I am not very old to give you stories about computers in the 70s. I was born in the early 80s and my first experience with computer is related to Commodore 64, Amiga and then ATx86 with an old OS and program style. In the mid-90s at high-school, I realized that I was really interested in computers and networking, although it was boring those days!
I sent my first packet over the Internet by means of Gopher (RFC1436) with my low speed long distance dial up connection and I had no idea how the other side was working, that made my attention to computer networks more attractive, and my curiosity increased. Besides, I always believe that since I was born on the World Telecommunication Day, I am so interested in this industry. So, with the help of my Computer science teacher in high school I was started reading some computer networks books published by Tehran Institute of Technology.
In summer 1999, I didn't have any hub or switch devices and also even an extra computer to made a suitable home network lab for practical testing so I enrolled in the computer network classes in Tehran Institute of Technology, thankfully, I met Mr. Amir Amirchoupani, the respected professor and, after a while, I could become his privileged student. I not only helped him in teaching as a laboratory officer, but I could also be a trainee in his personal projects.
After passing my first courses on Microsoft NT4 Server and also windows server 2000 I just realized that the Internet is built on top of Unix systems! In the late 90s, With the opportunity that Mr. Amirchoupani gave me, I was able to participate as a one of his technicians in his group in designing and implementing of some of the BBS and ISP company's network. Some of which are still in business like Neda Rayaneh. Moving forward to 2000, I found myself implementing one of the first professional networkers in Iran. In 1999, I joined Computer network market as a self-employed network Dept. Manager. After struggling on running some complicated governmental network projects, I found myself in the middle of many projects as a member of great and professional team and I learned with their help what the meaning of the teamwork is and by utilizing teamwork, how fast can work and even the carefulness of how to do it. What I really enjoy doing throughout my life is to start my day at the monitor screen and spend all day long managing diverse services remotely. Those days I didn’t have enough experiences regarding security as a most important factor in network and security practices may not top of the “what I love about my job” list for the everyday, but after some time and working in this industry also struggling with some threats, I realized that it is a different story between the thrill of building systems to protect data and keeping up with an everchanging landscape, Network security professionals face new challenges daily and are never finished with their to-do lists. That’s how I am amused every day.
It was during those days that I found out why security of information technology is the most important factor in this field. Computer security is a high priority in every sector of the economy. The threat of hackers is real, and computer security specialists need to stay one step ahead. Without adequate security, a company’s networks can be compromised or shut down. Security breaches can be dangerous and costly. There is no doubt about it: Computer networking and security specialists are part of a very important field.
And that made me complete my self-study on network security subject more seriously, and besides I attended several training sessions as well as workshops.
Without a doubt, I learned main points from each project that I had before as a network administrator and I am sure they are main reasons to help to find my way in this field, I learned You can get trained without going to a four-year college, IT skills are valuable in every industry, good working environment, people will appreciate you and technology isn’t going away. Finally, I love working in network security because it truly is a meaningful job, protecting networks from threat actors who want to take and grab your data. Waking up every day and coming to work to do your mission like a soldier and fighting with your enemies to protect something that is really important to you has a great sense that helps me to feel awesome and satisfied.