Honoring InfoSec’s Fallen Soldiers

In this world, we all have someone who’s presence no longer manifest itself to us in the form that we once knew it to be. This Memorial Day I’d like to take the time to honor one of InfoSec’s fallen soldiers.

In this post I just want to take a moment to honor one of InfoSec’s fallen soldiers, Junaid Memon. I’ve never formally met Junaid so I do not have the personal connection that some who knew him does. What I do have is a CCENT certification which I can personally say is directly connected to him and his efforts in the InfoSec community. Throughout my CCNA preparation Junaid was right there in the lab with me. I would hear his voice everyday, guiding me in the direction of more knowledge and new skills. Even on the day of the exam, whenever I’d reach a question that had me stomped, I could clearly hear his voice in my head prompting me to “Try Harder” and comforting me with the reassurrance that “You got this”. So, Junaid, although you are no longer with us in the form that we once knew you, through your passion and relentless effort to share, you’ll forever live in the hearts and minds of everyone who experienced your training and tasted success as a result. Today, I honor and thank you. Rest In Peace, brother. Namaste.

For those of you reading this and are considering taking on the CCNA exam, due to Cisco’s cert policy I cannot disclose any details of what was on the exam. However, I can say this. Although Junaid’s departing is approaching 3 years (which makes the material a bit outdated), I assure you that if you chose to take the 2 part exam route to your CCNA as I did and earnestly apply yourself by working through the labs that Junaid provides, you’ll give yourself at least a 75% chance of passing the CCENT. (Which is Part 1). Your networking experience should easily cover the remaining 15%. Granted, if you have little or no networking experience up to this point I don’t advise you to attempt these exams relying solely on the preparation provided by Junaid. I’d suggest you consider adding the knowledge that Junaid shares to your study plan as extra reinforcement.

Finally, if you know someone in the InfoSec community who is no longer among us in the form that we once knew them, please share this post! Encourage others to do the same. Mention that fallen soldier’s name in the comments and replys. Let’s give these troopers a mighty salute and help them live on through our remembrances. I can only hope that someone in the world will do the same for me one day. As always, thank you for reading. Happy Memorial Day.

Hack On, gents!