Shanan Winters is a Senior Product Marketing Manager for cloud security solutions at Fidelis Cybersecurity. She has avid interests in geek topics and fandoms, parenting, and technology. She loves the outdoors,... Read More
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When thinking about cybersecurity, what comes to mind? Hacking? Malware? Suspicious emails? All those topics are valid, but there are also many other roles in the field of cybersecurity who help keep us safe from those threats.
Software development, sales, threat researching, HR, services and support, marketing, the executive suite – no matter your passion, there are many ways to apply your skills for a career in cybersecurity. For Cybersecurity Awareness Month, I’m interviewing a few people about their career paths and what keeps them passionate in the fight against cyber adversaries.
Shanan Winters: How did you start working in cybersecurity?
Andrew Montjoy: I accidentally stumbled into this career. It wasn’t a matter of wanting to be in Cybersecurity. A Fidelis Cybersecurity team member recruited me to the IT department. From that position, I moved to the Support team. That’s when I fell in love with Fidelis and Cybersecurity. My position enabled me to understand the concept of Cybersecurity and get a firm understanding of what Fidelis Network does. I was recognized by technical account management (TAM) leadership while I was helping stabilize the Mexican DOD account, and they recruited me to be a TAM for US Central and LATAM. My current position is setting me up to become a Fidelis Leader supporting LATAM. I love the position I am in (TAM) because, every day, I learn something new and discover more of the capabilities of Fidelis Network and Fidelis Endpoint. I have awesome customers as well.
SW: What excites you about cybersecurity?
AM: I love searching alerts and metadata and surprising my customers with what I find. You’d be surprised at what you find and what the customers don’t know. I love working with all my customers and hearing their stories. I enjoy creating long-lasting relationships where my customers have complete trust in me.
SW: What advice would you have for someone considering working in the field?
AM: Don’t limit yourself; think outside the box. Keep on learning. Cybersecurity is an evolving career with new threats and methods coming out daily.
SW: What do you love about working at Fidelis?
AM: I love working here because Fidelis Cybersecurity and the leadership team have a lot of respect for me. When they ask my advice, they listen to me and what I have to say. But I also know I am not always the smartest one in the room, and it’s a combination of ideas that leads to the best solutions for my customers’ problems. My team and leadership empower me to do my job and do it well.
SW: What is something you want everyone to know about a cybersecurity career?
AM: When people think Cybersecurity, they think it’s a hard career, and that you need to be really smart. But you don’t. You need to learn how to read the data and understand what it’s telling you. Then you can use that data and your understanding to stop cybercrimes and threats.
SW: What advice do you share with just about anyone when it comes to their cybersecurity?
AM: Trust what you are seeing in the data and act upon facts. When you set up your security tools, make sure you’re not creating blind spots where adversaries can gain an advantage.
We are goal-obsessed, optimistic, and relentless in our pursuit against cyber adversaries. We celebrate individuality and encourage our team to evolve and grow. If this sounds like the culture for you, check out our current openings on the Fidelis Cybersecurity careers page.
