San Francisco CTO Says Tech Students Should Never Stop Learning
The RSA Conference is being held in San Francisco April 20-24, making it an opportune time for San Francisco tech students to learn more about the information security industry. One of the leading experts in the field recently sat down to talk about his outlook on the information security sector in the Bay Area along with insightful advice for students and others interested in pursuing a career in the field. Steve Grobman is the CTO of Intel Security Group at Intel Corporation.
What is your background and education?
"Having had a lifelong passion for software, I began at IBM working as a software programmer and developer while in school at North Carolina State University. Since then, I've been at Intel, focusing on security in a wide range of areas, including IT architecture, software and hardware product development, partner's security architecture, and, since Intel's acquisition of McAfee, McAfee's solutions architecture and product strategy."
What is your jobs outlook for information security jobs in the San Francisco Bay Area?
"In the world of computer science, there's probably no better job. You're protecting individuals from being harmed—whether protecting critical information systems, commerce enabling the worldwide economy, or individuals' information— and safeguarding the things that matter to humanity."
"The Bay Area has a wide diversity of organizations working to create the future through leading edge technologies. There are tremendous opportunities for information security professionals because these organizations need great people as well as great technologies to protect the value they are creating and delivering."
What career advice can you share to information security students?
"To succeed, you need to be willing to never stop learning and enjoy working under pressure. The security landscape changes so rapidly that you can't expect to rely upon what you learned in school for the duration of your career. And it's very much like being a cop in that it involves periods of lull, involving monitoring and preparation, and chaotic, high pressure periods of system triage and incident response. If you're creative, competitive, curious, steel-nerved, and want to do good, you'll fit in well here."
Randy Yagi is a freelance writer covering all things San Francisco. In 2012, he was awarded a Media Fellowship from Stanford University. His work can be found on Examiner.com Examiner.com.
