Why IT Leaders Should Hire Veterans for Cybersecurity Roles

Cybersecurity, like combat, is an industry that presents an ongoing state of attack. The threat landscape constantly evolves, with threat actors only growing more sophisticated with their tactics and techniques.  

To be effective, defenders must be committed to the mission at hand. Their work requires the effort of a team, not a series of individual heroics. People who thrive in this type of environment must realize they are part of something greater than themselves.   

Veterans are uniquely skilled to operate in this role. Through their past military service, they keenly understand how to work toward achieving a greater outcome and are self-motivated to reach that goal. They can offer a wealth of skills that align with key industry needs.  

IT leaders must recognize the benefits that veteran talent can bring to their workforce. Below, we walk through five reasons why veterans thrive in cybersecurity roles.  

1. Skilled in combating advanced adversaries 

Many people don’t understand how malicious actors can compromise large Fortune 100 enterprises with ease. The answer is they’re not adopting the perspective of apex attackers.  

Veterans can develop a deep understanding of how these attackers operate, as service members are trained to combat advanced adversaries like highly funded nation-state actors. For instance, military members engage in large-scale red team simulations of advanced threats to identify vulnerabilities and better understand adversary tradecraft.  

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Such high-level training is only provided in the Department of Defense intelligence community, which can train service members to deal with advanced threats that won’t likely reach civilians until many years later.  

2. Trained extensively to meet the moment 

A challenge for many commercial organizations is that their security teams primarily respond to security incidents and are unable to train extensively to deal with a cybersecurity breach. Therefore, when a breach occurs, those teams must figure out how to respond in real time.  

Conversely, veterans are conditioned to always be oriented against the threat they face because they can’t afford to be reactive. Their military experience requires constant training so when the battle is real, they know how to respond.  

This mindset extends well to cybersecurity, where defenders must be proactive in combating threats. Many veterans are skilled in uncovering advanced threats within systems. When performing exercises like red team simulations, they bring a military mindset and operate like a true aggressor. They adopt this serious approach because they understand the objective to fortify an organization’s systems. If a breach occurs, your security team must know how to respond in real time to remediate the threat and mitigate impact, which many veterans are trained to do.  

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3. Highly adaptive to adversity 

Veterans are uniquely purpose-driven, as the No. 1 job in the military is to execute the objective, whatever this task is.  A common phrase used in the military is that “failure is not an option,” and to be successful, one must demonstrate the ability to “adapt and overcome.”  

Service members are tested constantly by being thrown into complex situations, forcing them to become highly adaptive to change. Through this training, veterans become poised to deal with uncertainty and demonstrate agility. In being forced to learn new environments quickly and identify the path to success, they are conditioned to do whatever it takes to succeed. These traits are invaluable in the cybersecurity field where you encounter a great deal of uncertainty, be it with threat detection, risk management, incident response or troubleshooting. Veterans are trained to handle uncertain situations better than most.  

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4. Adopting a ‘mission first, people always’ approach 

Importantly, service members learn that “mission accomplishment” is integrated tightly with troop welfare. Because without the right people, a complex mission cannot be executed. If you take care of your people, they can take care of you.  

As a result, veterans are often well-versed in the values of teamwork and relationship-building. Many learn how to lead efficiently and work with people to help maximize their abilities. They also recognize the importance of striking a balance in committing to completing the mission without becoming one-dimensional. Veterans know that if you demonstrate care for your people, they’ll want to deliver whenever they’re asked to push. Developing that trust is important in any walk of life, and veterans do an exceptional job of learning how to cultivate it among their colleagues.  

5. Serving a greater cause 

Cybersecurity is unique in that defenders serve an industry that has a dual mission; even if cybersecurity operators work for a private company, their work serves a public good. Their efforts ultimately play a role in making the world a safer place, which is a mission that resonates with many veterans.  

Cybersecurity is one of the few industries that provides veterans with an avenue to serve a greater cause. It also presents a battle space where defenders are constantly in the fight, which is a concept veterans can easily grasp from their military experience. Their service provides them with specialized, real-world skills that directly apply to critical industry needs. IT leaders at cybersecurity organizations must take note, as hiring veteran talent can strengthen their overall workforce and take their security operations to the next level.