Johnson, Julie
Julie Johnson
Credentials: (She/Her)
Email: julie.v.johnson@wisc.edu
Address:
Division of Information Technology (DoIT)
Office of Cybersecurity
Security Analyst - Testing and Cyber Defense
Biography
I earned BA in communication in 1989, MA in Journalism in 1991. In 2015 I returned to school and earned an Associates in Network Security. My first IT job was a Security Administrator at WEDC, followed by a Help Desk role at American Family Insurance. My current title is Security Analyst II in Testing and Cyber Defense.
When making a living in Journalism proved difficult, and I begun to explore options in Information Technology, my interests were broad. At one point I created a spreadsheet to compare the value of each IT program offered by Madison Area Technical College. Network Security came out at 99.8%, and Web Developer came out at 99.7%! Obviously, that was a difficult decision, and I never lost interest in code, although I had to focus on security first.
Once employed, I continued to take MATC classes, eventually completing a second program, Web Development. That included a course in Agile Methodology, and I realized that way of thinking and managing workflows could apply to security, and many other areas.
One of the highlights of my time at MATC was an Honors Project titled Security for Developers, and I knew it was only the beginning of my focus on the subject. When I addressed a group of development students and showed them how secure development can prevent cybercrime, development instructor Paula Waite encouraged me to study the concept farther. This included a second Honors Project, titled The Fortress, which put secure design concepts into practice in code. My long-term goal is the CSSLP (Certified Secure Software Lifecycle Professional) which is in the same certification family as CISSP but focused on secure development.
2024 Session
Agile beyond software development: Understanding Agile’s versatility
2023 Session
Ethical Hacking – How it Helps IT Security
2022 Session
Development, Security and Operations Working Together for UW Madison
2021 Session
Ransomware – How it Works and How to Stop it (with Live Q&A)