Staying Motivated
The first section of this page is a summary of people who have taken the time on LinkedIn to publicly acknowledged my contributions as it relates to them personally. Looking back at the list it is a “who’s who” of Information Security and I’ve very lucky to have been surrounded by these people over the years. The second half of this page is related to those people and organizations who have seen fit to provide positive comments on my analysis, blogging or career via comments, blog posts or otherwise. For me all of this is flattering and I sincerely appreciate people taking the time. There are dozens, if not hundreds of others that over the years have provided valuable insight, motivation and guidance and I appreciate them just as much. Thank you.
This page is my way of saying “Thank You” and acknowledging everyone who has motivated me along the way!
LinkedIn Recommendations:
“I worked with Rocky as part of a due diligence effort on a company that we were evaluating. His knowledge of the field and depth of experience within it were impressive and he quickly became a trusted advisor on the deal. The work product of the engagement was comprehensive and well thought and was produced quickly and efficiently.
I would work with Rocky again in a heartbeat!”
Service Category: Business Consultant
Year first hired: 2010
Top Qualities: Great Results, Expert, High Integrity
Martin Roesch CTO & Founder at Sourcefire Inc
“Rocky possesses a rare breadth of understanding in the various technical and non-technical aspects of information security. More importantly, he understands how these variables are related, and has the innate ability to effectively prioritize tasks and successfully execute complex projects. Additionally, the combination of Rocky’s friendly demeanor, ability to distill complex issues for decision makers, and tact in challenging situations is a scarce commodity in the INFOSEC world. It was a distinct pleasure working with Rocky.” May 14, 2009
Shawn Carpenter , Principal Forensics Analyst , NetWitness Corporation
“Rocky is one of the best people I have ever worked with and I have nothing but the upmost respect for him both professionally and personally. Rocky is someone that you can rely on to get a project done regardless of what the challenges are because he is a hard worker, detail oriented and creative.” February 12, 2009
Don Beck , Regional Sales Manager , ArcSight
“Rocky is intimately familiar with the technical and functional aspects of information security, a rare combination of skills. He has a clear and trust building demeanor that lends to his ability to work well with customers and business partners.” January 27, 2009
Ray Patterson , Vice President Global Services , ArcSight
“In life you may get an opportunity to work with a true leader like Rocky DeStefano. He has been a strong business partner, advocate, coach and innovator. It has been my pleasure to be a partner, and only regret that we didn’t start working together sooner. He brings a unique vantage point to provides flexibility, complete and trusted solutions. Rocky possesses the highest integrity, work ethic, and knowledge base.” January 20, 2009
Jaci Vilardo , Sales Manager , NetWitness Corporation
“Rocky is a true professional in the world of IT Security, his many years of hands-on experience gives him an understanding of the very complex world of real-time threat awareness and compliance. I highly recommend Rocky and look forward to working with him again in the future.” January 15, 2009
Rick Wescott , VP of Sales, Public Sector , ArcSight
“Rocky is highly technical manager with great insight to my organization’s needs.” February 1, 2008
Top qualities: Great Results , Personable , Expert
“Rocky is a great listener, a very good problem solver and overall an excellent person to work with. Given the opportunity I would work for Rocky or with Rocky at any time. Rocky is a great asset to any team and a great manager always making sure his reports are heard and properly rewarded for their efforts.” September 28, 2007
Rui Ataide , Principal Security Consultant , ArcSight
“Rocky is a man that I would always be pleased to have working with my customers. He is calm under fire, communicates extremely well, know his technology, and is very quick to learn anything new that comes along. ArcSight fields a complicated product that interfaces with an even more complex environment at the customer site. Rocky keeps it all under control without drama even, as inevitably it will from time to time, everything that can go wrong, does go wrong.” July 27, 2007
Ken Tidwell , Director of Technology and Chief Architect , ArcSight, Inc
“I have worked closely with Rocky on many very large, strategic services deployments. Customers like and trust Rocky. He always goes the extra mile. In all of my engagements with Rocky the customer’s expectations were exceeded.” July 16, 2007
Richard Grodahl , Regional Sales Manager , ArcSight, Inc.
“Rocky has the perfect combination of technical and consultative skills and is terrific with customers. Rocky has always been a technical resource for myself and others. Rocky has quickly advanced through the ArcSight ranks and is considered a leader. I would work with or for Rocky again in the future!” July 9, 2007
Lisa Huff , Prinicpal Sales Engineer , ArcSight
“Rocky is a seasoned Professional Services Manager with strong leadership and technical skills. I had the pleasure to work with Rocky at ArcSight, especially in the early years before the support organization was formed. Rocky could confortably handle complicated technical issues as well as customer issues, especially those with enterprise software in the early stages of their development. He always maintains a high level of professionalism and a sense of humor even under pressure. Therefore, Rocky is highly respected not only by his colleagues in the services organization but also by software developers.” June 30, 2007
Shijie Wang , Lead Software Architect , ArcSight, Inc.
“Rocky is the consummate professional. I have had the pleasure of working with him for three years. He is clearly recognized as a network security guru. His experience, knowledge, skill, work ethic, and interpersonal skills are not rivaled. Any organization would benefit from his expertise. I recommend him without hesitation.” June 27, 2007
Jarrod Sharp , ArcSight Enterprise Specialist , ArcSight
“Rocky not only has exceptional technical skills that help him work with engineering but he has the skills to provide a high level vision, guidance and understanding of customer requirements which always guaranteed customer success stories in the large enterprise-wide deployments he managed. Rocky has been instrumental not only in the growth of his department, but also in the growth and success of ArcSight.” June 23, 2007
Hector Aguilar , VP of Software Development, Networking Products , ArcSight
“Rocky always made the time to help. He never lost sight of how important the customer was, or how important it is to build an effective team. His leadership abilities were apparent early on as he was able to obtain buy-in from team members, and provide an atmosphere of encouragement, not intimidation. He never lost his cool, either! I’d work with Rocky again!” June 12, 2007
Aaron Kramer , Senior Sales Engineer , ArcSight, Inc.
“Rocky is one of most solid technical professionals that truly understand the vendor-client relationship. Rocky is the epitome of the characteristics LEADER and MENTOR; he is always focused on the success of the team.” June 11, 2007
Mario Giudice, CISSP , Senior Sales Engineer , ArcSight
“I met Rocky in his previous job and was impressed enough to hire him. He turned out to be a great asset in the company and a very strong performer out with customers. He got along well with the other functions and was, in particular, well respected by sales, engineering, and management. He was promoted to a leadership position as a result of his great work. I would gladly work with him again.” June 8, 2007
Bob Ciccone , COO, EVP , ArcSight
“Rocky is great to work with. He takes a fair and calculated approach in everything that he does and takes personal interest in the success of his business partnerships.” June 8, 2007
Scott Ackerman , Vice President , Knowledge Consulting Group
“Rocky is very passionate about his job. I’ve worked with him for several years while he was fulfilling different roles at ArcSight, and he was always eager to push the envelope to get that extra little bit of customer satisfaction. I have seen this pay off over and over again, and ArcSight is extremely happy to have Rocky as a part of the team!” June 7, 2007
Stefan Zier , Software Development Manager , ArcSight, Inc.
“Rocky is a great engineer. Very knowledgeable and dedicated. I’m sure that he will continue to grow in his career quickly.” April 12, 2006
“Rocky is a very dedicated professional that I would highly recommend for any IT related position. In working closely with him, I know he has the required expertise to be a positive asset to any organization.” June 9, 2005
“I highly recommend Rocky as a subject matter expert in all facets of information security.” July 25, 2004
Ron Beck , Sales Engineer , ArcSight
“Rocky is one of those rare IT professionals that has a wealth of knowledge and will not hesitate to share that knowledge with a colleague. He would do so in a way that is clear, understandable and void of ego. He is a great asset to any team he’s on and I trust his technical skill and capability.” August 6, 2008
Marvin Marin , Senior Network Security Engineer , EDS
“I worked with Rocky both at Para-Protect and he hired me at EDS. Rocky is very technical and knows his stuff, no doubts there. I have learnt a lot about enterprise security by working for Rocky. He is a great person to work with.” June 17, 2008
William Agble , Network Security Engineer , EDS
“In the time that I worked with him at the EDS Global Security Operations Center, I observed Rocky providing ongoing steady guidance and technical expertise to clients, management and staff.” March 27, 2007
Bill Casti, CQA, SSCP, CISA, CISM, CIPP, ITIL , Delivery Excellence/InfoSec Standards Compliancy Manager & Sr. ITIL InfoSec Mgmt Process Architect , EDS Corporation
“Rocky is one of those people you always want in a team, to be successful. He’s committed, creative and intelligent and knows his stuff. I appreciated his work and agility. And to add to the other endorsements, he really is a star player.” September 8, 2006
Paul Davis , EDS Dow CSO , EDS
“Rocky was on of our “stars” in the Security Operations Center business and provided cutting-edge analysis and management services to our clients.” July 20, 2006
Wayde York, MBA CISSP , Sr. IA Consultant , EDS
“I worked with Rocky while he was at EDS and found him to be an excellent leader in the GSOC. Rocky managed the GSOC’s clients well and always was able to answer any questions that came his way. Rocky was also instrumental in forming the GSOC and helping build it into a viable business unit.” May 2, 2006
John Duquette , Senior Security Engineer , EDS
“While at EDS Rocky assumed the bulk of the effort to create a 24 x 7 managed internet security service. This service is still in place today and is one of the greatest sources of revenue for the EDS SPPS Division. Much of the work that Rocky and I did revolved around drafting CIRT and Monitoring procedures, Operations Guidelines, Technical implementation instructions and Reporting requirements.” June 15, 2005
Dan Fernandez , Systems Engineer , EDS
“Rocky DeStefano was instramental in identifying the business case, procuring the resources, and establishing a formalized CERT/CIRC/CSIRC service offering at EDS. I recommend Rocky highly, and especially want to commend his ability to work in high-stress environments to achieve success for the client and the company.” June 9, 2005
Jay Anderson , Associate , Booz Allen Hamilton
“Rocky is a great infosec professional to work with. He’s highly knowledgeable about the industry and technologies, works hard, and is supremely professional in every regard. I’d recommend him without hesitation.” June 8, 2007
Ken Van Wyk , Chief Technology Officer , Para-Protect Services, Inc.
“Rocky maintianed the highest technical professionalism and personal integrity. The skills and work ethis necessary for making a young start-up succeed are in the DNA of Rocky and he is an asset that I would be honored to work with again.” August 9, 2005
Michael (Mike) Higgins, CISM, CPP
“During the time we worked together at Para-Protect, I found Rocky a very likable individual. As a manager, he usually juggled several tasks at once, but would almost always make himself available to give opinions and listen to the ideas of others.” June 28, 2005
Dave Hentz , Senior Computer Engineer , EDS
“I worked with Rocky DeStefano when he served in the AFCERT’s IRT. He was a skilled professional who was always ready to help identify and resolve intrusions.” June 9, 2005
Richard Bejtlich
worked directly with Rocky at CSC / AFCERT
“I worked with Rocky for several years in the AFCERT where he was known for being innovative, a quick learner and his attention to detail. Within a short time of starting as a junior analyst, Rocky was placed on the Incident Response Team and rapidly became a leader on the team. Rocky is one of the best analysts I’ve ever had the pleasure of working with in this field!” June 9, 2005
“…one of the few others that had a clear sight picture as to what was going on !” August 26, 2004
Michael Fischer , Systems Security Analyst , State of Texas
Part II: Always Pushing The Conversation Forward!
Most of the time I talk “live” with my readers via Skype, In-Person and of course alot happens through email. Sometimes the conversations takes place on twitter and via blogs and blog comments. Here are some flattering examples of what people have had to say about the work I’ve done:
Mike Rothman of Securosis
“Rocky has forgotten more about building a SOC than you probably know, so read the posts.”
Reference: http://securosis.com/blog/network-security-fundamentals-correlation/
Andrew Hay on the Security D-List, Andrew is now part of The 451 Group
“Rocky is one of the (if not THE most) well respected SIEM experts on the planet”
Reference: http://www.andrewhay.ca/archives/1386
Craig Balding of FUDSEC
I quickly came to appreciate he is one of the minority: an information security professional providing true insight and solutions based on real world experience of what works. To put it simply, Rocky “gets it”
Reference: My FUDSEC Post: (http://fudsec.com/liberate-yourself-change-the-game-to-suit-you) Lead to a great industry wide conversation in these two posts and their comments! http://securosis.com/blog/comments/changing-the-game/P25/ and http://securosis.com/blog/comments/in-violent-agreement/ by David Mortman of Secrosis
Paul Stamp of RSA
“Spot on analysis of SIEM market”
Reference: http://tokensecurityguy.typepad.com/token_security_guy/2009/03/spot-on-analysis-of-siem-market.html
Dr. Anton Chuvakin
1. awesome coverage of this webcast from Rocky DeStefano can be found here at his VisibleRisk blog.
2. “Dude, you did it! This is an awesome post that was overdue for about 5 years :-)”
Reference:
1. http://chuvakin.blogspot.com/2010/03/thursday-325-ians-webcast-panel-on-log.html
2. Comment on Blog -> http://www.visiblerisk.com/blog/2010/5/12/siem-evolution-chapter-1.html
Nick Selby of Trident Risk Management (Formerly of The 451 Group)
“Excellent analysis, as usual, Rocky!”
Reference: (Twitter) nselby RT @rockyd: Thoughts on 2010 Gartner MQ for SIEM - http://bit.ly/biddw7 <-Excellent analysis, as usual, Rocky!
Dwayne Melancon of Tripwire
“Keep up the great work - love your site.”
Reference: Blog Comment on Thoughts on 2010 Gartner MQ for SIEM - http://bit.ly/biddw7
Chris Blask of AlienVault
“Good discussion, good comments and always good to share thoughts with you, Rocky”
Reference:
1.http://www.visiblerisk.com/blog/2010/5/15/2010-gartner-mq-for-siem.html
2. http://blog.alienvault.com/diary/7/rocky-destefanos-take-on-the-gartner-magic-quadrant
I appreciate everyone listed here and the hundreds of others that have encouraged me to do the best I can over the last 15+ Years. Thank you all! - Rocky