Want to boost your cybersecurity skills? Start with these 12 Philly resources

Cybersecurity has been a hot skill set for many years now, but a recent tech skills report from CompTIA confirms it: The need for cyber jobs is on the rise.

In Philly, it’s the third most in-demand skill set among technologists, representing nearly 14,000 pros in the region in 2020. If you’re looking to make a career move this year, and are considering a tech speciality, this might very well be your best bet.

As we dive into Cybersecurity Month here at Technical.ly, we expect to cover ransomware, in-house teams vs. security firms, defensive and offensive tactics, and what all of this looks like in the current state of the world.

Accordingly, below, you’ll find a list of new (or newish) resources, people, events and community groups to know if you want to learn more about cybersecurity. But its also just the start — we’ll be keeping our ears to the ground this whole month for resources we missed, people we should get to know and groups dedicated to cybersecurity. Let us know who else is working in the space by sending a note to philly@technical.ly, and we’ll add it to the list.

Philadelphia cybersecurity events and meetups

Philly Security Shell

• This local meetup focuses on hands-on learning and networking for those in information security, or who are looking to learn more about computer security and security careers. It’s planning a Capture the Flag and bar crawl event in May.

Philly 2600

• This meetup that gathers on the first Friday of each month at 30th Street Station’s food court welcomes “hackers, phreaks, nerds, geeks, activists, tinkerers, developers, infosec professionals and other interesting people.” The group has been getting together since the early 1990s, and is open to all tech enthusiasts. You don’t need to prep a topic: To join, simply “grab a seat at any table and keep an eye out for people discussing tech.”

Hack The Box Meetup

• This new meetup is for anyone in the Philly region (or eastern PA) who’s interested in cybersecurity and penetration testing. The group’s purpose is to meet other infosec enthusiasts, discuss, exchange knowledge regarding cybersecurity and hack machines from Hack The Box. You can join the group’s Discord, or attend the group’s first-ever meetup on April 14.

Philadelphia Cyber Security for Control Systems

• This networking and educational meetup is dedicated to all pros involved in cybersecurity for automated processes and control systems. It’s hosting an event on Wednesday, April 6, focused on Securing Software Supply Chains: Forging an Unbreakable Chain: After a year of high-profile cyber incidents against operational technology (OT) systems, this symposium will explore the “risks posed by a lack of visibility into the OT software supply chain.” Expect to dive into the regulatory requirements initiated by the federal government and explore the impact of these regulations, both in the US and internationally.

Philadelphia Cyber Security Summit

• This July, the annual summit returns as a hybrid event for its fourth year, meeting at the Marriott Philadelphia Downtown for a day-long event of panels, workshops and networking. Topics will include security for the cloud, cybersecurity and the government, and ransomeware. Tickets are $195 for in-person and $95 for virtual attendance.

Educational offerings

Penn LPS Coding Boot Camp

• In 2019, University of Pennsylvania launched this cybersecurity bootcamp aimed at preparing those who work in the digital sphere for a career in the rapidly growing field. The 24-week, part-time course was created as in collaboration with the College of Liberal and Professional Studies (LPS) and the School of Engineering and Applied Science, and was organized after the university saw interest and success with a similar coding bootcamp. The next session begins May 31 and costs participants about $13,000.

PA State Protecting Yourself Online

• Aimed toward end users, this cybersecurity guide from Pennsylvania’s state government has tips on preventing identity theft, choosing safe passwords, securing mobile devices and more through a mix of videos, written instructions and resource links. It has tips for how parents can maintain cybersecurity for the whole family as computer and mobile devices become more commonplace for children from an early age, as well as advice on how to protect your work from home environment.

Community College of Philadelphia’s Cybersecurity certificates

• CCP offers a range in educational training in cybersecurity from certificate programs. Its Cybersecurity Proficiency Certificate I, for instance, is 18 credits and says it readies a student to develop the technical, analytical and problem-solving skills needed to protect both government and organizations’ information technology assets. The college also offers 60-credit courses for deeper knowledge on the subject.

Experts to follow

Thank you @HackingButLegal for this piece! IP theft is very common in academia, which can ruin our careers.

Fight for your work. You will find support.

Thank you to the infosec community for having our back. @rab1928 and I couldn't have done this without you.#AcademicTwitter https://t.co/mvcNDJBL7j

— Dr. Aunshul Rege (@Prof_Rege) April 5, 2022

• Read Rege’s recent Technical.ly guest post for more: “What is social engineering? This prof is training the new workforce in cybersecurity’s nontechnical side“

Read InfoSecSherpa's #InfoSec and #DataPrivacy News Roundup for Tuesday, April 5, 2022 📚

Includes the @yaledailynews article by @MirandaJeya, "Yale #Cyber Leadership Forum hosts discussion on “AI Ethics and Safety.”https://t.co/IInS9EOuEe pic.twitter.com/ZMuB71feJb

— InfoSecSherpa (Tracy Z. Maleeff) (@InfoSecSherpa) April 5, 2022

The job market in security/compliance continues to be completely bonkers. It makes me wonder if we're going to see a bifurcation of the market as competent employers gobble up talent, leaving less-competent juniors behind to languish in poorly-managed companies.

— Too Lazy to Fail (@toolazytofail1) April 2, 2022

THIS! I keep trying to tell #librarians that the LIS skill set is very much needed in #InformationSecurity.

Come join me on the dark side 😉 (we have brownies) https://t.co/VfKRzS9D9E

— Library Sherpa 💻📚 (@LibrarySherpa) June 8, 2021