Rick Howard: A Cybersecurity Career Journey from Gold Mines to the CyberWire

Early Life and Military Path

• 💡 Rick Howard's journey began in South Dakota, where his father was a gold miner, but he sought a different path through military enlistment.
• 🚀 He volunteered for the Air Force and secured an appointment to the United States Army's preparatory school, leading to West Point and a career away from mining.

Transition to Cybersecurity

• 🧠 Initially interested in computer games, Howard pursued a computer science degree at the military academy, which led him into the Army's signal corps.
• 🛠️ His early career involved building networks for tactical units, culminating in commanding the Army's Computer Emergency Response Team.

Commercial Sector Experience

• 🌐 After retiring from the Army, Howard joined Counterpane, running their global Security Operations Center (SOC), an early Managed Security Service Provider (MSSP).
• 🔍 He later moved to Palo Alto Networks, leading a commercial intelligence group that combined malware research with human intelligence from professionals speaking foreign languages.

Role at The CyberWire

• 🎙️ On a whim, Howard called The CyberWire about doing a podcast and ended up joining the team as Chief Security Officer, Chief Analyst, and Senior Fellow.
• ✨ He values the mission-driven aspect of cybersecurity, aiming to prevent harm to people, seeing it as more than just a business.

A Defining Moment: 9/11 at the Pentagon

• ⚠️ During 9/11, Howard was the network manager at the Pentagon's Army command center.
• ✅ He and his team had spent the previous year implementing significant redundancies and improvements to the communication systems.
• 🏆 Because of their work, the Army's communication center was the only one functioning the day after the attacks, a moment he is very proud of.