Issue 37  September 4th 2023

Join Our Discord Server!

We now have over 320 members on our Discord Server!

By adding a Discord server to the mix of our communication tools, we now have real-time collaboration between our members 24/7.

For those members that want to communicate on a variety of topics between meetings using Discord, just send Ken an email at president@isc2chapternj.org to get the link.

We are always looking for ideas and volunteers to help make Discord a better and fun place. Please reach out to Bryon Singh at bryon@isc2chapternj.org with ideas or ping him on Discord!

The members of the Discord Committee are Bryon Singh, Tran Cheung, Giovanni Mercado, John Linkowsky , Krishna Nekkalapudi, Matthew Lang, Michael LeBlanc, Nikunj Shah, Brett Smith and Saurabh Sagdeo.

ISC2 NJ Chapter  

Interview with Mauricio Troche (member of ISC2 New Jersey Chapter) by Tatiana Edwards

Tatiana: Tell us about yourself, what are your interests, and how did you get into cyber security?

Mauricio: I've always wanted to be a police detective and after 9/11, my focus became counterterrorism. My goal as a San Diego police officer was to become a detective and join the Threat Management Unit (TMU), who is responsible for investigating threats of mass violence and terrorism and joined the Threat Management Unit. I was employed my entire time in San Diego as a law enforcement officer. That was still going to be my next move, I knew if I made it onto the FBI Cyber Task Force I'd get access to premium training through SANS and other similar organizations, but I wanted to learn what I could so I could hit the ground running and immediately contribute to the team.

Tatiana: What made you decide to move and change direction in your career?

Mauricio: The decision to leave law enforcement and move was actually because we just wanted to be closer to family since the kids were getting older, and so were our parents. I wasn't seeking employment in California outside of my job as a detective. I was additionally employed as an Adjunct Instructor for the police academy, but that was a collateral duty. I was also a hostage/crisis negotiator on the Emergency Negotiation Team, and taught courses focused on the Terrorism Liaison Officer (TLO) program for the San Diego Law Enforcement Coordination Center. I also taught a widely attended course on cryptocurrency and the dark web, which I developed myself and was live streamed to about 400 attendees nationally.

Tatiana: What did you study?

Mauricio: I have years of MOOC/self-taught experience in web and software development, ultimately focusing on Python, JavaScript and Cloud computing. I don't have industry experience since I had a full-time job but I'm hoping that changes real soon with the amount of preparation and certifications I've been acquiring for cybersecurity.

Tatiana: I heard you took the ISC2 Certified in Cybersecurity (CC) exam recently. How was it?

Mauricio: It was definitely tough but I was very happy when I saw I passed. For exam prep I practiced more with multiple choice and T-F questions and would advise everyone to also learn about data visuals.

Tatiana: How long have you been with ISC2?

Mauricio: I checked, and I became a "Candidate" at the end of May 2023. I joined ISC2 New Jersey Chapter in June. I took and passed the ISC2 CC exam at the end of June to become a full member of ISC2.

Tatiana: What do you think of our community?

Mauricio: When I joined the ISC2 New Jersey discord and people heard I was taking the test, I received a lot of great feedback and support from the community. I received different study tips from people on what they used and what worked for them, The LinkedIn course in combination with the ISC2 CC and Google Cybersecurity certificate definitely all helped. The more diversity you have the better coverage you will have when studying for an exam.

ISC2 NJ Chapter - Discord Blog