Matt Toth - From Slinky Network Support Engineer to Security Sales Engineer

Matt Toth is a Senior Security and Veteran Sales Engineer. Having collaborated with the Department of Defense on War Games and advised senior leaders on possible cyber threats, Matt has two decades of IT experience with a focus on cybersecurity. With a passion for security, Matt is deeply engaged with the community to educate and prepare the next generation of cyber professionals.

On top of that, he’s a good friend of mine in the industry with solid advice for those looking for a career in Information Security.

In our chat, Matt breaks down a Sales Engineer’s role, explains his love of conference badges, and gets philosophical on issues related to those trying to make it in the field.

Episode Highlights:

• The jack-of-all-trades nature of Sales Engineer work
• Matt describes one company’s dishonest approach to “AI”
• How a luxury car and stylish threads can make the wrong impression on your client
• Con culture and breaking through the shyness barrier
• Matt delves into #BadgeLife
• The surprising accuracy of Hackers and Mr. Robot
• How Matt’s art school’s aspirations shifted to IT
• InfoSec wargames and the “Russian nesting doll” scenario Matt encountered working with a client
• Why some companies prefer to live with a security problem rather than attempt to fix it
• Lastly: Have you been keeping an ear out for my Easter eggs? Listen closely

Quotes:

• “I’m here, the customer trusts me to be here, and I’m gonna make sure that when they’re done, they’re happy with the situation so that they never come back and say, ‘Hey dude, you screwed me over.’”
• “You have to understand that you’re responsible for your own success. You can’t hide because you do have a quota.”
• “If you really don’t like the technology you’re dealing with, you’re not going to sell it well.”
• “It’s awesome... [and iconic,] that soundtrack is still incredible! On the way out to BlackHat this year, I watched Hackers on the airplane, and it was freaking me out… all of the attacks… are real world attacks we’re dealing with today still!”
• “When you’re meeting with your audience, understand who they are and understand what they expect.”
• “‘Hi, I’m Matt, and I’m an InfoSec addict!’ ‘Hi Matt!’”
• “If you’re just getting into the industry, recognize that all of us have our skill gaps. There is no one who knows everything.”
• “My thoughts on certs are, 'do you like to get paid?'”
• “Most insider threats aren't malicious: they're just people trying to do their job and oftentimes working around the system to try to be more efficient.”

Links:

• Matt’s LinkedIn
• Matt’s Twitter - @willhackforfood
• Matt’s blog
• Splunk
• William Gibson and Neuromancer
• Grifter and #trevorforget
• Derbycon

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy