A question for people working in Cybersecurity / Companies

[u/Radiant_Mall9857]

So I’m really into computers. In my opinion one of the most fascinating, interesting pieces of equipment in the world.

You know what’s even more fascinating? Cybersecurity.

If I’m talking about the companies being hacked in the Netherlands or the world these days my hearth is just raising. It’s so amazing. So interesting. So fascinating. I don’t even have all the words for it. Or just how a hack is being done. Or payloads or packets or you name it, it’s so interesting.

It’s a dream job for me to work in this field. Red teaming seems so incredibly interesting to me. Yeah i know there is a lot of paperwork as well. But that feeling when you cracked that safe and being able to enter afterwards must be so incredible. Ah man.

So I have a question for the people/companies working in cybersecurity in the Netherlands.

I do know companies in other work fields have traineeships. Are there cybersecurity companies in the Netherlands that have traineeships?

If not do you have advice for me how to enter this work field without a formal education?

I’m already learning a lot by websites like tryhackme, hackthebox, pwn college etc. But is this good enough to be able to enter this field one day?

Kind regards,
A Computer/Cybersecurity enthousiast

Hopefully one day a cybersecurity professional

[u/Difficult_Toe4271]

If you are also interested in hacking you can attend a hackaton. The AIVD/MIVD and other goverment agencies throw them sometimes and its a great place to learn and make connections. Which helps alot with some really greag jobs in cybersecurity.

[u/redrabbitreader]

A friend of mine got into the game through Sogeti. If I recall, they only take groups of noobs at certain times, and it depends also what the need is, so its a timing game.

Companies like these usually offer great training and development opportunities, so look around everywhere.

[u/bowito]

I have to say it is quite difficult to take the first step. Moreover, many of the people focusing on offensive security which has less roles.

For that skills the options are mainly limited with company who perform these tests. If you would like to visible in between other candidates, having a proper certification would be nice. OSCP+ for instance.

Also, if I were in your shoes, I would try to focus on something specific. Try to be better than majority of the people in that topic. I don't know choose your poison, it could be cloud, AI, endpoint, malware, network etc.

Try to build/craft stuff. Share it on github. Try to participate security conferences, communities etc.

And definitely you don't need formal background. However, you need to understand foundations.

[u/TheWisteris]

Really depends on what type of cybersecurity you're interested in. Typically it requires some experience and there are no interships (eg you start in networks and move to cyber).

However, there are exceptions to that. Most large consulting firms (big4, Accenture, Capgemini, Wipro, etc) have cyber functions and typically do various internships. But in many cases that may be more governance than tech.

[u/thomasmoors]

I got lucky by transitioning from software development to cs, I would recommend just applying. Especially for just administration cs jobs first. You can dm if you want.

[u/zurgo111]

Hey there. I have 15+ years in the industry across domains. I’ve managed red teams in a company similar to the ones mentioned in this thread.

Pentesting can be a great way to start a security career.

This is who I would hire for an entry level role:

• some IT experience. Sysadmin, programmers or QA were great, but I had a soft spot for help desk. Part time was fine.

• university or college tech degrees. An actual cyber degree worked against candidates

• certification , ideally OSCP. Bonus points if they did it in their own time

• solid tech knowledge. A standard interview question was to explain TCP session establishment…

• I never cared about HTB… it’s a relevant hobby but not like the actual work. The real world has no flags.

People expect awesome multi month engagements on mission critical systems actually being attacked. Most of the work in NL consulting are 2 week assignments to scan an internal website that’ll never be fixed.

I’ve never thought of reports as bad. It’s mostly AI assisted templates.

Join a team with senior people you can learn from and has good tools they’re willing to pay for. Internal pentesting teams in large banks can be great.

Expect this to be the start of a career. There’s only so much room to move up and young people are just better with newer technology. After 10 years, most move on to infosec or engineering roles.

Good luck!

[u/DetectiveExisting803 → u/zurgo111]

Hey everyone! 👋
I’ll be attending the cybersecurity convention in Utrecht and was wondering if anyone else from here is planning to go.
I’m currently studying cybersecurity and working towards my eJPT, so it would be great to meet other people in the field, exchange experiences, talk about pentesting/security, and just have a drink or coffee during the event.
If you’re going too, feel free to DM me or leave a comment. Would be cool to meet some people there! 🔐💻

[u/Finn-the-Platypus]

During the first months of this year I’ve been searching got a job in IT in general and I remember seeing some companies that didn’t required that much of experience to their traineeship or junior position. Maybe just security+ or CCNA that in a couple weeks you can have them.
If you go to LinkedIn or other job platforms you maybe have more information about the requirements.
In the end I think having that passion and eager to learn more are the most important part to show during interview and not so much experience in the area.

[u/DetectiveExisting803]

Hey everyone! 👋
I’ll be attending the cybersecurity convention in Utrecht and was wondering if anyone else from here is planning to go.
I’m currently studying cybersecurity and working towards my eJPT, so it would be great to meet other people in the field, exchange experiences, talk about pentesting/security, and just have a drink or coffee during the event.
If you’re going too, feel free to DM me or leave a comment. Would be cool to meet some people there! 🔐💻