- Posted February 15, 2024
A day spent working in network defence for Aotearoa New Zealand’s National Cyber Security Centre is not quite what people might imagine, according to an NCSC analyst.
“A typical day in the life at work for me starts out like many other people’s – reading emails, making a coffee, and following up on things I didn’t get to the day before,” says Laura, a cyber network defence analyst.
“But don’t get me wrong, there are exciting parts. I get to investigate trends in the cyber threat landscape, triage alerts of potentially malicious cyber activity, trial new partner tools, and develop new detection capabilities.”
Aside from the work duties that others may think resemble scenes from a movie, Laura refers to her team as ‘sheep in wolves’ clothing’.
“From the outside, our jobs may seem clandestine and intense, but the day-to-day is probably more normal than people think. I think we’re a bit like sheep in wolves’ clothing - we’re just ordinary people who get to do some extraordinary things.”
Laura says the most rewarding aspect of her role is seeing the information she is gathering and analysing be used for the improvement of Aotearoa New Zealand’s national security.
“Working with our incident response team means I’m able to use our unique insights to inform the response they provide, and help affected New Zealand organisations.
“I work within a community that is dedicated to making sure New Zealand organisations are secure, and in doing so, helps to protect our nation’s security,” Laura says.
She explains it’s a role that requires someone with a desire for continuous learning, and not a job for the fainthearted.
“Detecting evidence of network intrusion can be a bit like finding a needle in a haystack, except it also requires in-depth knowledge of the needles.
“Although the role requires constant learning and upskilling, the reward – being able to alert New Zealand organisations to activity that may have the potential to cause harm – makes it all worth it.”
Landing her current role involved a series of fortunate events, says Laura.
“Serendipity is the word I would use to explain how I ended up in my current role as a CND analyst. I was graduate at the NCSC when I discovered this type of work and fell in love with it. I didn’t even do a cyber security paper at university.”
Reflecting on the series of events that lead her to this career, Laura says she wouldn’t change a thing.
“It’s not the path I expected, but I’m in a job I love with amazing, smart and experienced people working towards a goal that has real, tangible impact on New Zealanders.”
“While I work in a special context that has its unique opportunities and constraints, what really matters is that the work is fun, interesting, challenging, and rewarding,” says Laura.