Dr. Mini Zeng鈥檚 cybersecurity students were treated to a special guest lecturer this semester, one with years of extensive cybersecurity experience in hacking, reverse engineering and securing networks.
Students in Dr. Zeng鈥檚 Intrusion Detection course heard from Keason Drawdy, Senior Cyber Security Solutions Consultant with Emtec. Drawdy started out as a hacker, and now uses that knowledge to help various companies secure their networks from data breaches. He has more than 23 years of experience in information technology and cybersecurity, possessing first-hand knowledge of defeating secure networks, and all aspects of cloud storage and encryption.
鈥淜eason is a very knowledgeable cybersecurity expert working in the industry,鈥� Dr. Zeng said. 鈥淗e鈥檚 familiar with the techniques hackers tend to use, and gave our students great suggestions about their approaches in defending cyber systems.鈥�
So for Dr. Zeng鈥檚 students, the opportunity to hear from someone so deeply involved in the field was a rare, and valuable experience.
鈥淓xperts like Keason help our students understand the career path as a professional in cybersecurity and improve student career readiness,鈥� said Dr. Zeng. 鈥淭hese experiences motivate students and help them understand why they are learning topics such as system administration, firewall configuration, IDS, IPS, etc.鈥�
Drawdy emphasized to students the importance of practice when it comes to being a cyber security expert. Most of what he learned, he said he gained from playing with systems and experimenting on his own. Learning in class is crucial, but it鈥檚 even more important to continue studies outside of class.
Hacking can be difficult to practice in real life, but Drawdy suggested students set up their computers at home, and try to break down the firewalls on them. He showed the class how hackers can access a company鈥檚 system, and just how much information they can obtain in a short period of time, which can include employees鈥� personal information.
鈥淭he only way to become intimately familiar with these systems is to set up a lab at home,鈥� he said. 鈥淕et a couple of old computers, connect them and try to hack into each machine.鈥�
It鈥檚 a field where you always need to keep learning and improving processes, he said.
鈥淭here鈥檚 no such thing as resting on your laurels in cybersecurity,鈥� Drawdy said. 鈥淪omething I could deploy yesterday could already be compromised by the following day. You have to make sure your systems maintain their integrity.鈥�
