensure developers comply with the framework’s standards. Please, Apple, include VoiceOver compatibility in this certification process.

Apple just may be in the process of revolutionizing the way we spend our money—and I mean besides shelling it all out for new Apple devices. Both iPhone 6 models include near field communication technology NFC and with Apple Pay you will soon be able to keep your credit and debit cards in your pocket and use your iPhone 6 or 6 Plus to securely buy a hamburger, fill a prescription, or pay for a cab or other ride share.

Android has incorporated NFC capabilities from the very beginning, and they have tried and failed to make Google Wallet a payment standard. I think Apple has an excellent chance for success, however, and I offer these three reasons:. I am looking forward to paying for my purchases with a tap of my iPhone’s fingerprint reader and a quick touch of the back of my iPhone to the point of sale payment system.

Imagine, no more fumbling to sign a credit card slip, giving your PIN to strangers because the card reader’s key pad is inaccessible, and not knowing for sure until you consult your bank whether you were actually charged the amount you were told. Apple Pay is supposed to launch sometime this fall. I already own an iPad Mini, and the larger 6 Plus seemed a bit much to carry around in my pocket, especially since I do not use Zoom and so would gain little from the expanded screen size.

So I upgraded to the standard iPhone 6 with 64gig of memory. Overall, I find the iPhone 6 a much snappier device than my 5. I am also enjoying many of the new mainstream iOS features, including the ability to send a quick audio message, making and receiving phone calls from my Mac with the Yosemite beta, and other new iOS features I do not have space to describe here, but which are covered thoroughly in Mosen’s excellent and well-timed eBook. As for VoiceOver, which I use exclusively, I think Apple has taken some giant steps forward, but a few tiny steps backward, at least in this initial.

Here are a few of the problems I have experienced. I do believe that most of these problems are due to time constraints. Apple was determined to meet their customary September iPhone refresh, and they spent their limited developer resources fixing major issues, and leaving minor ones to subsequent updates. Nonetheless, if you have or do plan to upgrade to iOS 8, I encourage you to report bugs to Apple by sending an e-mail describing your issue.

Apple is debugging issues in order of severity and number of people affected. One of the ways the company determines how many users are affected by a specific bug is by logging the number of people who report experiencing them.

The more people who report VoiceOver and other accessibility issues, the higher these issues will rise on their “must fix” list. If you are a novice iOS user, you may wish to wait for an interim patch release which hopefully will address many if not all of these issues.

For more advanced users, I have no hesitation in advising you to go ahead and take the plunge. I can say definitely that iOS 8 is a major upgrade with a host of new and exciting features, and the few accessibility issues you may encounter are more than worth the few minor glitches.

National Disability Employment Awareness Month is bringing it strong with some positive information about employment for people with disabilities. Section of the Rehabilitation Act has been revised to include some utilization goals to encourage federal contractors and subcontractors to employ people with disabilities.

The definition of disability is now more inclusive of more disorders and conditions. As federal contractors and subcontractors make up approximately , employers nationwide, these changes may spell expanded opportunities for people with disabilities.

It is important to note the word “encouraged”—employers are not required to meet this target, though they are asked to develop plans for doing so. The breakdown by employer size is the same as that mentioned above regarding Section The fact is, employers who are not federal contractors and subcontractors are starting to look at these utilization goals as best practices.

Businesses are reaching out to people with disabilities and organizations associated with large populations of people with disabilities to assist with recruitment and the dissemination of job announcements. In the past year, the Council for State Agencies for Vocational Rehabilitation CSAVR and other entities have developed a new portal for vocational rehabilitation to connect consumers with employers.

The new tool, called the Talent Acquisition Portal TAP , gives employers access to a large population of job seekers with disabilities. The verdict is still out on this initiative, and I look forward to hearing more about the results. USBLN also provides employers with guidance on policies and structures that help support disability in the workplace.

The DEI offers employers the ability to assess how their organization supports employees with disability through policies, hiring practices, and much more. If you are an employer or connected with employers, encourage their participation with these types of groups.

The USBLN supports the hiring of underrepresented populations such as people with disabilities and veterans, and promotes a wider diversity in general within the workforce. Its work centers around employment accessibility, with a primary initiative focusing on improving the accessibility of online application systems, which have been and continue to be a substantial barrier to the employment process for those who use screen access technology.

PEAT has created its own tool for assessing an organization’s accessibility—in recruitment, employment, and policy and beyond—to individuals with disabilities. The initiative is being spearheaded by Loren Mikula, an executive with corporate and nonprofit experience in the accessibility of technology and in securing appropriate accommodations for individuals with disabilities.

Other organizations, such as the National Organization on Disability, have also been working to create access to employment for people with disabilities. The employment process includes training, researching, applying, interviewing, getting hired, starting a job, and maintaining employment.

With increased use of mobile apps in the mainstream employment process, people who are blind or visually impaired should also have access to these applications. The fact is a lot of mainstream apps related to job seeking are not accessible via either Apple VoiceOver or Android TalkBack.

Last year I took the time to review a number of these apps, and at that point, only a few were totally accessible. Most provided anywhere from limited to substantial access right up until the point of having to submit information. In the past year and a half, a number of the large technology companies have invested in hiring teams of accessibility specialists or in expanding existing teams. Smaller technology companies are investing as well.

I look forward to seeing what all of this accessibility brings for us in the future. LinkedIn has become a useful employment and networking tool for job seekers and people in the workforce. Originally designed to assist recruiters and businesses in locating and recruiting employees, LinkedIn has become much more than that. People use LinkedIn to connect with people in similar fields, to disseminate information, and to find resources.

Individuals are also using LinkedIn to find out more about employers through connections and organization pages; to validate their skills through references and recommendations; and for finding job leads. To truly use it as a tool for job seekers, the level of networking is quite important. The company has invested in accessibility by bringing on new staff. There have been some changes, but a lot more is needed to improve the interface and accessibility of both its online platform and mobile app.

The CareerConnect website is a fully accessible AFB sub-site dedicated to promoting the employment of people with vision loss. CareerConnect boasts a number of helpful resources, such as articles about the employment process, stories from successfully employed people with vision loss called “Our Stories,” and connections to mentors who are blind or visually impaired who are employed in many fields.

These mentors are great resources for career specific questions, information about job accommodations, and more. CareerConnect also offers useful links for job seekers, career exploration, and resume development tools. In addition, CareerConnect provides useful tools and activities for professionals working with clients who are blind or visually impaired. The Career Clusters message boards facilitate connecting with mentors in specific fields.

Users can build a network through field-related message boards and profile pages within the CareerConnect program. Now, CareerConnect mentors and users can associate their profiles with specific clusters, which helps make relevant networking connections. In February , AFB launched the new version of the CareerConnect profile, which turned out to be a bigger change to the program than we even anticipated.

The project involved a massive rebuild of the structure of the e-mentoring program and a variety of aspects of the CareerConnect user profile. This version brings a modern feel to the CareerConnect mentoring system, which now allows status updates, associations to mentors, mentor suggestions, a customizable profile, and new ways to interact.

The CareerConnect Job Seeker’s Toolkit is a free, self-paced online course aimed at people who are new to the employment process. The Toolkit consists of a series of lessons and assignments that cover self-awareness, career exploration, job seeking tools, pre-interview and interview skills, and job maintenance.

As you work your way through the Toolkit, you can save your assignments ranging from your network contacts, to your resume and cover letter, to a list of job leads, to your My CareerConnect portfolio where they can be accessed for future reference or use. In early , look for a new course on maintaining and advancing in employment.

AFB will be launching version 2, with added features and capabilities, in June The NIB has compiled a large list of jobs from around the US within organizations that do work in fields related to blindness, or that have hired people with visual impairments.

A unique feature of the site is that you can submit your CareerConnect resume to participating organizations in order to apply for jobs.

This service requires you to create a free CareerConnect user profile to search the job board, develop a resume, and apply for jobs. The Hadley School for the Blind offers online and correspondence courses for people with vision loss in subjects related to blindness skills, business writing, employment, and more.

Hadley’s exciting program, the Forsythe Center for Entrepreneurship, offers in-depth information and training for entrepreneurs who are blind or visually impaired who want to start their own business. This resource has seen growth and innovation through partnerships with groups like the Veteran’s Administration.

Federal agencies have two job application methods available for people with disabilities: competitive and noncompetitive placements. Job applicants must meet specified qualifications and be able to perform essential job duties related to any position with reasonable accommodations. There are approximately 16, jobs available on the site each day. Once you register on the site, you can set up notifications for job advertisements related to selected keywords.

Jobs filled noncompetitively are available to those with mental, severe physical, or psychiatric disabilities who have appropriate documentation as specified by the US Office of Personnel Management. This office advises the US Department of Labor and other government agencies on employment issues regarding people with disabilities. GettingHired, LLC offers training courses, opportunities to connect with employers, career personality assessments, and other employment resources for people with disabilities.

GettingHired has recently announced a partnership with HirePotential, Inc. The website also allows users to submit questions regarding special accommodations and ADA issues in the workplace. JAN hosts webcasts on the provision of job accommodations, and the programs can be accessed through its website. Career One Stop is a free resource provided by the US Department of Labor that allows you to search state job bank databases. Career centers help people perform research to support professional goals.

Colleges, universities, and postsecondary and vocational schools often have career centers, and many are available to the public. You may have to visit, call, or do some online research to find out what is available to you locally. Keep in mind that many career centers maintain robust websites accessible to anyone with an Internet connection, and these sites may offer many free resources and materials. Career centers are often underutilized, and most are eager to have visitors.

Some receive grant money to offer services to the community or state, and some actively recruit people with disabilities to their centers. Vocational rehabilitation helps people with disabilities prepare for entry or re-entry into the workforce. Your local vocational rehabilitation agency will offer a range of programs, resources, and services to help you prepare for and find work. The range of programs offered by these agencies varies from state to state, so research your local vocational rehabilitation agency, determine what programs and services you are eligible for, and register.

In most cases, these organizations exist to help you become job-ready and find employment. Some may also train you in independent daily living, orientation and mobility, and access technology. These organizations will also know about other available resources in your community. Stephen-Bradford Search is an executive consultant search firm that aims to connect the right person with the right job.

The motivation and passion from their personnel explodes through the phone. Their core values are accountability, growth, integrity, positive culture, and respect. The firm is dedicated to improving people’s lives by identifying talented individuals and is known as a forward-thinking, highly ethical search firm.

The management and recruiters come from the industries for which they recruit, and they are dedicated to helping clients build their business with people who drive growth and results. Stephen-Bradford Search is not an organization that specifically recruits people with vision loss.

It aims to find talented people who are qualified individuals and can get the job done. That said, the firm does have personnel who are visually impaired, and if you are working in any of the fields listed, this is a recommended organization to contact.

Bender Consulting Services is a highly successful recruitment firm that specializes in meeting employer needs through the hiring of qualified people with disabilities in technology, science, government, and other employment sectors. The organization has been making a difference for a long time. Joyce Bender also hosts a popular audio show specific to disability and the employment process. A primary goal associated with this mission is to connect individuals and veterans who have disabilities with employers who are proactive in hiring them.

It accomplishes this goal through their disability job matching system. Another goal is to assist community members in gaining marketable job skills that will translate into sustainable employment via their Microsoft IT Academy program.

Recently, the organization has created a partnership with the Council of State Administrators of Vocational Rehabilitation and an alliance with the United States Business Leadership Network.

The Eyes on Success audio show is an excellent resource to find interviews with successful people who are blind or visually impaired and get employment tips. There are over shows accessible online that offer tips on job seeking and the use of resources. Find out about great blindness-related resources and inspirational stories. The National Federation of the Blind has a resource that allows persons who are blind or visually impaired to post information about their work.

Where the Blind Work is a portal for learning about the work done by people who are blind. Project Aspiro , a website developed by the World Blind Union, focuses on addressing employment issues specific to needs in Canada and abroad. This is a career exploration resource that aims to illuminate employment options and programs outside of the US.

During National Disability Employment Awareness Month, take the time to reflect on your path and the paths of others. Reach out to the community and spread the doctrine of the employability of people who are blind or visually impaired and those with other disabilities. The year has brought more positive strides and steps toward making a difference.

In tougher markets, workers in the skilled trades can often find some stability. Individuals who have specific training and experience in a trade will often be able to find or create work.

To pursue work in the skilled trades, your compensatory blindness-related skills need to be above par, which amplifies the importance of the work of vocational rehabilitation agencies and community rehabilitation providers around the United States. It is not enough to get a job—a person has to be able to maintain employment. Job seekers need to dig in and be creative about their job search.

Invest in your job search—join a professional organization or trade-related organization that allows contact to professionals in a similar field—and leverage your personal network.

Create your own connections and use them appropriately. Make the coming year even more successful by creating opportunities for people who are blind or visually impaired. October is Disability Employment Awareness Month, and AccessWorld is once again taking this opportunity to focus on employment with articles that provide strategies, insider perspectives, and information about employment resources. October is a time to celebrate the skills and accomplishments of American workers with disabilities.

Further, it’s a time to illuminate and discuss the employment barriers that still exist and, with renewed vigor, pursue their removal. The effort to educate the American public about issues related to disability and employment began in when Congress enacted a law declaring the first week in October as National Employ the Physically Handicapped Week.

In , the word “physically” was removed to acknowledge the employment needs and contributions of individuals with all types of disabilities. In , Congress expanded the week to a month and changed the name to National Disability Employment Awareness Month. In observance of this month-long celebration, CareerConnect Program Manager, Joe Strechay, has once again contributed his expertise to this issue.

This month I am also sharing the Editor’s Page with Joe to bring you his unique personal perspective on the employment of people with vision loss. He writes:. Having traveled extensively around the United States and met with professionals, job seekers, teenagers, and adults who are blind or visually impaired, I have had the opportunity to learn about employment issues from all sides. Much of my job pertains to analyzing employment issues and creating resources to assist people with vision loss in becoming career ready.

In that vein, I am often asked the question, “What is the major factor affecting whether or not a person with vision loss is or is not employed? Instead of offering one reason, I assert that the underlying factor is that there is such inconsistency around the United States in the training and preparation of people with vision loss from an early age through adulthood. Neither public nor private services are created equally, and for that matter, no government or private entity offers those services in the same manner.

This issue is larger than just vocational rehabilitation. It includes preparation in schools, nonprofits, various state agencies and services, and other important variables, including family involvement. There are a lot of fantastic programs and services available, but any given region may be strong in one service and lacking in another. I know this is obvious, but it needs to be said openly: our field needs to address our weaknesses and diligently work to make improvements.

Each job seeker with vision loss has his or her own challenges. Unfortunately, I still see a level of learned helplessness among young people with disabilities, even among the brightest.

Learned helplessness refers to an individual being taught that things will be done for them, which allows them to not attempt to initiate or do things on their own. This type of thinking sometimes extends to the perception of job seekers that vocational rehabilitation is designed to find them jobs, but really that is not the purpose. Vocational rehabilitation specialists definitely can help and guide, but they are not job placement professionals.

Job placement is an art; it is a mix of sales, community relations, and having a well-defined pool of applicants. Job seekers battle the perceptions of employers about vision loss and their own perceptions about navigating the employment process. At the same time, the technology divide between those who have appropriate access and mainstream technology and those who have orientation and mobility training, and those who do not, is apparent.

In addition, job seekers are all individuals with strengths, skills, and weaknesses. All individuals have limitations, and not every job seeker is going to be a computer programmer, accountant, teacher, mechanic, or maintenance worker.

The common thread typically is they want to be a productive and employed citizen. I encourage everyone with vision loss to pursue every avenue of education and training possible. I encourage you to embrace and learn to skillfully use technology.

Take it upon yourself to seek out resources such as CareerConnect and AccessWorld as well as the CareerConnect app and the AccessWorld app to assist you with career readiness. Ultimately, it is your life and your career, and you are responsible for it. Take action! By working hard, obtaining education and skills, and seeking out and using resources available to you, you can find the job that’s meant for you!

Career exploration is one thing job seekers can do to help make a sound, viable decision about their future in the workplace. There are a tremendous number of careers available to people with vision loss. As an Employment Specialist, I know of at least occupational fields in which blind or visually impaired workers are succeeding and finding delight in their work.

Developed nearly 13 years ago, AFB CareerConnect has proven to be a very popular, interactive tool that presents professional employment information, career exploration tools, and extensive job seeking guidance from experts in the field for students and adults with vision loss and the professionals who work with them. For the purpose of expanding employment opportunities for people with vision loss, CareerConnect provides employment and job search information, helps new job seekers and students who are blind or visually impaired explore careers and find mentors through our fun, new social networking system, helps users learn about interviewing skills , resume building , disability disclosure , or any number of other topics related to a successful job search.

Another helpful and inspiring area is Our Stories. These are firsthand accounts of life in the workforce from workers with vision loss. The icing on the cake?

Just about all sections of CareerConnect can lead you to a blind or visually impaired mentor who can answer questions and provide guidance about working life! Using all these tools to help you reach your employment goal—now that’s what I call a winning performance! This October also marks the three year anniversary of the AccessWorld app. I’m very excited to announce that the app has been downloaded over 4, times. If you have an iPhone and haven’t yet downloaded the app, I encourage you to read Ricky Kirkendall and Darren Burton’s article to learn how you can have AccessWorld on your iPhone!

I hope you enjoy this issue and will join AccessWorld in recognizing and celebrating the inroads individuals with vision loss, and all types of disabilities, have made in the world of employment.

Skip to content. Full Issue: AccessWorld October Letters to the Editor. If Bill Gerrey has the chance to read this, I would just like to say: Thanks Bill for the time and friendship you, Tom, and Jay generously gave to me and the others who spent happy and informative hours at the “Little School,” and for the opportunity of spending a great evening with you guys from “the lab” and Monica at your great house across from the San Francisco Mint! Looking forward to calculating a whole new future for our community!

Respectfully, Albert J. Rizzi, M. Joshua A. Miele Director, Smith-Kettlewell Institute. AccessWorld News. Grantees will use the funds to do the following. Hire or designate a Disability Resource Coordinator, an expert in workforce and disability issues, to achieve program goals Foster partnerships and collaboration at the state and local levels Integrate resources and services Ensure that local American Job Centers comply with physical, programmatic, and communications accessibility requirements This initiative also expands the public workforce system’s participation in the Social Security Administration’s Ticket to Work Program by requiring participating state workforce agencies or local workforce boards to become active Employment Networks.

Bill Holton. Installation Nearby Explorer requires a device running Android version 2. The Nearby Explorer Main Screen Nearby Explorer’s main screen offers a number of different checkbox options you can adjust for voice monitoring.

It compares your last position to your current position to determine direction, so you need to be moving in order for this control to report a change of direction. You can also instruct Nearby Explorer to announce the direction you are facing. Simply hold your device vertically, as though you are taking a picture. Nearby Explorer will buzz, speak the appropriate direction, and, optionally, announce nearby streets and points of interest POIs to be found in that direction.

Note: Nearby Explorer will need to be the active app for this feature to work. It will speak the distance to that point, and update this information as you near the objective. Guidance Announces the next turn you need to take in order to reach your destination. Nearby Reports the name of the next POI. This information is obtained from the maps database and from POIs you have created using Nearby Explorer. Watch Nearby Explorer allows you to set a Watch point—your destination, perhaps, or the front of a campus building, or the entrance of a parking lot.

The Watch feature is described below. Speed Announces how fast you are walking or driving. Number of Satellites Check the monitoring features you wish to enable, and only that information will be auto-voiced.

Navigation Mode If you perform a touch-and-hold gesture on a road, after three seconds you will begin to receive haptic feedback. Getting Going As mentioned earlier, when you turn on Nearby Explorer and begin to move, the app will announce your position, direction of travel, nearby POIs and any other elements you have enabled on the main screen. Searching Points of Interest When you press the “Menu” button, the first item that appears is the “Pause” button, which can be used to shut down GPS tracking when you don’t need it this will help save battery power.

If you find the POI or street you’re looking for, tap it and you are offered a number of choices: Add to Favorites Adds the POI to your Favorites list, so you can find it quickly, without needing to perform another search. Get Directions Calls up a list of turn-by-turn instructions to get you from your current location to the chosen POI. Set as Destination Prompts Nearby Explorer to begin offering spoken turn-by-turn directions, announcing the direction of each turn before you reach it.

You must have the main screen Guidance control checked for this to work. You can lock your screen at this point and the turns will still be announced. You can also use a different voice to speak the directions. Go To Moves you to that place, creating a virtual position. From here you can access the Map View to touch navigate the area, or the Navigation mode to follow streets by cardinal directions, as described above.

You can even do another search for nearby places, and Nearby Explorer will offer up a list of POIs surrounding your virtual position. I found this to be an excellent way to explore the area surrounding an unfamiliar destination before I traveled there. To end the virtual mode, press the Menu key, then “Resume. Call Calls the POI phone number, if available. Traveling with Nearby Explorer Once you access a Favorite or a search result, you are given the option to get directions as discussed above.

Transit Nearby Explorer offers public transportation schedules for many large metropolitan areas. Janet Ingber. Assembling the Giraffe Reader I was able to assemble the unit quickly and without sighted assistance. Take the Giraffe Reader out of the envelope.

It is folded approximately in thirds. Unfold one end and then the other so that the unit is completely flat. At no time is any force needed whatsoever. Turn it over. Find the notches on the left and right sides. Move your fingers around until you feel a single round sticker on the left side near the notches and two stickers on your right side near the notches. Put your thumbs on the stickers and your fingers behind the unit. Lift up so the stickers are brought towards each other.

You might want to begin with the side with one sticker, but you can then immediately start with the other side. Again, almost no force is required to do this. As the sides meet, you will hear the magnets click into place. Just move your hands around the unit to make sure all the magnets have connected. It should feel like one flat rectangle on the bottom and a long neck with a cradle to hold the iPhone on the top. Scanning a Document Once the Giraffe Reader is assembled, place it on a flat surface such as a desk or table, and make sure there is sufficient light.

As stated in the iTunes Store: Prizmo is made for everyone, and is thus fully compatible with VoiceOver. Prizmo Settings The Settings menu is accessible and very basic.

Comparisons For the first part of this evaluation, I scanned a letter, a page from a contract, and a three-column magazine article using Prizmo without a stand, then using the Giraffe Reader, and finally using the StandScan Pro. Getting Started Using JAWS The bundle offers a brief introduction of the training providers, complete with phone and e-mail contact information for each, and then continues with a quick overview of what JAWS is and how it works.

Introducing Windows There are some significant differences between the feature sets of Windows 7 and Windows 8. Browsing the Web These days a sizeable portion of computer time is spent browsing the web. Below are two examples. From the Reading Commands and Editing progress exam: Which key, when held down in combination with other reading commands, allows you to select text? I will demonstrate by listing just a few of the advance topics covered: Word: Inserting images and running text around them; creating a sample American Psychological Association APA style manuscript.

Excel: Creating charts; protecting workbooks and adding input fields. PowerPoint: Adding sound to presentations; editing slide masters. Outlook: Editing the Quick Access Toolbar; working with categories and flags. What Did I Learn? Conclusions With an aging population, the number of individuals who would benefit from accessible computing is increasing every year. Color: The new iPhones are available in silver, gold, and space gray. Memory: The 32GB option is gone. Size: the iPhone 6 Plus is noticeably larger than the standard 6.

If you are a low vision user, you will almost surely appreciate the extra screen real estate. The optical image stabilization available exclusively on the 6 Plus camera may also help you become a better photographer.

In the future it may enhance your ability to use a scanning app like the new KNFB Reader, but to my knowledge neither this nor any other scanning apps have been optimized to take advantage of this feature yet.

Reachability If you’re like me, you often grip your iPhone and manipulate the screen with one hand, checking e-mail, composing texts, etc. Other Accessibility Improvements and New Features Let’s take a brief look at some of the other new and improved accessibility features, which are available for all iOS users. Improvements to Maps Apple has made some much-needed updates to Maps using accessibility. Zoom The iOS built-in screen magnifier can now enlarge the screen up to 15 times.

Grayscale You can now set your iPhone screen to display in shades of gray instead of colors, and invert the shades, which may improve readability for many. Speak Screen Previous versions of iOS allowed you to have highlighted text read aloud. Braille Keyboard With iOS 8 you can add a brand new option to your rotor settings: a built-in onscreen braille keyboard. Direct Touch Typing If you are a very fast and accurate touch screen typist, you may appreciate Direct Touch typing.

Audio Ducking You’ve probably noticed that if you are playing music or a video and VoiceOver has something to say, your media’s volume will lower slightly until VoiceOver has finished speaking. You can also add Audio Ducking to your rotor to toggle this setting on the fly. Third-Party Keyboards Apple is finally allowing users to install third-party keyboards, a feature Android has had from the beginning.

HealthKit iOS 8 includes a new app called Health. HomeKit The iOS HomeKit is not an app, it’s a framework that will enable home automation devices to work and play together better. Apple Pay Apple just may be in the process of revolutionizing the way we spend our money—and I mean besides shelling it all out for new Apple devices. I think Apple has an excellent chance for success, however, and I offer these three reasons: Apple already has the largest database of credit and debit card information anywhere thanks to iTunes and the Mac and iOS App Stores.

Apple’s payment model is inherently more secure, since the merchant only receives a one-time-use number. No one but you has access to your card information. Apple has timed their payment introduction well. The US is about to move to “Chip and PIN” credit and debit card technology, which means millions of merchants are going to have to upgrade their payment processing systems anyway. The cost of adding Apple Pay compatibility is practically nil. My Experience so Far I already own an iPad Mini, and the larger 6 Plus seemed a bit much to carry around in my pocket, especially since I do not use Zoom and so would gain little from the expanded screen size.

I also installed iOS 8 on my trusty but now antiquated iPhone 5. Loss of focus: When swiping to a control or edit box, focus does not always move appropriately. If it’s not on your current screen, VoiceOver cannot find it.

When I tried purchasing a new iPhone case from Amazon, for example, I could not swipe to the “Complete Purchase” control. I had to three-finger swipe-up to move to the second screen, then explore by touch until I located the control, at which time a double-tap activated it.

Shifting focus: Often I will tap on my e-mail icon, which is on my Dock, and after my single-tap to highlight the icon and just before my double-tap to start the app, VO will announce the name of a different app on my home screen, causing me to inadvertently open the wrong app. Loss of control: There are certain edit boxes that refuse to allow me to enter characters until I have stopped and restarted VoiceOver. From time to time I am also unable to open a particular contact to compose and send a text message until I have restarted my iPhone.

Unwanted screen refreshes: The iOS screen tends to refresh automatically and for no apparent reason. A Netflix video is often interrupted by a “Content refreshing” message, and midway through reading a long Seeking Alpha article the screen will auto-refresh and I will be tossed back to the very beginning.

Notifications not voicing: Notifications are often cut off mid-syllable, or not spoken at all. Joe Strechay. New Utilization Goals and Accessibility Assessment Tools Section of the Rehabilitation Act has been revised to include some utilization goals to encourage federal contractors and subcontractors to employ people with disabilities.

Technology and the Employment Process: Benefits and Challenges The employment process includes training, researching, applying, interviewing, getting hired, starting a job, and maintaining employment. Hadley School for the Blind The Hadley School for the Blind offers online and correspondence courses for people with vision loss in subjects related to blindness skills, business writing, employment, and more.

Accessing Federal Jobs Federal agencies have two job application methods available for people with disabilities: competitive and noncompetitive placements.

GettingHired GettingHired, LLC offers training courses, opportunities to connect with employers, career personality assessments, and other employment resources for people with disabilities. Career Centers Career centers help people perform research to support professional goals. Vocational Rehabilitation Agencies Vocational rehabilitation helps people with disabilities prepare for entry or re-entry into the workforce. Stephen-Bradford Search Stephen-Bradford Search is an executive consultant search firm that aims to connect the right person with the right job.

Bender Consulting Services Bender Consulting Services is a highly successful recruitment firm that specializes in meeting employer needs through the hiring of qualified people with disabilities in technology, science, government, and other employment sectors. Eyes on Success The Eyes on Success audio show is an excellent resource to find interviews with successful people who are blind or visually impaired and get employment tips. NFB Where the Blind Work The National Federation of the Blind has a resource that allows persons who are blind or visually impaired to post information about their work.

Project Aspiro Project Aspiro , a website developed by the World Blind Union, focuses on addressing employment issues specific to needs in Canada and abroad. So, if you as a CISO can help them obtain a clean bill of health or fix previous audit findings, you help the business.

A useful tool to consult in terms of compliance is a concept from the Institute of Internal Auditors known as the three lines model or three lines of defense[viii]. This model has as a foundation six principles: Governance Governing body roles Management and first- and second-line roles Third line roles Third line independence, and Creating and protecting value The first line of defense is the business and process owners who maintain internal controls.

You can think of a software developer who should write secure software because there is an IT Control that says so. That developer is expected to run application security scans and vulnerability scans to find bugs in their code. They are also expected to fix these issues before releasing to production.

The second line of defense are elements of an organization that focus on risk management and compliance. Your cyber team is a perfect example of this. Cyber teams generally track and report vulnerability findings to the business units to ensure better compliance with IT controls.

Finally, the third line of defense is internal audit. Internal audit might assess an IT control on secure software development and say we have an issue. The developers push out bad code with vulnerabilities.

Cyber tells the developers to fix, yet we are observing trends that the total vulnerabilities are only increasing. This systemic risk is problematic, and we recommend management comply with the IT controls by making immediate fixes to this risky situation. Now, other than the observation that the ultimate line of defense internal auditors is defined by the Institute of Internal Auditors no conflict of interest there , note that internal auditors can report directly to the board. Developers and CISOs typically cannot.

One of the most powerful weapons in an auditor’s toolbox is the “finding. So, if you’ve been unsuccessful in getting funding for what you consider a critical security asset, maybe, just maybe, you casually point that out to the auditors so that it ends up in a finding.

After all, findings get funded. Don’t get caught, though, or you’ll have some explaining to do to your boss who previously turned you down. Management cares a lot about Continuity. So, among your goals as a cyber executive is to ensure the continuity of revenue-generation services.

To start, you must identify what those activities are and find ways to protect the services by reducing the likelihood of vulnerabilities found in those systems. You also need to ensure regular backup activities are occurring, disaster recovery exercises are performed, Business Continuity Plans are tested, and tabletops are executed. Each of these activities has the potential to identify gaps which cause harm to the continuity that executives care about. How do you identify revenue-generating elements of the business?

But do your homework first. If you’re a publicly traded company, the annual report will often break out lines of business showing profit and loss for each.

Even if it’s losing money today, it still may be vital to the organization. Think, ahem, about your department — you’re probably not making a profit for the company in the security suite, but your services are definitely important.

Look at the IT systems that support each line of business and assess their criticality to the success of that business component. In today’s digitized workplace, the answer will almost always be “yes,” but since you don’t have unlimited resources, you need to rack and stack what has to be protected first. A Business Impact Analysis, or BIA, involves meeting with key executives throughout the organization, assessing the importance and value of IT-supported business processes, ranking them in the order in which they need to be assured, and then acting on that knowledge.

So, expect to learn more about that in a future episode. Do what I call “core sampling” — get with your team and dig way down until you reach some individual file from a particular date or can observe all logs collected for some arbitrary 5-minute period. It’s not that that information is critical in and of itself, but your team’s ability to get to that information quickly and accurately should increase your confidence that they could do the same thing when a true outage occurs.

Lastly, tabletop exercises are a great way to ensure that your team as well as others from around the organization, up to and including senior leadership know what to do when certain circumstances occur. The advantage of tabletops is that they don’t require much time and effort from the participants to go through emergency response procedures.

The disadvantage of tabletops is that you risk groupthink when everyone thinks someone else took care of that “assumed” item. Companies have been caught flat-footed when the emergency diesel generator doesn’t kick in because no one in the tabletop tests ever thought to check it for fuel, and the tank was empty.

Things change, and there’s nothing like a full-scale test where people have to physically go to or do the things they would in a true emergency. That’s a reason why kids in school don’t discuss what to do in a fire drill, they actually do what needs to be done — get out of the building. Be careful here you don’t have a paper tiger for a continuity plan — it’s too late when things start to come apart to realize you hadn’t truly done your homework.

Those are the three Cs for executives — controls, compliance, and continuity. Now let’s move on to developers. If you remember, the three Cs for developers are coverage, complexity, and competency. Developers need to care about Coverage. When we talk about coverage, we want to ensure that we know everything that is in our environment. That includes having a complete and up-to-date asset inventory, knowing our processes are free from security oversight, as well as ensuring that our security controls are deployed across all of our potential attack surfaces.

Specifically, our technical team members are the only ones who can generally tell if the IT asset inventory is correct. They are the ones who run the tools, update the agents assuming we’re not agentless , and push the reporting.

If the scanning tools we use are missing hardware or software, then those gaps represent potential landing zones for enemy forces. Essentially, if you don’t know what you have, how can you secure it? Knowing our processes is key. Agile is often an important part of what we do, and that continuous feedback loop between developer and customer helps to ensure that we cover requirements correctly while being careful to avoid scope creep.

Throughout our development cycle, there are numerous places where security belongs — the art we call DevSecOps. By putting all of our security processes into version control — essentially automating the work and moving away from paper-based processes, we create a toolchain that automates our security functionality from pre-commit to commit to acceptance to production to operations.

Doing this right ensures that security in our development environment is covered. Beyond just the development pipeline, we need to cover our production environment.

Now that we’ve identified all hardware and software and secured our development pipeline, we need to ensure that our security tools are deployed effectively throughout the enterprise to provide protective coverage.

We may know how many servers we have, but if we don’t scan continuously to ensure that the defenses are running and up to date, we are effectively outsourcing that work to bad actors, who fundamentally charge higher billing rates than developers when they take down critical systems via ransomware.

In his book Data and Goliath, Bruce Schnier wrote, “Complexity is the worst enemy of security, and our systems are getting more complex all the time. It becomes a bigger deal when the team only understands how to apply of those settings. Essentially, your company is left with fifty opportunities for misconfiguration to be abused by bad actors. Therefore, when possible, focus your understanding on how to minimize complexity.

For example, instead of running your own containers on premises with Kubernetes, try using Amazon Elastic Container Services. In addition, using cloud-based services give us a lot of capabilities — elastic scaling, load balancers, multiple regions and availability zones, and even resistance to DDoS attacks.

Consider using AWS lambda where all of that is already handled as a service for our company. Remember that complexity makes security more difficult and generally increases the costs of maintenance. So only increase complexity when the business benefit exceeds the costs. From a business connectivity perspective, consider the complexity of relationships. Many years ago, data centers were self-contained with green screens or punched card readers if you go back far enough as input and fan-fold line printer generated paper as output.

Essentially, the only connection that mattered was reliable electrical power. Today, we have to be aware of what’s going on in our industry, our customers, our suppliers, consumers, service providers, and if we have them, joint ventures or partners. I would add to that awareness, complexity in our workforce. Most work-from-home arrangements lost the benefit of the protection of the enterprise security bubble, with firewalls, scanners, and closely-manage endpoints.

Just issuing a VPN credential to a developer working from home doesn’t do much when junior sits down at mom’s computer to play some online game and downloads who-knows-what. Consider standardizing your endpoints for manageability — remove the complexity.

When I was in the Navy, we had exactly two endpoint configurations from which to choose, even though the Navy-Marine Corps Intranet, or NMCI, was the largest intranet in the world at the time. Although frustrating when you have to explain to the admiral why his staff can’t get fancier computers, the offsetting benefit is that when an emergency patch has to get pushed, you know it’s going to “take” everywhere. Number six is Competency — another crucial skill for developers.

So how do most other industries show competencies? They use a licensure and certification process. Nearly all of us have been through the process — get a manual when you get a learner’s permit, go to a driving school to learn the basics, practice with your terrified parents, and after you reach the minimum age, try not to terrify the DMV employee in the passenger seat.

Now ask yourself, is developing and deploying apps riskier than driving a car? Before your new developer sits for the exam you also need to provide the training that identifies the Rules of the Road.

For example, ask: When a new application is purchased, what processes should be followed? When are third party vendor assessments needed? How does one document applications into asset inventory systems and Configuration Management Databases? So, to summarize so far, for executives we have controls, compliance, and continuity, and for developers we have coverage, complexity, and competency. It’s now time to move to the last three for our security operations center: clarity, context, and community.

The seventh C is Communication. What body language are you seeing? Are they bored and not facing you, are they engaged and leaning in and paying close attention, or are they closed off with arms crossed? We’ve probably all heard the term “active listening. You’d be amazed how few people are needed to play the game of “telegraph” and distort a message to the point it is no longer recognizable.

If you don’t do so, how do you know when you might be overwhelming them with information that goes right over their heads. There’s always the danger that someone will not want to look stupid and will just nod along like a bobblehead pretending to understand something about which they have absolutely no clue. Richard Feynman had said, “If you can’t explain it to a six-year-old, you don’t understand it yourself. And sometimes your manager. And sometimes your co-worker.

Ask for feedback; make sure the message is understood. Did you have an ear at the water cooler to understand when people say yes but really mean no? Unless you are in the military, you can’t issue lawful orders to your subordinates and demand that they carry them out. You have to structure your communication in such a way that expectations are made clear, but also have to allow for some push-back, depending on the maturity of the relationship you’ve developed with your team.

We use iPhones exclusively as corporate-issued handsets, so I sent a single sentence message to my senior IT team member: “Please prepare and send an email to all who have an iPhone with steps on how to update the OS soonest. Thank you. The next day I get a response, “People are slowly updating to I remember a British officer who had visited the Pentagon years ago who commented, “PowerPoint is the language of the US military.

Ask yourself, are pictures part of your language? Convenience is our eighth C that we are going to talk about. How do we make something convenient?

We do it by automating the routine and removing the time wasters. Convenience can come in a lot of ways. Have we created helpful playbooks that identify a process to follow? Have we created simple processes that work via forms versus emails? One thing you might consider as a way to improve convenience are Chatbots. What if someone could ask a Chatbot a Frequently Asked Question and get a quick, automated, and accurate response?

That convenience helps people, and it saves the SOC time. If you go that route, as new questions get asked, do you have a way to rank them by frequency and add them as new logic to the chatbot? If you do, your chatbot gets more useful and provides even greater convenience to the workforce. How great would it be to hear your colleagues saying it was so convenient to report an incident and see that it was handled in such a timely manner.

Find ways to build that experience and you will become the partner the business wants. Last, but not least, is the 9th C of Consistency. Want to know how to create an audit finding? Try not being consistent.

Auditors hate that and love to point out inconsistencies in systems. Auditors look at the Consistency of controls by performing tests to determine if the control is working the same way over time across the organization.

Auditors also look for Adequacy to determine if you have satisfactory controls in line with business needs. Auditors ensure that your practices are Reasonable by identifying if there exist appropriate, fair, and moderate controls. Finally, auditors look at Effectiveness to ensure the controls are producing the desired or intended outcomes.

Okay, let’s review. Our nine Cs are for executives, developers, and SOC teams. Executives should master controls, compliance, and continuity; developers should master coverage, complexity, and competency; and SOC teams should focus on clarity, communications, and consistency. If you paid careful attention, I think you would find lessons for security leaders in all nine boxes across the model. Essentially, don’t conclude because boxes four through nine are not for executives that you don’t need to master them — all of this is important to being successful in your security leadership career.

And for International Talk Like a Pirate Day, I do have a rrr-request: if you like our show, please take a few seconds to rate us five stars on your favorite podcast provider. It’s a great way to say thank you for the time and effort we put into our show, and I thank you in advance. Accounting Information Systems. Special Thanks to our podcast Sponsor, Varonis.

Please check out Varonis’s Webpage to learn more about their custom data security solutions and ransomware protection software. He also discusses the most important security questions we need to understand: What is Data Security and how does it fit into Data Protection? How do we know if our data is exposed? How do we reduce the risk of data exposure without harming the business? Enjoy the show and please share it with others. Hello, and welcome to another episode of CISO Tradecraft, the podcast that provides you with the information, knowledge, and wisdom to be a more effective cybersecurity leader.

Mark Hardy, and today we’re going to try to balance the impossible equation of better, faster, and cheaper. As always, please follow us on LinkedIn, and subscribe if you have not already done so. Shigeo Shingo, who lived from , helped to improve efficiency at Toyota by teaching thousands of engineers the Toyota Production System, and even influenced the creation of Kaizen.

He wrote, “There are four purposes for improvement: easier, better, faster, cheaper. These four goals appear in order of priority. You have to start thinking and operating like a digital company. But after reflection it makes a ton of sense. How much would that hurt the business?

How might that impact future sales? What if your core financial systems had database integrity issues? Any of these examples would greatly impact most businesses. So, getting high-quality software applications that enable the business is a huge win. If every company is a software or digital company, then the CISO has a rare opportunity. That is, we can create one of the largest competitive advantages for our businesses.

What if we could create an organization that builds software cheaper, faster, and better than all of our competitors? Sounds good right? Now if you like the sound of better, faster, cheaper, as most executives do, you might be thinking, where can I buy that? Let’s start at the back and work our way forward. We can make our software development costs cheaper by increasing productivity from developers.

We can make our software development practices faster by increasing convenience and reducing waste. We can make our software better by increasing security. To increase productivity, we need to under stand the Resistance Pyramid.

If you know how to change people and the culture within an organization, then you can significantly increase your productivity. However, people and culture are difficult to change, and different people require different management approaches. At the bottom of the pyramid are people who are unknowing. You can think of the interns in your company. They just got to your company, but don’t understand what practices and processes to follow.

If you want to change the interns, then you need to communicate what is best practice and what is expected from their performance. Utilize an inquiry approach to decrease fear of not knowing, for example, “do you know to whom I should speak about such-and-such?

The middle part of the pyramid is people who believe they are unable to adapt to change. Here, communications are important, but also skills training. Compare your team members here to an unskilled labor force — they’re willing to work but need an education to move forward.

If you give them that, then the unskilled can become skilled. At the Top of the resistance pyramid are the people who are unwilling. If you want to change these individuals and the culture of an organization, then you need to create motivation. As leaders, our focus to stimulate change will be to focus on communicating, educating, and motivating. The first thing that we need to communicate is the Why. Why is Secure Software Development important?

The answer is money. There are a variety of studies that have found that when software vulnerabilities get detected in the early development processes, they are cheaper than later in the production phases. Think of that difference. Saving their own time is something that will directly appeal to every development team member. To do this we need to do something called Shift Left Testing. The term shift left refers to finding vulnerabilities earlier in development. To properly shift left we need to create two secure software development programs.

The first program needs to focus on is the processes that an organization needs to follow to build software the right way. This is something you have to build in house. For example, think about how you want software to create a network diagram that architects can look at in your organization.

Think about the proper way to register an application into a Configuration Management Database so that there is a POC who can answer questions when an application is down. Think about how a developer needs to get a DNS entry created for new websites. Think about how developers should retire servers at the end of life.

These practices are unique to your company. They may require a help desk ticket to make something happen or if you don’t have a ticketing system, an email. We need to document all of these into one place where they can be communicated to the staff members who will be following the processes. Then our employee has a checklist of activities they can follow. So, work with your architects and security gurus to document all of the required practices for Secure Software Development in your company.

You can place this knowledge into a Wikipedia article, a SharePoint site, a Confluence Page, or some kind of website. Make sure to communicate this frequently. Send it out in monthly newsletters. Refer to it in security discussions and architecture review boards. The second program that you should consider building is a secure code training platform. These secure code training solutions are usually bought by organizations instead of being created in-house. They teach developers how to write more secure code.

For example, “How do I write JavaScript code that validates user input, sanitizes database queries, and avoids risky program calls that could create vulnerabilities in an application? Make these types of training programs available to every developer in your company. Lastly, we need to find a way to motivate the curmudgeons.

This perk might get a lot of people interested in the platform. The second quarter your organization announces that during performance reviews anyone who passed the secure software training will be viewed more favorable than their peers.

Guess what? You will see more and more people taking the training class. Then the following year you say since so many developers are now certified, to achieve the rank of Senior Developer within the organization, it is now expected to pass this training. It becomes something HR folks look for during promotion panels. This gradual approach to move the ball in training can work and has been proven to increase the secure developer knowledgebase.

Here’s a pro tip: Be sure to create some kind of badges or digital certificates that employees can share. You might even hand out stickers upon completion that developers can proudly place on their laptops. Simple things like this can increase visibility. They can also motivate people you didn’t think would change.

Do you know what developers hate? Well, other than last-minute change requests. They hate inefficiencies. Imagine if you get a vulnerability that says you have a bug on line in your code. This false bug detection really, well, bugs developers. In reality, testing tools find both good code and bad code. This means valuable developer time is wasted and they will hate the tool despite its value.

Once again, this results in lost developer confidence in the tool. Optimize accordingly. Another developer inefficiency is the amount of tools developers need to leverage.

If ten systems require two minutes of logging in and setup each that’s twenty minutes of unproductive time. Multiply that time the number of developers in your organization and you can see just how much time is lost by your team just to get setup to perform security checks.

Let’s provide convenience and make development faster. We can do that by centralizing the security scanning results into one tool. This allows a developer to log into GitHub every day and see code scanning vulnerabilities, dependency vulnerabilities, and secret findings in one place.

This means that they are more likely to make those fixes since they actually see them. You can provide this type of view to developers by buying tools such as GitHub Advanced Security. You still might need to show container or cloud findings which are not in GitHub Advanced Security. Therefore, convenience improves. Now look at it from a longer perspective. If we get all of our developers integrating with these tools in one place, then we can look in our GitHub repositories to determine what vulnerabilities a new software release will introduce.

This could be reviewed at Change Approval Board. You could also fast track developer who are coding securely.

If a developer has zero findings observed in GitHub, then that code can be auto approved for the Change Approval. This process can be streamlined into DevSecOps pipelines that improve speed and convenience when folks can skip change approval meetings. Another key way we can make software faster is by performing value stream mapping exercises. Each of these fifteen steps take time and often require different handoffs between teams. These activities often mean that things sit in queues.

This can result in waste and inefficiencies. Have your team meet with the various stakeholders and identify two time durations. One is the best-case time for how long something should go through in an optimal process. The second is the average time it takes things to go through in the current process. At the end of it you might see that the optimal case is that it takes twenty days to complete the fifteen activities whereas the average case takes ninety days.

This insight can show you where you are inefficient. You can identify ways to speed up from ninety to twenty days. If you can do this faster, then developer time is gained. Making it convenient and less wasteful through value stream mapping exercises allows your teams to deploy faster, patch faster, and perform faster. OK last but not least is making software better by increasing security. At the end of the day, there are many software activities that we do which provide zero value to the business.

For example, patching operating systems on servers does not increase sales. What makes the sales team sell more products? The answer is more features on a website such as product recommendations, more analysis of the data to better target consumers, and more recommendations from the reporting to identify better widgets to sell.

No, we did not. We are saying patching operating systems is not a value-add exercise. Ask every development team to identify what ike patching. Systems that have a plethora of maintenance activities are wasteful and should be shortlisted for replacement. You know the ones: solutions still running via on-premises VMWare software, software needing monthly java patching, and software if the wind blows the wrong way you have an unknown error.

These systems are ripe for replacement. It can also be a compelling sell to executives. No, I didn’t get my math wrong — don’t forget that you’re still paying the old costs while developing the new system.

Now if you just did a lift and shift to AWS and ran the servers on EC-2 or ECS, then you still have to patch the instance operating systems, middle ware, and software — all of which is a non-value add. Don’t waste developer time on these expensive transition activities; you’re not going to come out ahead. This means you made the software more secure and gave the developers more time to write new software features which can impact the business profitability.

This serverless approach truly is better and more secure. Capital One uses this newfound developer time to innovate, create, and expand on business requirements. Let’s recap. World class CISOs create a world class software development organization.

They do this by focusing on cheaper, faster, and better software. To perform this function CISOs increase productivity from developers by creating documentation that teaches developers how to build software the right way as well as creating a training program that promotes secure coding practices. World Class CISOs increase the convenience to developers by bringing high-confidence vulnerability lists to developers which means time savings in not weeding out false positives.

Developers live in Source Code Repositories such as GitHub or GitLab, not the ten different software security tools that security organizations police. World Class CISOs remove waste by performing value stream exercises to lean out processes and make it easier for developers to be more efficient. Finally, World Class CISOs make software better by changing the legacy architecture with expensive maintenance activities to something that is a winnable game.

These CISOs partner with the business to focus on finding systems that when re-architected to become serverless increase performance gains, promote cost savings, and increase developer velocity.

If this sparks a new idea in your head. We would love to see how you are taking these cyber lessons into your organization to make better software for all of us. This is G. Mark Hardy, and until next time, stay safe out there.

How do you become a Cyber Security Expert? Hello and welcome to another episode of CISO Tradecraft, the podcast that provides you with the information, knowledge, and wisdom to be a more effective cybersecurity leader.

Mark Hardy, and today we’re going to talk about how to provide advice and mentoring to help people understand how to become a cybersecurity expert. As always, please follow us on LinkedIn, and subscribe to our podcasts. As a security leader, part of your role is to develop your people. That may not be written anywhere in your job description and will probably never be on a formal interview or evaluation, but after years of being entrusted with leadership positions, I have learned what differentiates true leaders from those who just accomplish a great deal is the making of the effort to develop your people.

Now, you may have heard the phrase, “take care of your people,” but I’ll take issue with that. I take care of my dog. I take care of a family member who is sick, injured, or incapacitated. Because they are not capable of performing all of life’s requirements on their own. For the most part, your people can do this. If you are constantly doing things for people who could have otherwise done it themselves, you run the risk of creating learned helplessness syndrome.

People, and even animals, can become conditioned to not do what they otherwise could do out of a belief that someone else will do it for them. I am NOT going to get political here, so don’t worry about that. Rather, I want to point out that effective leaders develop their people so that they may become independent actors and eventually become effective leaders themselves.

In my opinion, you should measure your success by the promotion rate of the people entrusted to you, not by your own personal career advancement or financial success. That brings me to the subject of today’s podcast — how do you counsel and mentor others on how to become a cyber security expert? If you are listening to this podcast, there’s a very good chance that you already are an expert in our field, but if not, keep listening and imagine that you are mentoring yourself, because these lessons can apply to you without having seek out a mentor.

Some people figure it out, and when asked their secret, they’re like Bill Murray in the movie Stripes, “We trained ourselves, sir! Don’t tune out early because you feel you’ve already accomplished this. Keep listening so you can get a sense of what more you could be doing for your direct reports and any proteges you may have.

Imagine being a high school kid with absolutely zero work experience other than maybe a paper route — do kids still do that? You see someone that tells you they have a cool job where they get paid to ethically hack into computers. Later on, you meet a second person that says they make really good money stopping bad actors from breaking into banks.

Somehow these ideas stick into your brain, and you start to say to yourself, you know both of those jobs sound pretty cool. You begin to see yourself having a career in Cyber Security. You definitely prefer it to jobs that require a lot of manual labor and start at a low pay. So, you start thinking, “how I can gain the skills necessary to land a dream job in cyber security that also pays well? Number 1: Getting an education. When most people think about getting an education after high school, they usually talk about getting an associate’s or a bachelor’s degree.

An associate degree is a great start for many, particularly if you don’t have the money to pay for a four-year university degree right out of high school. Tuition and debt can rack up pretty quickly, leaving some students deeply in debt, and for some, that huge bill is a non-starter.

Fortunately, community colleges offer quality educational opportunities at very competitive rates relative to four-year degree institutions. Now, that’s a HUGE difference — over 16 times if you do the math. Now, Hopkins does have some wonderful facilities and excellent faculty, but when it comes to first- and second-year undergraduate studies, is the quality and content of the education THAT different? Well, that’s up to you to decide. The important take-away is, no one should decide NOT to pursue a cybersecurity education because of lack of money.

You can get started at any age on an associate degree, and that may give you enough to go on to get your first job. However, if you want to continue on to bachelor’s degree, don’t give up. Later I’ll explain about a program that has been around since and has provided over 3, students with scholarships AND job placement after graduation.

Back to those going directly for a bachelor’s degree. Now, the good news is that your chosen profession is likely to pay quite well, so not only are you likely to be able to pay off the investment you make in your education, but it will return dividends many times that which you paid, for the rest of your career. Think of financing a degree like financing a house. In exchange for your monthly mortgage payment, you get to enjoy a roof over your head and anything else you do with your home.

As a cybersecurity professional, in exchange for your monthly student loan payment, you get to earn well-above average incomes relative to your non-security peers, and hopefully enjoy a rewarding career. And, like the right house, the value of your career should increase over time making your investment in your own education one of your best performing assets.

No, it does not. Plus, a U. Census Bureau study showed that folks who have a bachelor’s degree make half a million dollars more over a career than those with an associate degree, and 1.

So, if you want more career opportunities and want to monetize your future, get past that HR checkbox that looks for a 4-year degree. Now, some people usually those who don’t want to do academic work will say that a formal education isn’t necessary for success.

After all, Bill Gates and Mark Zuckerberg were college dropouts, and they’re both worth billions. True, but that’s a false argument that there’s a cause-and-effect relationship there. Both were undergraduates at Harvard University when they developed their business ideas. So, if someone wants to assert a degree isn’t necessary, counter with you’ll agree once they are accepted into Harvard, and they produce a viable business plan as a teenager while attending classes.

You see, completing four years of education in a field of study proves a few things. I’ve interviewed candidates that said they took all of the computer science and cybersecurity courses they wanted and didn’t feel a need to “waste time” with fuzzy studies such as history and English composition.

Okay, I’ll accept that that person had a more focused education. But consider the precedent here. When a course looked uninteresting or difficult, that candidate just passed on the opportunity. In the world of jobs and careers, there are going to be tasks that are uninteresting or difficult, and no one wants to do them, but they have to get done.

As a boss, do you want someone who has shown the pe d completed it with an A or maybe even a B , or do you want someone who passed when the going got a little rough? The business world isn’t academia where you’re free to pick and choose whether to complete requirements. Stuff has to get done, and someone who has a modified form of learned helplessness will most likely not follow through when that boring task comes due.

Remember I said I was going to tell you how to deal with the unfortunate situation where a prospective student doesn’t have enough money to pay for college?

There are a couple of ways to meet that challenge. That uncle is Uncle Sam. Uncle Sam can easily finance your college so you can earn your degrees in Cyber Security. However, Uncle Sam will want you to work for the government in return for paying for your education. ROTC is an officer accession program offered at more than 1, colleges and universities across the United States to prepare young adults to become officers in the U.

The Navy uses designators rather than MOS’s to delineate career patterns. These designators have changed significantly over the last dozen years and may continue to evolve. There are a lot of details that pertain to ROTC, and if you’re serious about entering upon a military officer career, it’s well worth the time and effort to do your research.

Not all ROTC students receive a scholarship; some receive military instruction throughout their four years and are offered a commission upon graduation. Three- and four-year scholarship students incur a military obligation at the beginning of sophomore year, two-year scholarship students at the beginning of junior year, and one-year scholarship students at the start of senior year. The military obligation today is eight years, usually the first four of which are on active duty; the rest may be completed in the reserves.

If you flunk out of school, you are rewarded with an enlistment rather than a commission. These numbers were different when I was in ROTC, and they may have changed since this podcast was recorded, so make sure you get the latest information to make an informed decision.

What if you want to serve your country but you’re not inclined to serve in the military, or have some medical condition that may keep you from vigorous physical activity, or had engaged in recreational chemical use or other youthful indiscretions that may have disqualified you from further ROTC consideration? There is another program worth investigating. SFS is a government scholarship that will pay up to 3 years of costs for undergraduate and even graduate MS or PhD educational degree programs.

It’s understood that government agencies do not have the flexibility to match private sector salaries in cyber security. However, by offering scholarships up front, qualified professionals may choose to stay in government service; hence SFS continues as a sourcing engine for Federal employees. That job fair is an interesting affair. I was honored to be the keynote speaker at the SFS job fair back in I saw entities and agencies of the Federal government that I didn’t even know existed, but they all had a cybersecurity requirement, and they all were actively hiring.

SFS students qualify for “excepted service” appointments, which means they can be hired through an expedited process. These have been virtual the last couple of years due to COVID but expect in-person events to resume in the future. I wrote a recommendation for a young lady whom I’ve known since she was born her mom is a childhood friend of mine , and as an electrical engineering student in her sophomore year, she was selected for a two-year SFS scholarship.

A good way to make mom and dad happy knowing they’re not going to be working until 80 to pay off their kid’s education bills. In exchange for a two-year scholarship, SFS will usually require a student to complete a summer internship between the first and second years of school and then work two years in a government agency after graduation. The biggest benefit to the Scholarship for Service is you can work at a variety of places.

These three-letter agencies heavily recruit from these programs. As I mentioned, there are a lot of other agencies as well. Federal executive agencies, Congress, interstate agencies, and even state, local, or tribal governments can satisfy the service requirement.

So, you can get paid to go to college and have a rewarding job in the government that builds a nice background for your career.

How would you put all this together? I spent nine years as an advisor to the National CyberWatch Center. In , we received a National Science Foundation award and grants that allowed the program to go nationwide. Today, over colleges and universities are in the program. So why the history lesson? That is HUGE. Parents, are you listening carefully? Is there anything else that you can do while performing a summer internship? That brings us to our second building block.

Getting certifications. Number Two: Getting a Certification Earning certifications are another key step to demonstrate that you have technical skills in cyber security. Usually, technology changes rapidly. Additionally, most colleges teach only the free version of software. We usually recommend entry level certifications from CompTIA as a great starting point. CompTIA has some good certifications that can teach you the basics in technology. If you want a certification such as these from CompTIA, we recommend going to a bookstore such as Amazon, buying the official study guidebook, and setting a goal to read every day.

Once you have read the official study guide go and buy a set of practice exam questions from a site like Whiz Labs or Udemy. For that small investment, you can gain the knowledge base to pass a certification. You just need to pay for the exam and meet eligibility requirements. Now after you get a good grasp of important technologies such as Servers, Networks, and Operating Systems, we recommend adding several types of certifications to your resume.

The first is a certification in the Cloud. Note you can find solution architect certifications from Azure and GCP, but AWS is the most popular cloud provider, so we recommend starting there.

Learning how the cloud works is extremely important. Chances are you will be asked to defend it and you need to understand what an EC-2 server is, types of storage to make backups, and how to provide proper access control.

So, spend the time and get certified. One course author who provides a great course is Adrian Cantrill. Once again go through a course like this and supplement with practice exam questions before going for the official certification.

The last type of certifications we will mention is an entry cyber security certification. You need to be able to understand the difference between Access Control, Authentication, and Authorization if you are to consult with a developer on what is needed before allowing access to a site. These types of certifications will help you to speak fluently as a cyber professional. That means you get more job offers, better opportunities, and interesting work.

What’s next? At this point in time, you are eligible for most entry level jobs. If you are looking for jobs in cyber security, there are two places we recommend. The first is LinkedIn. Build out an interesting profile and look professional. Then apply, apply, apply. It will take a while to find the role you want. Also post that you are looking for opportunities and need help finding your first role. You will be surprised at how helpful the cyber community is. Here’s a pro tip: add some hashtags with your post to increase its visibility.

Another interesting place to consider is your local government. The government spends a lot of time investing in their employees. So go there, work a few years, and gain valuable experience. You can start by going to your local government webpage such as USAJobs. Gov and search for the Career Codes that map to cyber security.

If you find that you get one of these government jobs, be sure to look into college repayment programs. Most government jobs will help you pay off student loans, finance master’s degrees in Cyber Security, or pay for your certifications. Once you get into an organization and begin working your first job out of college, you then generally get one big opportunity to set the direction of your career. What type of cyber professional do you want to be?

Usually, we see most Cyber Careerists fall into one of three basic paths. Offensive Security Defensive Security Security Auditing The reason these three are the most common is they have the largest amount of job opportunities. Although we do recommend cross training. Note we have a link to it in our show notes. Usually if you choose this career, you will spend time learning offensive tools like Nmap, Kali Linux, Metasploit, Burp Suite, and others.

You need to know how technology works, common flaws such as the OWASP Top Ten web application security risks, and how to find those vulnerabilities in technology. Once you do, there’s a lot of interesting work awaiting. Note if these roles interest you then try to obtain the Offensive Security Certified Professional OSCP certification to gain relevant skill sets that you can use at work. Defensive Security is for the protectors. They look for anomalies, intrusions, and signals across the whole IT network.

If something is wrong, they need to find it and identify how to fix it. Similar to Offensive Security professionals they need to understand technology, but they differ in the types of tools they need to look at. You can find a defender looking at logs. Defenders will become an expert in one of these tools that needs to be constantly monitored. Security Auditing is a third common discipline. Usually reporting to the Governance, Risk, and Compliance organization, this role is usually the least technical.

You will spend a lot of time learning the standards, policies, and best practices of an industry. You will perform risk assessments and third-party reviews to understand how we certify as an industry. If you want to really become an expert, we recommend you focus on… Number Four: Building your personal brand. Essentially find a way to give back to the industry by blogging, writing open-source software, creating a podcast, building cybersecurity tutorials, creating YouTube videos, or presenting a lecture topic to your local OWASP chapter on cyber security.

Every time you do you will get smarter on a subject. Imagine spending three hours a week reading books in cyber security. If you did that for ten years, think of how many books you could read and how much smarter you would become. Now as you share that knowledge with others two things happen: People begin to recognize you as an industry expert.

You will get invited to opportunities to connect with other smart people which allows you to become even smarter. If you spend your time listening to smart people and reading their works, it rubs off.

You will absorb knowledge from them that will spark new ideas and increase your understanding The second thing is when you present your ideas to others you often get feedback.

Sometimes you learn that you are actually misunderstanding something. Other times you get different viewpoints. This feedback also helps you become smarter as you understand more angles of approaching a problem. Trust us, the greatest minds in cyber spend a lot of time researching, learning, and teaching others.

They all know G Mark’s law, which I wrote nearly twenty years ago: “Half of what you know about security will be obsolete in eighteen months. If you want to become an expert in something, then you should do four things. All of these make you smarter and will help you become a cyber expert. We wish you the best on your journey as you Learn to Earn.