Reading Time: ~4 min.

Like many technology companies, Webroot is constantly on the hunt for a diverse pool of engineering and technical cybersecurity talent. According to Jon Oltsik, senior principal analyst with Enterprise Security Group, a cybersecurity skills deficit holds the top position for problematic skills in ESG’s annual survey of IT professionals. In fact, the percentage of organizations reporting this problem has jumped more than 10 percent in just three years.

Here are the results from the last 4 years’ surveys:

• 2018-2019: 53% of organizations report a problematic shortage of cybersecurity skills
• 2017-2018: 51% of organizations report a problematic shortage of cybersecurity skills
• 2016-2017: 45% of organizations report a problematic shortage of cybersecurity skills
• 2015-2016: 42% of organizations report a problematic shortage of cybersecurity skills

The time has come for the private sector to take action to help develop the talent pipeline.

Start with real-world simulations

At Webroot, this need for more cybersecurity talent sprouted a partnership with the University of California San Diego Jacobs School of Engineering, which hasculminated in an annual Coding Challenge. 

The Challenge—presented in the form of a game—is a way for Webroot to impart real-world skills like problem solving, coding, and creative technical thinking onto the students. 

The goal of the game is to be the best in the room. For the competitive students, that translated to beating everyone above them on the leaderboard. To do so, the students had to write code to control three characters to capture ghosts:

• A hunter, who worked to reduce ghost stamina,
• A ghost catcher, who trapped and released ghosts,
• A support character who focused on stunning the competition and observing the playing field as a whole.

But, as Daniel Kusper, senior QA engineer at Webroot points out, “it also provides an amazing opportunity for students to ask [industry experts] any and all questions they may have about cybersecurity and software engineering.”

In addition to honing skills like creative thinking and problem solving, students get a glimpse of real-world life for engineers and developers.

Xingyao Wu, a computer science student, said that this type of problem doesn’t have a single, specific right answer. You need creativity to come up with a solution.

“I learned how to solve this problem by thinking outside the box to create new rules or algorithms instead of just following the normal ideas.” 

The advantage of real-world practice was not lost on Chris Mayton, another computer science major, either. Chris shared,“In my opinion, what you learn in class is more isolated from the real world; the data is clean and the environment is ready for you to start coding. With hackathons or coding challenges, you have to apply the concepts learned in class—which are big-picture—to real-world situations.” 

Ryan Willett, a current Webroot engineering intern, may have put it best. “You need room for personal growth in the computer science field. Few classes give you the liberty to try to fail boundlessly. And there is a lot to be learned in failing. Events like the Coding Challenge help students realize that, sometimes, you’ll start down a route on a project that is very bad. You may have to throw away all your code and start again. Sometimes that’s just what you have to do to get to a workable solution.”

Given the large range and variety of technical employees that volunteered their time, the students got a diverse overview of a day-in-the-life of an engineer. Some students already had a good idea of why they’re interested in the field. Computer science and mathematics double major Guanxin Li said she“joined computer science because [she] felt like it’s really cool to build something with a couple lines of code. That’s so powerful.” 

Value in internships

The winners of the event are invited to apply for internship positions at Webroot’s San Diego office. Some of the rock star students from past events have even become full-time employees. These internships provide valuable experience for those who are still figuring out where they want to focus, or what industries to explore further.

Fred Yip, manager of software development and intern manager at Webroot, challenges his interns “to solve real-world problems, and to join the team by participating in the scrum and developer sprints just like full-time employees.”

Will one Coding Challenge solve the industry’s skills shortage? No. But it is a start. And I see many other cybersecurity and tech companies taking small steps that will have an impact on our future workforce. Webroot is also seeking more partnership opportunities with other universities to host learning events, and is even looking to extend its internship program globally.

We should all be excited about the next generation of talent and what they will bring to the industry. Who knows; one of the Coding Challenge participants might someday solve a present-day cybersecurity conundrum. 

Advice to students from students

“I learned you really have to focus on small ideas first before implementing something more advanced. When we started, we tried to think about implementing everything at once. But then, where do we start? Think about it as a layer by layer at a time. Build it up.” – Leo Sack, computer science major

“Design what you want to implement before you start implementing. Thinking through the strategies of what each of your ghostbusters should do. Work through each problem step by step. And be patient, definitely be patient.” – Edward Chen, computer science major

The post Building a Cybersecurity Talent Pipeline One Coding Challenge at a Time appeared first on Webroot Blog.

Reading Time: ~3 min.

While one-click shopping on Amazon (or Webroot.com, for that matter) seems super easy when you’re the consumer, there are a lot of complex strategies and processes going on behind the scenes.

We chat with Cathy Ondrak, product owner for Webroot.com, to get a glimpse behind the curtain. In her role, Cathy works with developers, business analysts, and other stakeholders on a daily basis to ensure Webroot customers’ needs are being met online.

Tell us a bit about yourself.

I have three amazing kids—ages 9, 11, 13. We’re just getting to the teen years, which scares me to death. When I’m not working, I’m probably ushering my kids to one of their various activities. My life revolves around them; from baseball, softball, and soccer to basketball, parkour, or art activities, they stay busy and keep me on my toes. I also lead my nine-year-old’s Girl Scout troop and participate in my kids’ school accountability committee (SAC) meetings.

I was born in North Carolina (go Duke!) My parents moved us to Aurora, Colorado when I was a year and a half old. They still live in my childhood home. My sister and her family live about 2 miles from me, so you can regularly find my family attending one of the grandkids’ activities. (We travel in a large pack, and our kiddos always have a cheering section.)

How did you get into tech?

I began my career in public relations, moved to marketing, then product management. I worked on bringing US WEST Wireless to market a long time ago, which was my entry into tech. While at US WEST, I managed their website and eventually moved into a product manager position for their first wireless internet solution, BrowseNow. It was a very exciting time, but nothing like things are now. Everything was text-based, black and white, and not even a little pretty.

What does a day in your life at Webroot look like for you?

As the product owner for Webroot.com, I’m constantly checking emails, attending meetings, and collaborating with various internal teams. Beyond that, I oversee the web developers’ work and stay in constant communication with them. I work with developers, business analysts, and stakeholders daily to ensure deadlines are met and projects are completed as quickly as possible. We work in an agile environment, so we try to deliver solutions quickly and enhance as we need to.  It’s pretty exciting to see the changes over the years when you have time to look back.

Why do you like working at Webroot?

The thing I like best about Webroot is the people. Working with driven and intelligent people make what we do great and make me value the relationships I’ve formed. The other thing would be watching the continued success of the teams as we grow. The amount of work that flows through our team each day is amazing. The most rewarding thing is seeing how far we’ve come since we started! It’s inspiring to witness whole organization working together to bring new products to market.

Do you interface with external customers?

My day-to-day is filled with internal customers and teams at Webroot—mostly marketing teams who work with us to enhance the website and online user experience, and also provide more flexibility to sell our products.

Any advice for other women in tech?

Theonly advice I have applies to everyone, regardless of field or gender: do what you love, value the people, and success will come naturally. We all have control of our own outcomes, so be open, honest, and flexible. And for other Webrooters reading this, attend the Women of Webroot meetings, get to know your fellow colleagues, and enjoy every minute of it!

What’s the biggest lesson you’ve learned from working in the field?

My biggest lesson from the field was something someone told me years ago for when you’re trying to solve problems or work with developers. Ask yourself, “What are 3 possible solutions to anything you are doing?” Having options ready helps you think things through, so you can evaluate multiple possible solutions to determine which one is the most viable for your situation and resources. Options are key.

If you’re interested in a job at Webroot, check out our careers page, www.webroot.com/careers.

The post Get to know Cathy Ondrak, Product Owner appeared first on Webroot Blog.

Reading Time: ~2 min.

Take Our Daughters And Sons To Work Day is today, and while your initial reaction may be to make a note to call in sick that day (heck, that was my gut instinct), resist the urge.

It’s one day that is a great reminder for the entire year. We all need to do more to fill the pipeline for STEM careers. That’s Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics.

You may be asking, what do you mean by “do more”? You may not work in tech yourself or perhaps your kids aren’t interested in science, or maybe you don’t even have kids.

That’s no excuse.

According to the Pew Research Center, employment in STEM occupations has grown 79 percent since 1990, from 9.7 million to 17.3 million, outpacing overall U.S. job growth. And companies are feeling the pinch. ESG Research conducted a study that found 51 percent of respondents were dealing with a skills shortage. They simply can’t find the talent to fill the roles.

That’s where it gets concerning for everyone, whether they are a parent, a business owner, or a techie. We need bodies to fill the technical roles of today, let alone the future.

Now that I have your attention, here is some advice for what you can do to help create the STEM leaders of tomorrow.

1. Realize not everyone is going to want to be an engineer. And that’s okay. You need marketing people, communicators, project managers that like working in the field and can bridge the gap with their soft skills between the true data heads and the rest of the world.
2. I’m not pushing for a PhD. There are many paths to a technical career that don’t start with a four-year college degree. But they all do start with curiosity. I know many cybersecurity professionals who came to the field with a networking certification or other technical program background and even more that were self-taught. They watched a lot of YouTube videos, read a lot of blogs, and took apart their computers. There also is a lot of opportunity for those in the military who were trained to handle various programming tasks. Encourage people from all walks of life and backgrounds to tap into STEM fields.
3. Take your kids (or the neighbor’s kids) to work with you. Really. Even if you don’t work in tech, try to show the kids what you do every day, then ask if someone in your IT department can chat with them too.
4. You didn’t think I’d get through this without mentioning LEGOS, did you? LEGOS are the ultimate toy for sparking interest in STEM fields. Once kids graduate from basic blocks, there are many options like the BOOST line. They have a robot you can build and control via a mobile app. Enough said.
5. Snap Circuits. Another awesome toy that makes building electronics fun.
6. Programming can be for all ages. Prime younger kids to program with fun tools, like Scratch, Blockly, and Alice. You might even learn something!

This is a small list of ideas. I know there are many more out there. But I challenge everyone to think about what they can do to help create the next generation of STEM professionals. I know Webroot is participating in Take Your Sons and Daughters to Work Day this year and I look forward to chatting with the participants about what I do each day to make the internet a little bit safer.

The post The STEM Pipeline: What Can You Do? appeared first on Webroot Blog.