My cyber security journey – Connor Pester

Connor Pester is a T-Level student studying Digital Support Services at Exeter College. As part of his T-Level, he’s been working for Securious to build his experience in cyber security. In this blog, he talks about his experience so far, his path into cyber security and what he enjoys doing in his downtime.

My role in Securious involves shadowing and supporting the team in all aspects of the business, primarily focusing on the more technical side of things with Cyber Essentials and penetration testing.

My path into cyber security has been interesting. I first started at an early age where, in my free time, I would experiment with malware on our old family devices… sorry Mum and Dad! 

This caused my interest in technology – especially the security side of things – to skyrocket. I got into development work early in my high school life, which ranged from building small text-based games to full-on management tools.

In 2021 I truly started my cyber security career by joining the Security Societal Guild, of which I am still a member to this day. Part of this involved becoming a SaintsSec CTF team member.

As a small group of 8, we have competed in 5 competitions as a group, often placing within the top 15% on an international level. I am also working towards my PNPT certification with TCM Academy (which is partnered with TCM Security) and my OSCP certification. 

I am also working on some other development projects – namely OpenScan, my own custom-built vulnerability management software, which is open source and comes with a variety of built-in security practices.

My life is not all about cybersecurity and developing, though – I am also an avid gamer. You can commonly find me playing Destiny 2 and Minecraft, among others. 

I am also a member of the Sea Cadet Corp in Taunton, where I spend two nights a week doing drill, learning about the navy and the armed forces among gaining a wide variety of qualifications. This does not just include some cadet-only qualifications, I have also been able to receive a full powerboat license, NICAS (National Indoor Climbing Award Schemes) Level 1 and my DofE Bronze qualification.

So, what are my next steps? 

First and foremost, I’ll be completing my T-Level with the college and will continue to learn from the team here at Securious. I want to continue to grow not only as a student but as a valued member of the cyber security industry. 

After my course, I am hoping to work towards an honour’s degree in cyber security or computer science and potentially move on to an integrated masters course. My overall end goal is to become a penetration tester, and I am already working on that with my CTF experience. This, combined with the Securious team’s wealth of knowledge, makes me certain my future looks bright – and it has become even brighter because of the team here.

As Alexander Hamilton once said, “Those who stand for nothing, fall for anything.” 

I strongly believe that if you do not take an opportunity that is available you, have not lived your life to its fullest.