Why I Chose to Become Infosec Professional

When i was in IT , working for an MNC , i used to develop Web Applications in the J2EE domain. Development is fun and passionate developers make websites like twitter , facebook etc.

But , i was always inquisitive of knowing behind the scenes action , as to how really a request reaches a server , and how is it processed in the server , how the database communication actually takes place , how sessions are managed and why they have to be so unique , how do hackers really take over entire websites , how do they think , what do they know and I , as a developer cannot really think about and many such questions crossed my mind even when I would be implementing “Do as Directed by the Requirements”.

Then , one fine day , i came upon a book , Foundations of Security By Neil Daswani, Christoph Kern, and Anita Kesavan , which gives the scope of the enter domain. For a beginner , its a great book to start with. Its not the attacks or the possible damages that stir me , but the gamut of knowledge required for the attacker to actually take control of a website which intrigues me the most. The next 4-5 months of my life , i just kept reading security books and was overwhelmed by the knowledge that this field has to offer.

Also , this is not just related to Web Applications , its also about knowing the networks , TCP-IP fundamentals , networking basics , DNS , DHCP and stuff like that really interests me.

Today , in my mind , i can actually trace each packet in my imagination as to how it travels from one point to another. Only when i understand the entire picture , i can implement Security.

An Excellent Presentation on Information Security from a Career Perspective

http://anantshri.info/presentations/career-in-information-security

Final Thoughts :

InfoSec domain is not just about using tools to hack websites or take over servers etc, It is also about understanding the “Big Picture” , from requirement gathering to implementation to deployment everything needs to be taken into consideration. If you love to learn about Technology , in and out , from all directions , InfoSec is for you !