Brett Harris

Background

About Brett Harris

I have always been very inquisitive and fascinated with technology. I was the type of kid that used to take apart my parents' appliances just to see how they worked. I was gifted my first personal computer at the age of 13 and I taught myself to program it in BASIC and a little bit of assembler. This has led to a wonderfully varied career in a number of technology-based industries, which has resulted in a broad range of experiences and capabilities, both technical as well as "soft skills". I began my career by studying Explosives Technology, and working in the commercial explosives industry. I acquired skills that have served me well throughout my working life, including report writing and presentation skills. I also became comfortable speaking with people at all levels within the company, particularly with explaining technical information to non-technical people. When the company installed a network, I was tasked with administering this network, and I eventually left the explosives industry to move into computer networking full time. I covered a large number of roles within my years in the industry, gaining further experience in project management, sales, and management, in addition to strong technical skills in PCs and networking. I obtained numerous certifications from the likes of Novell, 3Com, Cisco, and Microsoft, and I also instructed a few of the TCP/IP and networking modules for the MCSE and CCNA certifications. A few years after immigrating to Australia in I left the ITC industry to move into electronic security. I have worked in the industry for nearly 20 years, during which time I gained experience in conducting investigations and providing evidence to law enforcement, in addition to furthering my sales and management skills. Most of my working experience had been involved at a very technical level, leaving me with little experience in the administration of businesses, so I completed my Master of Business Administration, providing me the knowledge to understand and discuss the business implications of technical solutions. I found my work in the electronic security industry very rewarding as I felt I was helping to protect people from those that would do them harm. I have therefore commenced a Master in Cyber Security, where I hope to be able to utilise my strong IT foundations to protect people from those wishing to do them harm online.