From Analyst to Threat Hunter: How to Build the Skills for Tomorrow’s Hottest Cyber Jobs

Buffy Ellis is the Executive Vice President of Focal Point Academy, bringing over 25 years of experience in Network Design, Vulnerability Assessment, Penetration Testing, and Network Monitoring and Analysis to lead a team of phenomenal technical experts in delivering hands-on cyber training courses. As a former instructor, Buffy has trained over 4,000 students in the networking, firewall policy, intrusion detection, and malware analysis fields. As the EVP of Academy, she oversees all elements of Focal Point’s evolving Cybersecurity Training portfolio, keeping courses up to date and relevant to the cyber challenges facing today’s biggest companies.

Julian Smith a Computer Scientist by training and has more than 15 years of experience in cyber defense and cybersecurity training, specializing in network security analysis. He has worked with both the U.S. and British governments in cyber defense, has been a full-time instructor, and previously served as Director of Education, heading up Focal Point’s team of expert instructors, researchers and curriculum specialists in producing and delivering cutting edge, hands-on cyber skills training for both public and private sector clients. He is now responsible for building programmatic approaches to cyber workforce development that include role-based assessments, pipeline mapping, training programs, sustainment and validation activities, and more.