Experiencing a Day as a Cyber Threat Analyst
Hey there! We’ve been chatting with different folks from the local scene in various roles, and recently, we had a fun sit-down with Haley. She’s a Cyber Threat Analyst, and we wanted to know all about her journey, her highs and lows, and some cool moments.
Haley shed light on her path to her present role. After wrapping up her undergraduate studies in International Relations and diving deep into Middle East Studies, she joined the team in 2014. As a first-gen Palestinian American, she had a burning passion for Arab Studies. This led her to working with a Middle East-focused online journal, damn near sweating over daily news articles, and analyzing the unfolding events during the Arab Spring. She even had an adventurous stint as a research assistant at a US Embassy in Europe.
When we asked Haley why she chose her job, she told us it was because of her wide and diverse international experience. Growing up in Yemen and Mauritania, and short stints in countries like Lebanon, Morocco, and Germany had given her a unique perspective. She remembered with nostalgia her time in an international school, where she rubbed shoulders with students from across the world. She felt she could use her diverse experiences to support US policymakers with key intelligence that help them navigate the thorny foreign relations issues.
A typical day at work for Haley involves monitoring global cyber threat trends that could affect US systems. This includes brushing through cybersecurity articles, zeroing in on new trends, collating all relevant reporting, and drafting her analysis which eventually guides the US policymakers on why a trend matters to national security.
She confessed the most fulfilling part of her role is the mission itself. There’s nothing quite like the satisfaction of drafting an analysis that saves the day, especially when the policymakers can act on it. She shared an instance where she predicted a system vulnerability which came true six months later, and how such opportunities were the ideal scenario, however unpredictable.
But it’s not a bed of roses. Haley was transparent about the uphill task when it came to promoting diversity and inclusion (D&I). She stressed how the diverse experiences, mindsets, and backgrounds within the workforce directly impacted US policy abroad. As an Arab American herself, she knew there was more work to be done in hiring and retaining a multicultural workforce. But she was quick to share her appreciation for her management, who’ve given her the freedom to initiate discussions on diversity and inclusion.
Something that took her by surprise was the agency’s flexibility in terms of work-life balance and career progression. Haley had switched roles from operations to cyber threat analysis and found the move not just seamless, but enriching. She also emphasized how supportive the agency had been through her personal life changes.
Ending our chat on an encouraging note, Haley offered a word of advice to anyone looking to work in her field. She pointed out how staying ahead of the curve in cyberspace and countering our adversaries’ increasingly sophisticated tools and techniques required a team with a mix of technical expertise and other skills like regional analysis. So if you think you’ve got game when it comes to cybersecurity and are thinking about making a splash in the field – don’t hesitate! This is your chance to contribute to the nation’s security.
by Morgan Phisher | HEAL Security