“The threat landscape is always changing, and changing at a very rapid rate”

For most companies, information security is a significant area of concern these days – and it ought to be. Hardly a week goes by without news of a new high-profile hack, data theft or intrusion striking a major enterprise, causing incredible damage to reputations and bottom lines. Meanwhile, the countless smaller companies being compromised, often with devastating results, seldom come to broader attention. The era of complacency about a network and data security is well beyond over: The abundance of sophisticated malware and the seeming freedom of powerful hacking groups has seen to that.

Red Level believes that being anything less than high alert concerning security threats effectively invites intrusion; we strive for continuous improvement where security is concerned, adding new tools, tactics, and knowledge to help our clients mount an ideal defense.

Recently, Red Level Help Desk Specialist Ed Baustert undertook extensive training and added two new security certifications to his resume. Ed received his CompTIA Security+ certification in October; he subsequently became the first Red Level associate to attain CSA+ (cyber security analyst) certification in mid-January. 

Ed sees his training as an extension of Red Level’s commitment to staying at the cutting edge regarding security capabilities. “The threat landscape is always changing, and changing at a very rapid rate,” he says. “This capability really can help us to use some of the tools that we have to prevent attacks and data breaches proactively. We are always working on new and better malware protection, antivirus capabilities, security awareness, and the basic security training that we provide to our clients.”

Security has been one of Ed’s longstanding passions. “I’ve always had a high interest in security, and I studied it extensively in college,” he explains. “I’ve always wanted to get more security certifications, and these were logical steps. Security+ provides a good baseline security certification, and the CSA+ Analyst certification demonstrates more practical knowledge and experience in going through data sets, logically drawing out how something may have happened with a system. It’s a deep dive into the ability to analyze data, go through lock data, and identify the nature and severity of a threat.”

Ed notes the precision and comprehensiveness of the CSA+ training he received. “You have to be personally passionate about security; there’s a lot of time spent studying, not just from books, but working within systems and looking at different possible aspects of where problems may come from,” he says.

While it is doubtful that the threat landscape will lessen anytime soon, Red Level is committed to remaining ahead of the security curve, investing in the training and technology necessary to keep clients’ data and systems safe.