Curtiss Luong (he/him)

About me

I was born/grew up in: Happy Valley-Goose Bay, Newfoundland and Labrador

I now live in: Toronto, Ontario.

I completed my training/education at: University of Waterloo, Bachelors of Engineering and a Masters in Management Engineering. University of Toronto, Masters in Industrial Engineering

What I do at work

I work for a cybersecurity company and help organizations protect themselves from threats. I help them understand which of the technologies they are using might be a danger to hackers. Then I help them put things in place that will prevent malicious activity.

One way that I use my STEM background is to use my software engineering background to teach secure coding practices. Learning how to write good code is a good launching off point into learning how to help secure software applications.

My career path is

I had a bit of a winding road when it came to figuring out what I wanted to do when I graduated high school. Even when I graduated, I wasn't completely sure what I wanted to do. I had a strong passion for music and played the piano for many years. I also liked doing math and science. This led me to pursue a career in engineering.

As I progressed in my career, I became a software developer and worked at this for several years. One day, I stumbled upon an opportunity that would change the course of my professional journey. A friend reached out to you and presented the idea of getting into security. I was intrigued by this new path. I took the leap and haven't looked back since.

My background in engineering and love for math and science served as the perfect foundation for my career in cybersecurity. My friend played a pivotal role in my decision to transition into this field. Since then, I have encountered some challenges and failures. However, I have always had the ability to overcome them and overall, I have enjoyed the work.

I am motivated by

In the cybersecurity sector, you get to be at the cutting edge of technology. Everything new that is invented needs to be secured. Right now, everyone's thinking about how to do new and great things with artificial intelligence tools such as ChatGPT. From my side, it'll also be very exciting to address the new and interesting security challenges that arise from these new tools.

How I affect peoples’ lives

Cybersecurity is about keeping people's online assets safe. This includes their passwords, bank accounts, identities, and anything else that they consider valuable. Teaching people how to protect themselves is very rewarding. For example, I would advise anyone reading this to google a password manager such as 1Password and to figure out how they work. Just teaching people stuff like that is what I enjoy the most.

Outside of work I

I'm a huge fan of nature and fresh air. In the summer I can often be found hiking and rock climbing. When I'm not climbing, I stay active by running and lifting weights to keep my body and mind strong. I also like to play video games. Most often I play skill-based games such as Guild Wars 2 and Starcraft 2, but I dabble in most genres.

When winter comes, I pack my bags and spend at least a couple weeks in the mountains with my friends. I enjoy the beautiful landscapes and experiencing the thrill of skiing. I love to find the balance between challenging myself and having fun. I always make sure to enjoy the little things in life, and I'm always open for new experiences.

My advice to others

Don't worry if you don't know what you want to do right away. You'll figure it out eventually.