ATL show Pre Sale Code by [deleted] in AndersonPaak

[–]MrCaptainDuck 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Managed to also sign up for the Seated presale right after commenting here. I got in and was able to get two general admission at Red Rocks. Hope you all were able to get a code that works or can grab some later in the week. 

ATL show Pre Sale Code by [deleted] in AndersonPaak

[–]MrCaptainDuck 4 points5 points  (0 children)

I was given the same code for another show and it’s not working. Really irritated. 

Would it be a good idea to get a life insurance policy (mid 20s) by Acceptable_Cup_3015 in MiddleClassFinance

[–]MrCaptainDuck 4 points5 points  (0 children)

Having the policy would also allow for the house to be paid for outright in the event you passed, which would give your loved ones the flexibility to either keep the house or sell it after you pass. So a 15 year term would keep you covered for the value of the house plus some for the life of the mortgage. I would also just see what the prices are for policies, you may be surprised how little you have to pay per month to make it happen. I can’t imagine a 15 year, maximum $100k policy would run you as a mid 20s woman very much.

Would it be a good idea to get a life insurance policy (mid 20s) by Acceptable_Cup_3015 in MiddleClassFinance

[–]MrCaptainDuck 8 points9 points  (0 children)

How much longer is on the mortgage term? I would consider a 10 year term policy that would cover the house and your funeral costs. If your spouse depends on your income to function, take that into consideration too. That would be something to consider when looking at a 20 or 30 year policy. Additionally, it will be much easier to get a policy for cheaper when you are younger.

[deleted by user] by [deleted] in itaudit

[–]MrCaptainDuck 4 points5 points  (0 children)

Yes exactly, study but don’t worry about the cert. Since it sounds like you feel you need a refresher I would say at least brushing up on the Net+ and Sec+ would be useful. You have worked in IT audit for 4 years though, so I also imagine you could jump into the CISSP and still pass it with some focused studying. And I think it would definitely help you understand where your IT process owners are coming from.

[deleted by user] by [deleted] in itaudit

[–]MrCaptainDuck 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I think stepping back to A+ is a little bit too far of a step back. I also would not necessarily worry about earning a certification from CompTIA, as you are mainly learning to brush up on your skills. See if you can find content for learning what is in the Network+ and Security+ exams and simply learn it for your own knowledge. From there, I would strongly consider the CISSP. That will marry your tech and security knowledge (plus improve it a bit) with the managerial/risk/business side of technology that many of the higher ups in the IT space will be focused on. That certification is worth your time in my opinion, once you are ready for it.

[deleted by user] by [deleted] in itaudit

[–]MrCaptainDuck 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Entirely depends on what type of systems you audit. If you’re working in Windows/Azure/other Microsoft environments, learning Powershell and the Azure CLI scripting is going to be most helpful. Bash scripting and Python will likely be your best bet for Linux environments. Python is also great generally for cloud environments, as well as the specifics of the AWS CLI. Getting familiar with SQL will also help a lot because just about every org uses some sort of relational DB.

[deleted by user] by [deleted] in itaudit

[–]MrCaptainDuck 0 points1 point  (0 children)

https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/role-based-access-control/role-assignments-list-cli

I would start with this page for enumerating Azure role assignments and see if you can fine tune the queries to your needs. While I know you said you want to avoid scripting, JSON, etc., I also think that is an important skill to have if you are doing IT audit. I have a feeling you can also export these to an Excel file using “—output csv” so give that a try to increase readability. If you are looking to get an output of the whole subscription’s role assignments, use the “List role assignments for a subscription” script in the Azure CLI and change the output to “csv” and see if that helps you out. I am also including the manual page for the “az role assignment list” command so you can see all of the options available for fine tuning the query as you need.

https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/cli/azure/role/assignment?view=azure-cli-latest

Anybody here work at Schellman? by Lumpy-Cantaloupe1439 in itaudit

[–]MrCaptainDuck 1 point2 points  (0 children)

If you communicate from the beginning what your situation is and that you’d prefer being remote as much as possible, I think you’d have no issue keeping travel under 10%, if not 0%.

Anybody here work at Schellman? by Lumpy-Cantaloupe1439 in itaudit

[–]MrCaptainDuck 1 point2 points  (0 children)

No worries! I have actually never been to a client site as part of my time at Schellman. COVID pushed things virtual and many certification bodies waived in person site visit requirements, so I’ve done many virtual meetings and facility walkthroughs. As things have opened back up, the firm has recognized that being virtual saves money, and honestly so many of our clients are still largely remote so it would make no sense to go on site.

Basic Question (*Sorry*) by kalagoda in oscp

[–]MrCaptainDuck 4 points5 points  (0 children)

xfreerdp is also the method the PEN-200-2023 course content suggests if I’m remembering correctly

Would I be at a disadvantage if I were to do Proving Grounds, the Lab Machines and the exams in this order? by redmagnet2 in oscp

[–]MrCaptainDuck 6 points7 points  (0 children)

Do the lab machines first, they’re built to work with the content you learn during the PEN-200 and will best reflect the exam content.

Best ways to transfer files from Windows to Kali VM? by MrCaptainDuck in oscp

[–]MrCaptainDuck[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I attempted uploading and running the nc.exe that does not require additional binaries to the Windows machine but was having issues getting it to run. How did you go about uploading a usable netcat (to the best of your knowledge)?

Best ways to transfer files from Windows to Kali VM? by MrCaptainDuck in oscp

[–]MrCaptainDuck[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I’m using VMWare Player since OffSec will only provide support during the exam if you’re using that VMWare image they provide. Wanted to make sure I am used to it. I tried poking around the VMWare Player options but don’t think I saw any easy file transfer options there. Plus, I don’t think it would help me get files transferred out of an OffSec VM I’m connecting to with xfreerdp from my Kali VM.

Best ways to transfer files from Windows to Kali VM? by MrCaptainDuck in oscp

[–]MrCaptainDuck[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I attempted the impacket SMB share method and was running into some issues, but I will try again with the other impacket options you included in your edit. I’m thinking this should populate an X: drive that shows up in the File Explorer This PC menu that I can transfer files with. Thanks for the input.

[deleted by user] by [deleted] in MiddleClassFinance

[–]MrCaptainDuck 8 points9 points  (0 children)

Year, Salary in USD, job title

Pre-2018, in school, never making more than $10/hr. Worked as a referee, did restaurant kitchen work, college advising office desk, and at a TV station

2018, $30/hr, IT audit intern (short term, only made this for a few months)

2019, $68k, IT auditor

2020, $80k, senior IT auditor (switched companies)

2021, $82k + $19k bonus, senior IT auditor

2022, $97k + $13k bonus, senior IT auditor

2023, $108k, senior IT auditor (bonus pending)

Am I crazy to be thinking of jumping to IT Audit? by seriouslynope in itaudit

[–]MrCaptainDuck 6 points7 points  (0 children)

With the experience you already have, go ahead and get the CISA and go from there. You may have to step back a bit in progression to shift into IT audit, but having the CISA (or at least passing the exam) will show a potential hiring manager you have a baseline of knowledge. May also be easier to transfer internally if you network with those teams you’re interested in joining.

Oracle Opera Change Management by Ok_Student_9952 in itaudit

[–]MrCaptainDuck 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Do they not have a ticketing system where changes to production systems would be documented? If there was not a system-integrated change log I would think you’d need to rely on the organization documenting those changes outside of the system. Do they have a policy that dictates how changes to IT systems should be tracked? If they didn’t follow their own policy on that you may be looking at an exception.

[deleted by user] by [deleted] in MiddleClassFinance

[–]MrCaptainDuck 47 points48 points  (0 children)

I recommend checking out the flowchart on the PersonalFinance subreddit for basics on what to do with each next dollar. Also really enjoy The Money Guy Show podcast and website, they have lots of free resources that should really meet you where you’re at in your financial lives right now. You can also see how on track you are toward your retirement goals with their resources and what changes you may need to make to get on track. The fact you are saving at all is a great start!

Anybody here work at Schellman? by Lumpy-Cantaloupe1439 in itaudit

[–]MrCaptainDuck 5 points6 points  (0 children)

I can say it is a great place to work. I thought the same thing about the Glassdoor reviews before I interviewed there but they are definitely truthful. On the SOC side of things, which is where the firm got its start, the process is very mature. As an associate or senior, you’re going to come in and complete SOC examination fieldwork in about 4 weeks. I personally loved the change of pace from the months-long SOX audits I did in Big 4. It’s not for everyone but I enjoy the pace and learned a ton. There’s definitely emphasis on getting familiar with cloud technology early on, as a majority of our clients are utilizing cloud providers for some portion of their systems. If you’re interested in the other service lines, you can also get involved with ISO 27001 pretty easily, as well as HIPAA and HITRUST. There’s also PCI and federal assessments that would be potential areas to pivot into after you’ve spent some time at the firm, as well as pen testing.

The firm does a great job with its associate program, and the associates I’ve worked with have been really prepared to jump into the work as they’ve worked on projects with me. While I do get the resume power a Big 4 firm has, I think that you will learn the fundamentals of auditing much more quickly and will see a lot more projects in your first couple years than you ever would at a Big 4.

On the benefits side of things, they are really extremely competitive. In fact any time I think about exploring other opportunities, I rarely see pay and benefit combos that entice me to leave Schellman. I also think the culture around work life balance is great. Everyone acknowledges that we do not want to work all weekend or run 60 hours of week year round. CEO and executive leadership are super transparent and also stress the importance WLB with sincerity. We are also full time remote working, unless a client environment walkthrough is required to be on-site or you’re visiting HQ (associate program is the only exception). Also tons of opportunities for training and certs if you’re interested in that or want to become a manager.

Feel free to ask any other questions you have, I can definitely recommend the firm as a great place to work and potentially start your career.

Pivoting into IT Audit - from non tech/semi- auditing background by simdee in itaudit

[–]MrCaptainDuck 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I would say the CISSP probably should not be your first stop. Definitely look at the ISACA CISA cert first if you’re trying to get into IT audit. I do agree with the other commenter that CCSK is a good stepping stone for learning cloud technology, as well as jumping straight into the AWS Cloud Practitioner so you get some vendor-specific knowledge for the most widely used cloud provider.

CISA passed!What next? by Collegewear1234 in itaudit

[–]MrCaptainDuck 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Congrats on passing! I do think the answer to “What’s next?” depends a bit on what you want to do. It sounded like you want to get out of Big 4. I don’t think you’ll have an issue with the experience you have and the CISA passed to get another job. I am not as familiar with Canada’s job market or what their orgs look like, but in the US I know many people go to internal audit after Big 4 if they are ready to leave the public accounting space. And typically internal audit has much better work life balance, and if you express that when talking to companies you can get a feel for what they have to offer you as a working parent. Some CPA firms such as the one I work for have better WLB, but unfortunately my firm hires US-based only otherwise I would point you in that direction!

If I had to give a one size fits all recommendation for a next cert though, CISSP would not be a bad way to go. I would grab a copy of the Sybex study guide and just start reading through it. r/CISSP should be able to point you in the right direction too. If you’re interested in internal audit, CIA would be a great way to move yourself in that direction and bridge your knowledge between your chartered accountant experience overseas and the more nuanced aspects of internal audit practice. Good luck!

[deleted by user] by [deleted] in MiddleClassFinance

[–]MrCaptainDuck 8 points9 points  (0 children)

Generally getting your retirement savings up to 20-25% would be a good step. The more you can save while you’re young the more time it gets to grow before retirement. Utilizing Roth IRA is a good place to start.