CyberWire Daily - Dr. Georgianna Shea: Don't wait to take the initiative. [Technologist] [Career Notes]

Episode Date: August 13, 2023

Dr. Georgianna Shea, the Chief Technologist at the Transformative Cyber Innovation Lab at the Foundations for Defensive Democracies (FDD) sits down to share her incredible story, moving around to different roles and how that has lead her to where she is today. Her careers have taken her to many different states throughout the years, as she has learned and grew into the roles she took on, from Hawaii to D.C., Dr. Shea has done it all. Sharing some advice, Dr. Shea says "My words of wisdom are take advantage of every opportunity and don't wait for anybody. I try to mentor people and I talk to young people a lot, you know, trying to get into the field and, and I see a lot of waiting on other people." She explains that you are able to work on your own to become an expert, and taking that initiative will be the thing to get you to where you want to be. We thank Dr. Georgianna Shea for sharing her story with us. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

You're listening to the Cyber Wire Network, powered by N2K. and VPNs, yet breaches continue to rise by an 18% year-over-year increase in ransomware attacks and a $75 million record payout in 2024. These traditional security tools expand your attack surface with public-facing IPs that are exploited by bad actors more easily than ever with AI tools. It's time to rethink your security. Thank you. Learn more at zscaler.com slash security. Hello, my name is Dr. Georgiana Shea. I'm the chief technologist at the Transformative Cyber Innovation Lab at the Foundations for Divinative Democracies. My first thought was, and this might sound strange, but I thought I wanted to be a mortician.

But then when I got into my more advanced math classes, I then started to think about engineering. And I thought, okay, I want to be an aeronautical engineer. So that's what I was thinking I wanted to do when I was in high school. It was never a plan to stay in as a lifer. So I did my four years in the Signal Corps. While I was in, I tried to do as much school as possible, which, you know, for me, I think it ended up being two classes. Because being in the

Signal Corps, if you're not out in the field doing your job, then you're not doing your job. So I did not get a lot of school in while I was in the Army, but once I got out, that was my goal, go to school and pursue a degree. I had gotten out of the army I ended up going to Hawaii and then uh went to school there I wanted to major in in math because I really like math but I didn't honestly know what I would do with math except be a math teacher and I didn't really want to be a math teacher. So as I was taking all the math courses, I think all the math courses that the school had to offer, I noticed that all of the math translated to the computer science degree program. So I actually got my four-year degree within just less than two years because I kept a very full load. So I was out of the army

and looking to actually start a career that was going to pay me more than the minimum wage job I was graduating right at the time that they were standing up protection for critical infrastructure. So this was in 99. And I was in Hawaii. So in Hawaii, they stood up the Army's Regional Computer Emergency Response Team. And they were looking for 10 people, brand new organization to monitor and protect the army networks. And my fellow students had graduated. They were looking for jobs. They passed around their resume. And one of my fellow student colleagues had gotten a job there and reached out to me and said, hey, they're looking for 10 people, this brand new organization,

and I think you would be great here. So I said, great, I'll interview. So I interviewed, and they hired me, which was, I guess, the step into my, and then I ended up transferring to the D.C. area, where I went from the regional Army support to the Army headquarters cert. So I was now taking in the reports that I used to submit. And then I get there and I realize, oh, no, they're also a brand new organization and they're still trying to figure it out. And then I think I was there a couple years and I honestly felt like it just wasn't taking off. I ended up thinking, well, I need to get back to my technical roots. So I wanted to do something a little more technical.

And we were using a tool there. It was Starlight. And so to use Starlight, you've got to go through and do a lot of data manipulation. So you don't have to be as analytical with numbers. It's more of a picture representation of things. So I had applied to a company that was managing this tool and I found that that company, Battelle. So I applied there and they brought me in

and they hired me in the Crystal City location. I ended up working for Battelle and then a project manager came up to me one day and said, hey, do you know anything about IO? And she asked me to come in and talk to one of her clients. So I went in and talked to one of her clients and they said, you're a perfect fit. We want you to work here.

And then did that for a little bit until, I'd say a couple of years, until the location became an issue. One of my co-workers had moved over to the joint staff and said, hey, come over here to the joint staff. We could use you here on some stuff. So I ended up moving over to the joint staff and supported the science and technology office. So I worked there for a number of years and it was, again, full spectrum IO, not just cyber operations. But now I'm in the Pentagon.

So I worked there at the Pentagon for a number of years. And then I was offered a position with MITRE, which was very exciting because it was at Quantico, very close to Stafford. And that was as a systems engineer focusing on ISR equipment within the Marine Corps. After being with MITRE for about 13 years, I had decided I wanted to just see what other opportunities were out there. So I ended up leaving MITRE and went to FDD about two and a half years ago. And FDD is a think tank in the DC area that it actually now houses the Cyberspace Solarium Commission. So that's how I ended up at FDD and where I am now. I have the privilege of working with the experts in whatever that domain is. So I am humbly aware that I am never the absolute expert.

I try to be very appreciative of people's time, of their knowledge, mostly of their time, because like I said, it's usually a coalition of the willing. And I understand that everyone has a job that they have to do. And I try to get all that expert information and then interpret it to folks that are not experts. My words of wisdom are take advantage of every opportunity and don't wait for anybody. I try to mentor people and I talk to young people a lot, trying to get into the field. And I see a lot of waiting on other people. You can become an expert without, you know, in-class instruction, without a $5,000 certification. You can take the initiative if you know what it is

you need to study and you can find what you need to study and you can start building out your skill. So I would say one, take the initiative and self-educate yourself. The other big piece of advice I have is definitely build a network and capture you know, capture those relationships. So get a LinkedIn account so you can talk to those old people. You know, make the connections with people who are your, both your peers, because they're going to continue growing in their career and they're going to be a resource for you. And then connect with people. You're going to grow in your career and you're going to want to, you know,

be able to have those resources available to you. I hope that the work I'm doing contributes to national security. It may not be large. My coworker Annie always says, you know, small bites out of the apple. So any step we can take to point towards the advancement of national security is really my goal. Thank you. That's why we're thrilled to partner with ThreatLocker, the cybersecurity solution trusted by businesses worldwide. ThreatLocker is a full suite of solutions designed to give you total control, stopping unauthorized applications, securing sensitive data, and ensuring your organization runs smoothly and securely. Visit ThreatLocker.com today to see how a default-deny approach can keep your company safe and compliant.