Discovering a Profile for Protect and Defend: Penetration Testing

Abstract

UW CIAC’s inter-collegiate research team has extended the World of Work Inventory (WOWI) to four specific job roles that incorporate penetration testing: Cybersecurity Defense Analyst, Cybersecurity Defense Infrastructure Responder, Cybersecurity Incident Responder, and Vulnerability Assessment Analyst. Identification of these statistically validated profiles can support methodologically based recruitment of high prospective candidates from diverse backgrounds and can inform career guidance protocols for these roles. The WOWI is a statistically validated multi-dimensional career assessment tool. Training data is gathered from a sample of people currently working in the roles, and the instrument identifies profiles for predicting successful candidates across aptitude, personality types, and interests. For this research, we selected the four roles that utilize the task of penetration testing within the category Protect and Defend, in the NIST NICE 800-818 Cybersecurity Workforce Framework. [1] Penetration testing is a skill that is in high demand in career pathways within government, industry and the military.