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The second fifty hours of my internship, or rather the first one hundred hours, included both a continuation of my typical work researching and providing explanations on different topics my mentor wished for me to continue learning about, as well as a focus on network site surveys. I believe I\u2019ve been learning a lot more about Microsoft Excel and spreadsheets, which is nice as I know it is something that is heavily utilized in professional settings and not something that I have had the chance to experiment with or learn about in the past for classes. My mentor has however given me the time consuming, but beneficial task of using the Microsoft Excel spreadsheet software of performing a network site survey on one of the company\u2019s networks by going through and breaking down where each of the devices are connected to through the network through routers, other end devices and what ports they are connected to, as well as listing mac addresses, IP addresses and LAN segments for each device, though this is more of a long term project than one that demands my full attention at the moment. The site itself has a topology for where each device connects, though it is not completely accurate, though it makes it easier to begin the process of marking each of the devices down in a followable manner and reminds me of previous projects and labs I had done in some of my computer science networking classes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
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A more recent experience that I had in person was me shadowing my mentor to a data center, I was there both to observe the inside of the data center as well as help install devices within the contracted space of a company my internship company and more specifically my mentor is contracted with as a subject matter expert and security professional. This was the first time that I had been inside of a data center and I was quite surprised on how it looked like on the inside, as it was a lot darker and a lot less segmented than I thought it would be, though the reasons for why it was arranged with such a dark interior with so little lighting quickly made sense to me. I also took interest in the specific mechanics of how the data centers were managed, such as learning more about how most devices are front-to-back cooling and the data center I went to took advantage of this by having two isles within each portioned off rentable zone, or cage for what they looked like, being hot and cold to manage the cooling of the devices more effectively. During my duration at the data center, I was also assigned to look out for different physical security measures taken within the data center, such as having security guards, requiring identification like a driver\u2019s license to enter, biometric scanners, passwords, combination locks and keys to pass through different doors within the data center, as well as having fire extinguishers on the ends of every aisle, or always in reach as my mentor phrased it. I believe it was a good learning experience to see and interact with an important place which is integral for many businesses and agencies to keep their networks available to their consumers and employees no matter where they are and no matter what the circumstances. This has been what reminds, inspires and has interested me most so far, in seeing the completed circuit of cybersecurity at play and logically analyzing it from both the perspective of someone who is going into the field, as well as an outsider who is just beginning to learn.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
The second fifty hours of my internship, or rather the first one hundred hours, included both a continuation of my typical work researching and providing explanations on different topics my mentor wished for me to continue learning about, as well as a focus on network site surveys. I believe I\u2019ve been learning a lot more… <\/p>\n