Reading the Bejtlich interview sparked a thought. I read this in response to what makes a good network security analyst:

First, you need to want to beat the bad guys. If you are entering the security field because you heard a commercial on the radio advertising higher pay, you will not get far.

For some reason, this made me think of mention that Marcin made recently along with pdp about the movie Hackers and/or that old “hacking” culture that seems missing lately.

I need to give pdp proper kudos for coming out (hehe, read *that* link out of context why don’t ya?) about the movie’s influence on his life personally. There are few things more chic in digital security than bashing CISSP-holders, but bashing the movie Hackers is one of them. I love the movie for what it is, even if the details are dramatized heavily.

At any rate, pdp and Marcin are both (independently and cooperatively at the same time, I think) looking to revive a little bit of that curious innocence and culture that the hacking scene has seen slowly disappear. This sounds fun and cool, and while the industry, technology, and hackers-turned-professionals have largely matured, we can still have a hell of a lot of fun in our little geek circles and keep things immature and fun as a way to keep our lives from becoming overgrown with the burden of the daily IT/security overwork. Embrace your inner deviate, if not in action, at least in thought.

I think the bottom line is to just have enthusiastic, lifelong passion about this field. Live it, embrace it…but that last might be my hedonist side talking.