Keeping relevant in this industry can be challenging. With the DevOps, SDN, public cloud and insert acronym here revolutions, everything is moving so quickly consuming information can feel like drinking from a fire hose.
A strategy of mine is to listen to industry related podcast’s both security and data networking. Podcasts are a great way to consume information based on research in the training industry that suggests “You see you forget, you here you remember, I do I understand”
Here is a list of the Weekly podcasts I listen too. I subscribe to them through iTunes so new shows appear in the podcast App once published. Most of them offer alternative ways to download the content though.
Sans Internet Storm Centre Stormcast
This is a daily podcast that only lasts for 5 minutes. I listen to it everyday pretty much without fail. Very valuable to learn about any critical vulnerabilities that devices you own / manage may be affected by. They also link to articles discussed during the podcast in the show notes so you can research them in more detail should you need to. I’ve learnt about many cool tools and technical white papers that I may have not discovered through listening to this podcast.
Packet Pushers
I never miss any of the Packet Pusher shows. When a new show appears in my Podcast’s app I punch the air with excitement as I enjoy almost every show. The content is relevant and essential listening if you want to keep up with Industry trends and direction etc. Most of the shows are under an hour in length really well edited and the audio quality is always very high.
Risky Business
Another must listen to show is produced by Australian Patrick Gray. It’s InfoSec focused but covers all the relevant weekly news and features. Always really well recorded and edited with most of the shows under an hour in length. Patrick manages to get some really key people onto the show for interviews, some of which are really worth listening too.
Security Now
Steve Gibson, the man who coined the term spyware and created the first anti-spyware program, creator of Spinrite and ShieldsUP, discusses the hot topics in security today with Leo Laporte. These podcasts are long! sometimes 2.5 hours which makes listening to the show difficult in one session for me. Its still a must listen to as the content is excellent. Theres a few sponsored advertisements but you can always forward them should you want to save some time. These types of shows are only possible due to the income generated by the sponsors.
In Tech We Trust
In Tech we trust is worth a listen too. The shows are usually under an hour in length and audio quality is usually good. The main host Nigel Poulton has a natural ability to explain complex technologies in an easy to understand format. Nigel also records training videos through Pluralsite focused on Docker containers which are very popular. I have to confess this is one podcast that on occaision I skip listenting if I’m short on time. Not because I don’t think the content is good its just not as relevant to the work I’m involved in on a daily basis.
Summary
I’m well aware of many other excellent podcast shows not listed here but I only have limited time available each week to listen to them. It depends which customer I’m working for, if their London based I’ll commute on the train which is two hours each way and on those occasions I run out of podcasts to listen to and go looking for more. When I work for customers that are more local to me I struggle to listen to them all each week.
Some times I find listening to them hard going and will take the occaisional break and listen to some music. Not for long though as I end up missing the fine technical discussions that take place on each of the shows. Sad? yeah maybe but if you work as an independent consultant like me you have to keep up with the industry.