Finding Support in IT Security

“The bad guys are always finding new ways to do harm. That’s what keeps us employed,” said Gary Autiello ’07, Senior Manager of IT Security at Secureworks, a managed security service provider. 

He manages a team that serves customers who use his company’s security equipment to protect their businesses from cyberattacks. 

“They can contract us to do all the security work on their devices. And, of course, we do have incident response services, so if something does go wrong and a customer unfortunately has been successfully attacked, they can call us and get us involved in their investigation,” said Autiello. 

He was attracted to this field not only for IT security, but for job security as well. 

“I started to realize by talking to friends and colleagues that security is one of those things that not only has been a hot topic for a while but will always continue. When it comes to IT security, it probably will never be one of those things that a company is looking to outsource,” said Autiello. 

Autiello credits the strong support given to him by Doug White, Professor of Networking, Security, and Forensics, as a key factor in his career success. 

“I built a very strong relationship with him and learned from a lot of experience that he shared with me. That really helped me prepare for my professional career,” said Autiello. 

White wasn’t the only professor to make a difference for Autiello. He spoke warmly of the whole team, grateful for his undergraduate experience

“The professors and staff were really great. They always went out of their way for you and if I had an issue or needed extra help they were always there. They always gave me the right guidance. I didn’t feel like I was being led in the wrong direction at any point in time,” said Autiello.