Author: Anne Johnson
NCDIT cybersecurity interns participating in a program designed to build a talent pipeline into the IT workforce are helping protect the state of North Carolina’s IT systems and the people who use them.
Jennifer Medina, a Wake Technical Community College graduate, and Jacob Wright, a Fayetteville Technical Community College student, are among the first interns through a partnership with the Carolina Cyber Network, comprised of 23 North Carolina universities and community colleges.
Quick Action Stops Potential Threats
Working 20 hours a week in NCDIT’s Enterprise Security and Risk Management Office, Medina and Wright began learning how to investigate and handle suspicious email and identity alerts.
In separate instances, they soon thwarted potential cyberthreats – with “speed,” “quick eyes,” “quick actions” and “curiosity,” their supervisor, Albert Moore, IT security and compliance manager, said.
Medina spotted a red flag on an email and started a purge of that email from inboxes. Crucially, she also immediately put in place a block preventing users from accessing the malicious URL even if they clicked on it before removal.
Wright noticed a threat actor attempting to compromise an account – before the system had sent any alerts. He escalated it to his team, who disabled and isolated the event.
“Folks raved about what they did,” Moore said. “It really caught my attention when their coworkers were congratulating them for saving the day.”
Proud to Protect North Carolina
The interns valued the chance to make significant contributions to defending the state’s IT system and the residents who use it.
“The cybersecurity work that we’re doing and our team’s been doing is imperative to keep NCDIT continually operating like a well-oiled machine,” Wright said.
“It helps keep the state infrastructure system protected but also the people, which is a big part of it,” Medina said.
These successes have encouraged both interns that they can thrive in cybersecurity careers.
“It’s confirmed this is the work I want to be doing. This is the career I want to be pursuing,” Medina said.
“It’s definitely built my confidence moving forward in my career,” Wright said. “The training I’ve received from all other team members has been top tier, and I just hope that one day I could help others as much as they’ve helped me.”
Flexible Internships That Fit Real Lives
These internships’ unique structure – 20 hours a week, paid, working remotely in shifts around the clock, alongside seasoned staff – offered flexibility essential for both Wright and Medina to take advantage of them.
After a military career as an Army sergeant and combat medic, serving on two deployments, Wright began studying cybersecurity at Fayetteville Tech. “This internship is a kind of bridge over the gap to doing exactly what I want to do,” he said.
Settling down after life with a military family, Medina jumped on the internship to get hands-on experience while working on a bachelor’s degree and caring for her children. “The combination of being able to get insights on security operations center work and also working with the public sector – it’s the perfect combo,” she said.
ESRMO is uniquely well-suited to provide an experience that benefits both interns and NCDIT, Moore said. Shifts around the clock provide flexibility for interns to work alongside “seasoned experienced staff,” who are freed up to handle higher-level tasks or take on additional projects.
A Unique Model for Cyber Workforce Development
The ability to make a meaningful impact protecting North Carolinians can be an incentive to pursue cybersecurity careers in the public sector, Moore said – a growing field already facing workforce shortages.
“There’s lots of places to fit in cybersecurity, and I believe it’s a good, strong career choice,” he said. “Public service is a calling. I think the reward is that the data you’re protecting is your data, that of your family and loved ones. It’s your mom’s tax return. It’s your kids’ health information we’re protecting.”
NCDIT is committed to developing opportunities to expand the talent pipeline bringing talented, early-career workers into the cybersecurity and IT fields in North Carolina.
“The folks that are coming through this program are working with us,” Moore said. “Any state agencies would be lucky to have them. So it’s good for our future and workforce.”