Monday / Lunes, March 3/8 de marzo; 7pm eastern / 6pm central / 4pm pacific
This event will be fully bilingual / Este evento será totalmente bilingue
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USE YOUR CYBER SKILLS ON A MISSION OF NATIONAL IMPORTANCE
EXPLORE CAREER OPPORTUNITIES TODAY.
cia.gov/careers
WHAT IF KEEPING AMERICA SAFE WAS YOUR JOB?
There are no ordinary jobs at the CIA. This is a place where your skills are used in unique ways to serve a higher purpose: keeping our nation secure. Sure, you could take your expertise to the private sector, but the CIA is the place where your work is at the heart of world-shaping events. Here, you’re helping to deliver global intelligence to the highest levels of power – and ultimately protecting your family, friends and neighbors. When you join this extraordinary workforce, you will work alongside passionate, talented professionals who share your drive to deliver quality work that helps protect all that we value.
THE MOST CRITICAL CYBER ARENA IS RIGHT HERE
What if you were charged with making sense of nearly all the world’s data? Or gathering intelligence from adversary systems and networks? You can be part of these missions and more when you embark upon a cyber career with the CIA. Cyber security plays a critical role in protecting our country, and our cyber experts work day in and day out to stay ahead of the latest technology and threats.
You could be taking a proactive approach to safeguarding against attacks. Or you could be focusing on preventive and reactive measures and fixing system vulnerabilities. No matter your role, it’s this kind of cutting-edge work that makes our days exciting and helps keep the American people safe. At the CIA, you will encounter the most interesting, challenging and important cyber work anywhere.
“Each CIA officer is critical to the success of our mission and each contribution is valued.” — CIA senior employee
SHAPE THE FUTURE OF INTELLIGENCE
There are a number of vital cyber-related positions at the CIA.
Explore what’s available and decide what might be a good fit for you.
“The 21st century needs imaginative officers to face challenges that extend beyond the traditional security threats.” — CIA Cyber Threat Analyst
CYBER EXPLOITATION OFFICER
Cyber Exploitation Officers use a holistic understanding of digital capabilities to evaluate and exploit digital and all-source intelligence information to identify key adversaries and assess how they operate and interact. In this dynamic, ever-expanding digital environment, you will use a variety of digital analytic tools and methods to extract valuable information from digital data. Leveraging advanced methods and tools, you will exploit data sets as well as identify intelligence gaps.
CYBER OPERATIONS OFFICER
Cyber Operations Officers gather intelligence from adversarial systems and networks using advanced tools, techniques and tradecraft. Working in a fast-paced, challenging and collaborative environment, you will utilize your knowledge of network penetration testing, network defense, operating systems, communication technologies and network security to help lead the future of the Agency’s intelligence mission.
CYBER SECURITY OFFICER
Cyber Security Officers are responsible for protecting the CIA’s information technology (IT) systems and data from compromise by its adversaries. Using a combination of technical skills, industry-leading tools and advanced tradecraft, you will have the opportunity to be involved in every aspect of IT protection at the CIA, such as penetration testing, incident response, system assessments and data protection. You will have opportunities to partner with IT engineers and developers from across the entire Agency to understand their unique mission needs and ensure that their IT systems support the mission of the CIA in the most secure way possible.
CYBER THREAT ANALYST
Cyber Threat Analysts conduct all-source analysis, digital forensics and targeting to identify, monitor, assess and counter the threat posed by foreign cyber actors against US information systems, critical infrastructure and cyber-related interests. You will support the President, the National Security Council and other US policymakers with strategic assessments and provide tactical analysis and advice for operations.
DIGITAL TARGETER
Digital Targeters apply technical expertise to exploit clandestine and publicly available information using specialized methodologies and digital tools to plan, initiate and support technical operations and human-based operations. In this
role, you will be a creative architect and enabler for cutting-edge operations focused on a wide range of priorities.
DIGITAL FORENSICS ENGINEER
Digital Forensics Engineers scientifically research, collect, process, analyze and present findings in support of vulnerability mitigation, data recovery and assessing and identifying malicious behaviors within digital datasets. You will be working on the Agency’s toughest technology challenges and cyber threats. You will also write scripts and code to help develop new information recovery techniques and threat identification methods.
SOFTWARE ENGINEER
Software Engineers specialize in the design, development, integration and deployment of cutting-edge tools, techniques and systems to support cyber operations and other intelligence activities. Working in a collaborative environment, you will use your technical skills, imagination, ingenuity and initiative to produce creative, innovative and elegant solutions to some of the toughest challenges.
TECHNICAL DEVELOPER
Technical Developers use their creative flair by leveraging their cyber and hard science skills to design, develop and implement innovative systems that facilitate core Agency collection and secure messaging functions. Your clever engineering will be instrumental in creating systems that blend into an operating environment. You will analyze requirements, propose solutions, conduct engineering analyses, manage development activities and transition systems to full operation.
TECHNICAL TARGETING ANALYST
Technical Targeting Analysts identify high-priority targets (persons, organizations, electronic devices and computer networks), assess their relevance and vulnerabilities, enable technical and human-based operations and analyze data collections to address outstanding intelligence objectives. You will also use your research, critical thinking and writing skills to inform senior officials and exploit key data.
WHAT ROLE IS RIGHT FOR YOU?
Explore the online CIA Job Fit Tool and discover the career opportunities that match your exceptional skills and intellectual curiosity. cia.gov/careers/opportunities/job-fit-tool
STILL IN SCHOOL?
The CIA’s student programs are outstanding opportunities for current and future undergraduate and graduate students to contribute their talents to the Agency. We have year-round internship and co-op opportunities as well as scholarship programs available for students with exceptional academic records.
Learn more and apply today: cia.gov/careers/student-opportunities
“You can have multiple careers within the Agency, which is why people rarely leave here. They enjoy a career with breadth and depth.” — CIA Engineer
For additional information and to apply, visit cia.gov/careers
THE WORK OF A NATION. THE CENTER OF INTELLIGENCE. cia.gov/careers
An equal opportunity employer and a drug-free workforce.
Name:Samson Oni
Internship, Co-op or Research Site: Avalara Inc.
Position Title:Security Engineer
Major(s)/Minor(s):Information Systems
Current Class Level:Doctoral Student
Work Term:Spring 2021
Tell us about your internship, co-op, or research opportunity, including your day-to-day responsibilities.
I work in the Application Security team. My responsibilities includes the following:
* Rolling out of Dynamic Application Scanning Tool for scanning of applications for vulnerabilities across the company globally.
• Penetration testing of applications
• DAST scanning of web application
• SAST Scanning of application
• CI/CD pipeline integration
• Threat Modeling / Threat Profiling of applications
• Writing of Security standards
• Integrating security tools in CI/CD pipeline
• Secure Architecture review of applications
Describe the process of obtaining your position. When did you hear of the position and submit your application?
I was encouraged to apply for the internship by my Advisor Dr. Zhiyuan Chen. He kept asking me of my process in the internship search. Because of his follow-up, I took the internship search seriously and applied on Indeed and LinkedIn. I saw this opening on LinkedIn last year for a summer internship and part of the requirements were having AWS certification and Security plus certification, which I already have. I applied and was called for an interview. I had three rounds of interviews and was given the internship position last summer. After the summer internship, my manager was pleased with my work and wanted me to stay back. I also wanted to continue my work with them, so I was given a part-time CO-OP opportunity for Fall 2020. At the end of Fall 2020, they tried to have me as a full-time staff, so I was given a full-time offer which I am doing right now with a Co-op for Spring 2021. I will be transiting into OPT this summer while the company will get me an H1b Work Visa.
What have you enjoyed the most about your position or organization?
I have learned so much working in this organization. My research area is in Cyber Security, and I have taken a couple of security courses here at UMBC. I have also had the opportunity to work with the UMBC Cyberdefense club. My research, classes, club meetings came with so much theoretical knowledge, but working in this role allowed me to apply classroom and research knowledge on real-world problems. It has been fun, and I am glad I am doing this. I am working remotely and yet still able to connect fully with my team. I am learning a lot from other members of the group as well. I am passionate about cybersecurity, and I think working here is a dream come through.
How do you believe you have made an impact through your work?
I have made a significant impact on the organization through my work. I rolled out a DAST tool across the company globally, and many engineers are using these tools. I have written security standards that their engineers are currently using to develop secure software. My manager personally attested that I have made a significant impact in the organization and mentioned he would like to get more students from UMBC in the future. And finally, I believe bringing me in as a full-time staff shows how impactful my work has been.
What advice would you give to another student who is seeking an internship or similar experience?
My advice for other students seeking similar experiences will be don’t give up. I almost gave up because of all the numerous rejections I got while applying for an internship. At some point, I thought maybe I wasn’t good enough. I was at the moment thinking of changing my interest from cybersecurity to data science. But I am glad I didn’t give up then. Now, I have an opportunity with an organization that appreciates my work, and I am happy with the impact I am making here. Finally, when you get that internship opportunity, give your all to it. Do it as if you are full-time staff. Ensure you are not just there for the paycheck, make sure you leave your signature behind with your work. These will accelerate your learnings and skills and eventually make room for you in that organization or somewhere else.
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Want to be the next Intern of the Week? Make sure to fill out this form and stay tuned. New interns are announced every Monday!
]]>See original post here by the Women's Center.
Nandi is a senior English major and student staff member.
Content Note: This post was written by a cishet woman after reading, thinking, and reading some more. I hope, more than anything, that it sparks a bigger conversation in the Women’s Center community.
There are references and comparisons to being institutionalized. I recognize the weight of this metaphor, and am using it to represent how this concept shows up in the world.
Heteropessimism: A Brief(ish) Definition
Sometimes you hear a word that you’ve never heard before and all these little pieces of your life click into place. Recently, I heard the word “heteropessimism” and experienced this type of enlightened curiosity. The source text is a feature essay in The New Inquiry written by Indiana Seresin, appropriately titled “On Heteropessimism”. Seresin provides specificity, details scenarios, and references LGBTQ+ literature to break down the culture she is naming. It is a broad, indefinite experience. The piece of it that I will focus on here is that heteropessimism is the repeated assertion that in an increasingly rainbow world, heterosexuality is an archaic prison, especially for hetero women.
Straight people are learning that the institution of our sexuality is restrictive, dangerous, and dishonest at every turn. The unbridled possessiveness, normalized shame, and the constant need to pull some virtue out of abject disrespect from a partner eats away at our concept of self until all that’s left is stereotype. Then what? Where are we supposed to go from there?
By Seresin’s estimation, and I think that many of us can cosign this, we are choosing to ironically bemoan the biological component of sexuality. We acknowledge the hurtful, socially constructed (by us) norms of straight society and then whine about them because it’s just so terrible to be born into this. Meanwhile, we completely erase the fact that LGBTQ+ people are born into the exact same world.
In complaining about these norms, we’ve been entrenching them deeper into our brains. You would think that we were born with social conditioning along with sexuality, but that’s not true at all. Removing heteronormativity from yourself and your areas of influence is a choice, and a choice that you have to make everyday.
Succumbing to heteropessimism is a numb refusal to even engage with that option.
Guilty as Charged
I wanted to write about this because I read Seresin’s words and I took them to heart. In too many ways I’m the exact kind of woman she wrote about: performative, detached, and individualistic. Straight women can take a regular conversation and turn it into an Amy Schumer bit so quickly, and it’s always been so easy to go with the flow. In everyday conversation, the popularity of the heteropessimist attitude always overrides the real discomfort that it represents.
Image Description: Amy Schumer being straight on stage
For example, the simple, honestly reductive phrase “nobody would choose to be attracted to men” has lulled me many times. I could say that I’ve worn it like a security blanket in a cold, mean patriarchal world. I reflect on times where I’ve had my crush talk over me, or when I’ve been someone else’s crush and he also talks over me and I feel comforted by the knowledge that I wouldn’t have chosen this. But when I step back and explore what I’m actually saying I recoil from it. As in, who cares what I would have chosen?
Image Description: Michael Jordan meme of him saying “and I took that personally”
I don’t live in the would-have universe. I live in the world where I am cishet, and that means something.
When I’m self-deprecating about this identity, my gay and trans friends laugh, I laugh, and it’s really a cute bit. I shouldn’t be committed to the bit, though. I should be committed to destroying the norm that would have my loved ones treated as if they are strange and unnatural, and have me violently objectified.
My heteropessimist disposition relies heavily on useless cishet guilt. These jokes take on an analogous function to white guilt, where the affective value of saying you hate your whiteness is supposed to cloak your responsibility in dismantling whiteness. This type of relationship to your normative identities stems from a really cheap analysis. Even worse, it’s annoying.
Experiencing guilt for perpetuating oppressive systems is a necessary step on the way to ally/accompliceship, but getting stuck in a heteropessimist mindset is a short road to nowhere.
Prison Riot
Heterosexuality is not just a sexuality. It is a system, an industry, an institution; if you are like me, a straight woman who knows this, then that’s good.
If you acknowledge that marriage has been used as a coercive tool in the past, and around the world right now, then you help others learn their history.
If you critique the ways that capitalist propaganda keeps sneaking its way into your intimate relationships, then you give yourself and your partners a chance to clean house.
We are in a position to wield this knowledge against the power structures that devalue and dehumanize us at every turn. Cisheteronormativity doesn’t serve us, and it never has. Rather than working from a desperate, listless place we should be using our experiences and our voices as fuel for resistance. The way we live, date, and love is far from normal.
Considering that our current ideas about sexuality come directly from colonialism, one could say that they are some of the most ugly and abnormal parts of our society (and I would be that one). Our concept of straightness was forged by colonizers committing unspeakably violent acts in order to expunge hundreds of rich, vibrant cultures from the face of the Earth. It makes a lot more sense for so-called “normal” people to not want anything to do with that legacy.
When we acknowledge the behemoth all around us, and the pain that it causes us, we’ve only BEGUN to fight it. If we truly believe that anything would be better than straightness, then we have to change straightness into something else.
Imagine what the world looks like when heteronormativity isn’t denying everyone of their dignity, and then Shawshank your way towards it.
Image Description: Bible from the movie Shawshank Redemption that was used to smuggle a rock hammer into the prison opened to the book of Exodus
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Check out what's to come in March with i3b and our partnered events.
RSVP to any events HERE
Bagels & Banter: Freeing Britney & Tessica
Wednesday, March 3, 2021 | 3:30pm - 4:45 p.m. | Online via Webex
myUMBC Event Post: Link | Webex Session: Link
OCA Mocha Mondays with i3b: Allyship for Disability Justice
Monday, March 8, 2021 | 6:00pm - 7:30 p.m. | Online via Webex
myUMBC Event Post: Link | Webex Session: RSVP Required
Workshop Wednesdays: Identity Conscious Supervision
Wednesday, March 10, 2021 | 10:00am - 12:00 p.m. | Online via Webex
myUMBC Event Post: Link | Webex Session: Link
SistaCare: Soul Searching **
Self care group centering Black/Africana women
Wednesday, March 24, 2021 | 1:00pm - 2:00 p.m. | Online via Webex
myUMBC Event Post: Link | Webex Session: Link
Retriever Immigrants United: Unpacking Ourselves **
Social Justice at Home and Without Borders
Friday, March 26, 2021 | 12:00pm - 1:15 p.m. | Online via Webex
myUMBC Event Post: Link | Webex Session: Link
Small, Chill, Sensible Night
Friday, March 26, 2021 | 6:00 - 7:30 p.m. | Online via Webex
myUMBC Event Post: Link | Webex Session: Link
Bagels & Banter: Trans Media
Wednesday, March 31, 2021 | 3:30pm - 4:45 p.m. | Online via Webex
myUMBC Event Post: Link | Webex Session: Link