In Depth

How IT Security Pros Blow Off Steam

An IT security pro's job can be hell. To stay sane, it helps to have an outlet to wring out the job stress at day's end. Here's what some of your peers are doing.

By Bill Brenner, Senior Editor

When traveling, he seeks out BJJ academies and trains wherever and whenever he can. During April's RSA security conference in San Francisco, he and fellow BJJ buff Jeremiah Grossman (founder and CTO of WhiteHat Security) took a night off and went to a local academy to train.

Another martial arts enthusiast is Richard Bejtlich, director of incident response at General Electric.

"I like the fact that failing to focus during the activity will likely result in being knocked out," he says. "There's no room for thoughts of digital security when fighting, so it's a great diversion."

Paintball and pictures
For some, nothing is more satisfying after a brutal day at the office than pointing and shooting. For longtime security pro Jeff Bardin, the joy comes from pointing a gun stuffed with paintballs. For Ernie Hayden, a principal at 443 Consulting and former CSO of the Port of Seattle, the weapon of choice is his camera.

Bardin - a former NSA code breaker who has worked for a number of Fortune 500 companies over the years ⬠plays a variety of paintball games on weekends, "from 'capture the flag' to full frontal assault activities much like Pickett's Last Charge," he says, referring to a Confederate assault on the last day of the Battle of Gettysburg during the American Civil War.

Hayden chooses a more placid shooting activity ⬠photography. He says it's hard not to take pictures since he lives in the Pacific Northwest. Shooting the scenery sooths the office nerves.

"Because I live in one of the most beautiful places on Earth, it's easy to go out there and let my artistic mind take over," he says.

Born to run (and lift weights)
When Hayden needs to do something more physical, he goes to the gym to lift weights or sweat it out on the elliptical machines. Most of those interviewed say they also do some form of hard exercise, subscribing to what Teddy Roosevelt called the Strenuous Life.

Mike Chapple, an IT security pro with the University of Notre Dame, says he runs off the job stress. "There's nothing like a 20-mile run to help clear your mind of the day-to-day trivialities and spend some time thinking about strategic issues," he says.

For the dogs
Peter Bamber, vice president of IT security services at Security Management Partners and a volunteer with the SANS Internet Storm Center, subscribes to muddier pursuits. When the work day ends, his prescription for survival includes turning off the BlackBerry and taking his two dogs to a local pond to throw around a rubber ball.

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