Paloma Galindo
Security Engineer Intern and Student in Houston, TX
I didn’t discover my passion for cybersecurity until I was midway into my academic career. I remember feeling so lost about what aligns with my interests and what truly piques my inherent curiosity. All that I knew was that I love learning, being challenged, researching, and am a geek (haha) through and through.
I chose to pursue a career in tech and researched the kinds of roles that could interest me but I didn’t feel like anything related to IT and software development were a fit for me. Then, I discovered the WiCys (Women in Cybersecurity) organization on my campus. Led by curiosity, I joined and participated in workshops, webinars, CTFs, and it ignited my passion and inquisitiveness to grow the more I learned.
I then took the initiative to keep up with my learning by using TryHackMe, HackTheBox, YouTube, and currently I’m in the process of doing security related projects using Python as well as learning to use tools like WireShark, nmap, etc. Fun fact: I got accepted to be on the Editorial Board for The Colloquium for Information Systems Security Education™!
Although I’m passionate about this field, I face imposter syndrome and learning curve challenges; the material does not come easy for me but this does not deter me from working hard to pursue a career in the field as I believe good things take time and discipline in working towards reaching milestones. It’s been a real challenge for me because I’m not technically apt or at the technical skill level I want/need to be, but my goals are to accomplish a solid understanding of the fundamentals, pass my COMPTIA Security+ certification exam, and gain new technical skills.
What I love about cybersecurity is it rewards my curiosity, there’s always something new/old to learn, and most importantly the infosec community that has been rooting for me and helping me on this journey and especially making me feel like I belong.
My dream is to work in the gaming industry in a cybersecurity role, contribute to open source projects, create my own tool, learn how to automate things, and become someone who can help others and contribute to research. I’m passionate about cybersecurity and am on a mission to help and protect others from malicious threat actors.
You can click the button above to contact me. If you’d like to get in touch via LinkedIn, feel free to say hello through the link below.