Jonah Goverman, senior offensive security consultant at Unit 42 by Palo Alto Networks, speaks to students alongside fellow Mount alumni Sean Jennings and Jack Santaroni during “A Day in the Life of a Cybersecurity Professional” on October 15.
In recognition of Cybersecurity Awareness Month, the Center for Cybersecurity at Mount Saint Mary College hosted a public panel session titled “A Day in the Life of a Cybersecurity Professional” on Thursday, October 15, inside Aquinas Hall.
Housed within the college’s Division of Mathematics, Media, and Computing Sciences, the Center aims to foster digital safety and highlight career opportunities in this critical industry. The event brought together three seasoned industry leaders – all alumni of the Mount and members of the Air National Guard—to explore real-world challenges, career pathways, and the day-to-day realities of protecting digital infrastructure.
The panel featured Jack Santaroni, a Senior Security Consultant at Unit 42 by Palo Alto Networks; Sean Jennings, a Cybersecurity Analyst at Central Hudson Gas & Electric; and Jonah Goverman, a Senior Offensive Security Consultant at Unit 42 by Palo Alto Networks. Moderated by Sagar Raina, Associate Professor of Information Technology, the discussion covered everything from physical penetration testing and defending critical infrastructure to landing a job in a competitive market.
Goverman, who brings more than five years of consulting expertise and nearly a dozen years of service in the Air National Guard as a Cyber Systems Operations Apprentice, detailed his work on the offensive side of cybersecurity. His role involves simulated cyberattacks, network compromises, and even authorized physical break-ins to test client defenses.
“My main focus in this role essentially is helping clients find flaws before illicit threat actors do,” Goverman explained. “I try to evaluate everything from a holistic approach using threat actor methodologies.”
While Goverman focuses on offensive testing, Santaroni specializes in the defensive side of consulting, assisting organizations in the wake of major security events. Santaroni has more than eight years of field experience, having begun his military service as an Information Assurance Specialist before earning his bachelor’s degree in Information Technology from the Mount and a master’s in Information Security Operations from Champlain College.
“Essentially I help clients on the worst day of their careers, following ransomware attacks, intrusion breaches, business email compromises. Pretty much any flavor of attack,” Santaroni said. “At the end of the day, our focus is helping them respond cleanly to the attack, and to contain and eradicate the threat actor from their environment.”
Providing an internal corporate defense perspective was Jennings, a 2017 graduate of the Mount’s IT program where he founded the Byte Knights IT Club and captained the men’s lacrosse team. He holds a master’s degree in Cybersecurity from Fordham University and serves in the Wing Cybersecurity Office at the Stewart Airlift Wing. At Central Hudson, Jennings helps safeguard utility operations against constant cyber threats.
“It’s critical infrastructure, so we are targeted heavily from outside factors,” Jennings explained. “Working internally allows you to kind of learn every facet of the organization and implement and tune your tools successfully, because we only have to guard one infrastructure.”
As the conversation shifted toward artificial intelligence and career readiness, the panelists urged students not to rely entirely on automation, stressing the importance of problem-solving, communication skills, and fundamental technical knowledge.
“There’s always a puzzle,” Jennings told the students. “What you do in your day-to-day does make an impact, and to not become complacent and continue learning is really going to set you apart in this field.”