CyberWire Daily But what do you really want? [CISOP]
Mar 24, 2026
Ed Vasko, CEO of High Wire Networks and serial cybersecurity entrepreneur, shares decades of hands-on SOC-building and workforce development experience. He explores gaps between academic training and real-world ops. He advocates experiential SOCs tied to universities, a three-legged model of knowledge, skills, and experience, and steps to professionalize and scale cyber talent development.
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Building An Internal Cyber University
- Ed Vasko created an internal training “university” to convert interns and new grads into productive SOC staff with a six-month training cycle.
- He built this because colleges then lacked robust cyber programs and entrants lacked critical real-world readiness.
Experience Is The Missing Third Leg
- The missing leg in entry-level cyber hiring is real-world consequential experience, not degrees or certs alone.
- Labs and resettable exercises teach skills, but applicants lack operational awareness needed for live consequence-driven work.
Create University Linked Experiential SOCs
- Do build experiential SOCs attached to universities to give students real consequence and employers demonstrable experience.
- Boise State’s institute ran a statewide program engaging community colleges, four-years, and veterans to supply practiced entry-level talent.