ISC2 New Jersey Chapter Newsletter

Editor-in-Chief: Tran Cheung

Welcome to the ISC2 New Jersey Chapter's December 2023 Issue!

Our goal is to provide the cybersecurity community with monthly New Jersey Chapter news, upcoming events and initiatives, as well as timely and relevant articles from our dedicated member volunteers.

As the year comes to a close, we are so thankful for our ISC2 New Jersey Chapter community. It's so wonderful to see how our members support each other in ways that elevate collaboration and connection. Thank you for making the ISC2 New Jersey Chapter community a caring and thriving one!

We invite you to send any comments or suggestions to communications@isc2chapternj.org.

Ken's Korner

Message from the President

I am speechless about this year and I couldn't be any prouder! Below are just some of the amazing accomplishments we performed in 2023:

👉 Donated over $1,500 worth of food and money to the Community FoodBank of New Jersey
👉 Given $3,000 in scholarships to offset the costs of ISC2 certification exams
👉 Mentored dozens of Chapter members
👉 Provided two CISSP and Certified in Cybersecurity bootcamps and study groups
👉 Educated residents at senior centers on the latest cyber scams
👉 Held a sold-out conference at Kean University
👉 Actively participated in creating this year's International ISC2 Chapter Conference
👉 Pulled off two successful picnics - in the rain
👉 Held a Holiday Dinner event that had the largest attendance
👉 Conducted a dozen public speaking workshops
👉 Partnered with InfraGard NJ
👉 Provided over 30 hours of CPE credits
So many volunteers stepped up this year to make our events and programs such a success!

Aspirational projects for 2024:
• Develop student run ISC2 chapters at St. Peter’s University and NJIT
• Develop chapter internships for students and career transitioners
• Work with the Patterson High School District to provide students with guest speakers to introduce them to alternative career paths
• Work with non-profits and small businesses by providing them with free cybersecurity assessments

Welcome Aboard!

Welcome Aboard, New Chapter Members!

Shahryar Tahir, John Herr, Nicholas Ivos, Larry Jacobson, Jake Maggioncalda, Nayeem Modan, Mary Alessandro, Tom Brennan, Henry Louviere, Erdal Ozkaya, Katsiaryna Kandratovich, Benjamin Amoah, Diego Marin, Luke Rodeheffer, Stanley Rosario and Hugh Brown.

Event Recap

SECON International Conference

Our virtual conference, SECON International turned out to be a huge success! We quickly sold out with over 300 attendees and 1,000 people on our waiting list!

We had over 20 speakers and over 40 volunteers to make this happen. It took six months of planning to make it go smoothly.

Shout out to all the NJ Chapter volunteers who stepped up either as a room facilitator or as support to help attendees get acclimated to our virtual platform!

Recordings of the conference will be available next month, for those who attended or were on the waiting list.

Holiday Dinner

We had a wonderful time at the Armory in Perth Amboy for our Holiday Dinner this year! We had a great turnout and the decorations and food were amazing.

Photos from our Holiday 2023 dinner are here.

Senior Cybersecurity Education

Yolanda Baker arranged with her company, Fiserv, to give a presentation to her fellow co-workers on the latest scams that are directed at seniors with Debra Price, Anicee Monfleury and Mauricio Troche. They all did a fantastic job designing the slides, presenting and reenacting the grandparent, romance and technical support scams! Thanks, Yoly for arranging this seminar!

To become a Senior Center Volunteer, sign up here.

Shout Outs

Member Spotlight of the Month

Congratulations to all ISC2 NJ Chapter members who received a Member Spotlight post in 2023!

Bryon Singh, Adam Shuren, Samantha Snellen, Gio Mercado, Aneta Klepacka, Marie Ivanov, Mohamed Brahim, Alex Velez and Anicee Monfleury

Upcoming Events

Public Speaking Workshop

Date: Thursday, January 11th, 2024
Time: 7:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m.
Location: Virtual Event

Register here

Alice in Cyberspace 2024

The Alice in Cyberspace conference by NJCCIC aims to inspire more women and other underrepresented individuals to take on the challenge and opportunity of working in cybersecurity. The conference speakers will provide insights on pathways into this career field and information on various roles and disciplines.

The 2024 conference will be held at Kean University on January 12, 2024, featuring speakers at various points in their cybersecurity careers. In addition, there will be a mini job fair in which attendees may speak with public and private sector representatives regarding cybersecurity career guidance and job opportunities.

Event Details:

Date: Friday, January 12, 2024
Time: 8:00 AM - 3:00 PM
Location: Kean University, STEM Auditorium, 1075 Morris Ave, Union, NJ 07083

Space is limited and registration is required. There is no cost to attend this event. Event details and agenda will be updated. Lunch will be served. Please visit Alice in Cyberspace for more information.

Register here.

New Member Welcome Meeting

We are now providing our new members with an orientation (welcome) meeting, where they can learn about all the benefits of the chapter and ask questions. Our new membership co-chairs, Sharon and Sam will be running this virtual welcome meeting on the third Thursday of each month.

Click here to register for our next meeting. Our next Zoom welcome meeting will be Thursday, January 18th at 6pm. The meeting will last approximately 20 minutes and will be recorded and sent to new members who weren't able to join.

You can click here to watch December's welcome meeting!

January 2024 Monthly Meeting

For our January Monthly Meeting, our guests will be Felicita J. Sandoval, MSc., CFE, Artificial Intelligence Researcher and Samantha Snellen, Cybersecurity Project Coordinator at Liberty and ISC2 New Jersey Chapter Co-Membership Chair.

Felicita will be discussing the impact of AI on GRC tools and Samantha will be sharing her experiences on how she recently transitioned into cybersecurity.

Their bios are at the bottom of this newsletter.

Click here to register.

Date: Thursday, January 25, 2024
Time: 6:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m.
Location: Virtual Event

ISC2gether Day 2024 - Community FoodBank of New Jersey

We are having our community service day for 2024 at the Community FoodBank of New Jersey.

Date: Saturday, April 20, 2024
Time: 11:30 a.m. - 1:30 p.m.
Location: Community FoodBank of New Jersey, 31 Evans Terminal Road #1, Hillside, NJ 07205

Limited spots available. Register here.

Spring 2024 Picnic

Mark your calendars now for our Spring Picnic!

Date: Saturday, May 18th, 2024
Time: 12 p.m. - 4 p.m.
Location: Roosevelt Park, Edison, NJ

Register here.

Volunteer Opportunities

Join our committees!

SECON NJ Conference Committee, sign up here.

Elder Fraud Outreach Committee, sign up here.

Member Feedback

Monthly December 2024 Meeting Feedback by Casey Rauth

December's monthly meeting breakout session was prompted with the question, "What was your worst job?" On the surface this seemed innocuous, perhaps even a bit off-topic, but I immediately had a good answer ready. My worst job is the one I'm in now: searching for a new job. It's remote and the hours are flexible, but it doesn't pay very well.

The breakout session split the meeting up into groups of 5 or so where we had an opportunity to engage with each other. It turned out I wasn't alone in the job hunt, and the conversation quickly turned into a discussion about writing resumes and cover letters using ChatGPT. A pro-tip I shared with our group: you can feed ChatGPT the URL to your LinkedIn profile as well as URLs to job descriptions, as long as they're publicly accessible, and it's able to tailor the resume or cover letter to each job this way.

We talked about pitfalls of using ChatGPT as well. It is designed to be believably conversational, not accurate, so it's much better at writing cover letters rather than resumes. Still, it's great to have a tool that gives you a template to build off of rather than trying to start from scratch. Just be sure to QA the output, and give it your personal touch with some manual edits so as to not sound too ChatGPT-like. Good luck!

Current Initiatives

JuMPstart Mentorship Program (JuMP)

Dear Members,

We're thrilled to announce a major transformation to the JuMP Mentorship Program, marking the largest change since its inception in 2020. As unveiled during our December chapter meeting, we are transitioning from a structured 6-month program to a more flexible month-to-month arrangement.

Key Benefits of this Change:

Open Enrollment: The new format allows the JuMP program to welcome new participants at any time, making it easier for individuals to join and contribute.

Monthly Availability: We'll now confirm everyone's availability on a monthly basis, ensuring that mentorship arrangements align with your schedules.

Adaptability: This change enables us to accommodate unexpected shifts in mentee and mentor availability with greater ease.

Join the Waitlist:
Are you eager to be part of this dynamic program? We invite you to join the waitlist for the January 2024 launch. Whether you aspire to mentor, learn, or both, this is a unique opportunity to broaden your professional horizons within the cybersecurity community.

For more information or to sign up for the waitlist, please visit Join the JuMP Mentorship Program Waitlist.

Questions or Further Assistance:
If you have any inquiries or need additional information about the mentorship program, please don't hesitate to contact us at mentoring@isc2chapternj.org.

We extend our heartfelt gratitude to everyone who has participated in the program over the past year, and we eagerly anticipate continued mutual success in 2024.

Wishing you a Happy New Year!

Sincerely,
Matthew Lang and The Mentorship Committee

Join our Discord Server!

We now have over 350 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.

Our Discord Server is a dynamic hub for job seekers, offering firsthand job opportunities in various IT and Cyber positions from chapter members. It's also a resource for members seeking internships, aiming to enhance their skill sets, or wanting to share resumes for reviews and feedback, including interview skills assistance. In addition to our website and newsletter, we announce upcoming events through Discord Server notifications. You'll receive regular reminders, so you won’t miss out on our engaging events! Moreover, our mentorship program is hosted on Discord, facilitating interaction with mentors during your cohort.

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.

Member Contributions

Your Phone Number is More Vulnerable Than You Think: A Deep Dive into SS7 by Pavan Nallamothu

This article by Pavan Nallamothu is essential for the general public, especially those regularly sharing their phone numbers online, as well as privacy-conscious individuals, activists, and journalists. It demystifies SS7 vulnerabilities and underscores the risks of indiscriminate phone number sharing, offering practical tips for enhancing digital security and online privacy.

Continue reading here.

Educational Training

CISSP Study Group

CISSP study group is an 8-week program starting January 31st through March 20th, 2024. Please join this group only if you plan on taking the exam within the next few months.

Dates: Wednesdays from January 31st through March 20th, 2024.
Time: 5 p.m. to 6 p.m.
Location: Virtual

Register here.

NYU and ISC2 New Jersey Chapter

The ISC2 New Jersey Chapter and the New York University Tandon School of Engineering have formed a partnership to further educational and credentialing opportunities for students and the cybersecurity community.

In addition to participating in NYU Tandon events, lectures, career fairs, and other professional development activities, ISC2 will offer students a full membership for $10, giving them access to a network of local industry leaders. As part of the agreement, ISC2 members can sign up for The NYU Center for Cybersecurity (CCS) mailing list to stay current with research and events featuring leading faculty and industry partners at cyber.nyu.edu.

To learn more about this program, click here.

Speakers

January Presenter

Felicita Sandoval - A multifaceted professional with an interesting background in cybersecurity and a passionate commitment to advancing knowledge in Artificial Intelligence (AI). As a Security GRC (Governance, Risk, and Compliance) Analyst at LiveRamp, Felicita plays a crucial role in safeguarding the company's digital assets and ensuring compliance with the myriad of regulatory requirements.

January Presenter

I successfully made my career transition to security after 1.5 years with specialized expertise in Governance, Risk and Compliance (GRC) with third party risk management, vendor due diligence and data privacy software implementation.

During my transition, I took the time to foster and support my creative and innovative mindset, incessant curiosity, and an enhanced analytical skillset to enable me to communicate more effectively, solve complex problems, and lead confidently in uncertain and dynamic situations.

Additionally, I have had the absolute pleasure of connecting with security professionals from all diverse backgrounds and have had the privilege to contribute as a board member, volunteer, facilitator, and security awareness speaker with the ISC2, NIST, LatinasInCyber and in many other security organizations and initiatives worldwide.

Recordings and Slides From Prior Meeting

December 2023 Monthly Meeting Recap!

For our December meeting, I had the honor of interviewing Ts. Zhon Teck Tan, President of the ISC2 Malaysian chapter. We discussed the regional cyber challenges that his country faces and what he has done for his members in his chapter. To watch the whole chapter meeting, click here.

Board of Directors

ISC2 New Jersey Chapter 2023-2024 Board of Directors

President:
Ken Fishkin - President@isc2chapternj.org

Secretary:
Mallik Prasad - Secretary@isc2chapternj.org

Treasurer:
Priyanka De Abrew - Treasurer@isc2chapternj.org

Education Chair:
John Linkowsky - Education@isc2chapternj.org

Co-Membership Chair:
Sharon Kelley - Sharon@isc2chapternj.org

Co-Membership Chair:
Samantha Snellen - Samantha@isc2chapternj.org

Co-Communications Chair:
Tran Cheung - Communications@isc2chapternj.org

Co-Communications Chair:
Bryon Singh - Bryon@isc2chapternj.org

Co-Mentorship Chair:
Matthew Lang - Mentoring@isc2chapternj.org

Co-Mentorship Chair:
Adam Shuren - Adam@isc2chapternj.org

Events Planner:
Marie Ivanov - marie@isc2chapternj.org