Category: MIWIC2024

Organised by Eskenzi PR in media partnership with the IT Security Guru, the Most Inspiring Women in Cyber Awards aim to shed light on the remarkable women in our industry. The following is a feature on one of 2024’s Top 20 women selected by an esteemed panel of judges. Presented in a Q&A format, the nominee’s answers are written in their own words with minor edits made by the editor for readability and where relevant, supplemented with additional commentary by their nominator.

In 2024, the awards were sponsored by BT, Think Cybersecurity Ltd. and Plexal, with Eskenzi PR, Assured and Women in Cybersecurity UK & Ireland Affiliate as partners.

What does your job role entail?

My job entails providing oversight for the day-to day running of activities within the Cyblack community. In addition, I offer career coaching and guidance to the Cybersecurity community at large.

How did you get into the cybersecurity industry?

I studied Management Information Systems in my first degree. After failing a certification exam twice in the space of two years, I decided to start my career afresh by doing a Masters in Information Security and Computer Forensics. I graduated with a distinction. Two months after my graduation, I resumed in my first role as a Senior Analyst. That was the turning point for me to start my journey in Cybersecurity.

What is one of the biggest challenges you have faced as a woman in the tech/cyber industry and how did you overcome it?

One of the biggest challenges I faced in the tech/cyber industry was navigating gender biases and stereotypes. At times (especially in meetings), I noticed assumptions about my capabilities based on gender rather than my skills and qualifications. To overcome this, I focused on consistently delivering high-quality work. Every organisation I worked with, noticed me because of the quality of my work. In no time, the biases reduced as I grew in my career. By establishing myself as a competent and knowledgeable team member, I was able to break down stereotypes and gain the respect of my peers and the organisations I worked with.

What are you doing to support other women, and/or to increase diversity, in the tech/cyber industry?

I offer a cohort based mentorship program annually. To increase diversity, I always encourage women to apply for my mentorship program. I ensure that at least 50% of the selected applicants are women. Additionally, I am a mentor at Cybersafe Foundation. I have been honoured to mentor young women who are learning Cybersecurity.

Cyblack has successfully graduated several young women to the Cybersecurity industry. We have recorded job successes with some of the women, who are currently working in reputable organisations.

What is one piece of advice you would give to girls/women looking to enter the cybersecurity industry?

Your dreams are valid. Don’t give up.

The post #MIWIC2024: Dr. Iretioluwa Akerele, Co-Founder of Cyblack first appeared on IT Security Guru.

The post #MIWIC2024: Dr. Iretioluwa Akerele, Co-Founder of Cyblack appeared first on IT Security Guru.

Organised by Eskenzi PR in media partnership with the IT Security Guru, the Most Inspiring Women in Cyber Awards aim to shed light on the remarkable women in our industry. The following is a feature on one of 2024’s Top 20 women selected by an esteemed panel of judges. Presented in a Q&A format, the nominee’s answers are written in their own words with minor edits made by the editor for readability and where relevant, supplemented with additional commentary by their nominator.

In 2024, the awards were sponsored by BT, Think Cybersecurity Ltd. and Plexal, with Eskenzi PR, Assured and Women in Cybersecurity UK & Ireland Affiliate as partners.

What does your job role entail?

So many different things – mostly talking too much No two days are the same – one day I could be speaking at a conference, the next I’m in meetings helping define thought leadership topics, or coaching speakers, and helping our marketing team hone thoughtful honest messaging. I’m also part of the go-to-market leadership team so I work closely with so many people across the business, our customers, and our partners.

I also help out with organising a few BSides conferences in the UK, and I’m and advisor to the board for an AWESOME initiative called The Hacking Games, so work doesn’t stop when I close my Exabeam laptop.

How did you get into the cybersecurity industry?

I don’t expect anyone else will give this answer… I was a travel agent. Through a somewhat ‘sliding doors’ style chain of events, I ended up as the business travel consultant for a company then known as Network Associates, which became McAfee. They hired me to be their receptionist, on the premise that I would be able to find my path there. That was almost 25 years ago so clearly it was a great move!

What helped, without question, was my Mum realising in the early 80s that there might be something in these computer things, so she bought me one when I was four years old, and another when I was six, so I’ve been a self confessed nerd from a very young age. Chatting to the Network Associates team I got the bug for cybersecurity (there were the early days of mass mailers) and I now honestly can’t imagine working in any other industry.

What is one of the biggest challenges you have faced as a woman in the tech/cyber industry and how did you overcome it?

I used to say this was during the early days of working in support and form time to time I’d get a customer being weird about the fact they were talking to ‘a girl’ – I managed to win them over but it was a little frustrating. Nowadays as I’m navigating the joys of middle age, peri-menopause has kicked in, and this has been unquestionably more challenging on a personal level. I’ve got a great support network though, and I’ve learned a lot in the few years this has been part of life, so it’s manageable. What’s also helping me is just talking about it more – with colleagues, friends, and in interviews like this. There are a around billion people on the planet right now who are either in stages of the menopause, or have gone through it, so it really shouldn’t be a taboo subject.

What are you doing to support other women, and/or to increase diversity, in the tech/cyber industry?

It’s super clear how important the many flavours of diversity are to having a creative thriving industry – and it’s not just about which bathroom people use! At Exabeam I’m a member of some of our employee resource groups – Exagals, Pride, and Ex&ND, plus I’m on the overall Community Council that oversees the ERGs.

I’ve also started a women leaders group called ‘Embrace the Change’ which brings together current and future leaders to learn together and share stories. We’ve had two menopause speakers come to events, as well as speakers and panels on a host of other topics, and we welcome everyone – allies are vital to any cause.

My part time projects are very focussed on diversity too. Both the BSides where I’m involved on the call for papers, speaker line ups, and education programs we are hellbent on ensuring diversity is represented to ensure we inspire all sorts of people to join and flourish in the industry. It drives me mad when people say they can only find middle age white guys to speak at events – and I know some incredible middle aged white guys who are great speakers, but there are plenty of other awesome options when you’re building out a conference program.

And at The Hacking Games – which is all about bringing young people into the ethical side of hacking, we’re building out some awesome media and gaming project, plus I’m partnering with some incredibly talented young hackers to help build the industry of the future – watch this space for some announcements on this very soon! It’s a really exciting project.

What is one piece of advice you would give to girls/women looking to enter the cybersecurity industry?

Do it, do it, do it! There is a plethora of paths and roles available – it’s not just about coding! I haven’t written a line of code since 2006, and I wasn’t particularly great at it then! Creativity, passion, plus a desire to help the world be a better place, are vital to driving and advancing this incredible technological world in which we live.

Come to some community events, chat to people who are already in the industry and find out what the options are – I think you’ll be pleasantly surprised.

The post #MIWIC2024: Samantha Humphries, Senior Director of International Security Strategy at Exabeam first appeared on IT Security Guru.

The post #MIWIC2024: Samantha Humphries, Senior Director of International Security Strategy at Exabeam appeared first on IT Security Guru.

Organised by Eskenzi PR in media partnership with the IT Security Guru, the Most Inspiring Women in Cyber Awards aim to shed light on the remarkable women in our industry. The following is a feature on one of 2024’s Top 20 women selected by an esteemed panel of judges. Presented in a Q&A format, the nominee’s answers are written in their own words with minor edits made by the editor for readability and where relevant, supplemented with additional commentary by their nominator.

In 2024, the awards were sponsored by BT, Think Cybersecurity Ltd. and Plexal, with Eskenzi PR, Assured and Women in Cybersecurity UK & Ireland Affiliate as partners.

What does your job role entail?

As the Head of SecOps for the largest greenfield technology transformation project in Europe, Lianne is building a leading edge security team from scratch to meet the needs of a modern retail organisation while empowering her team to think innovatively to create new standards in best practices.

Lianne has delivered talks across the globe to share her vision for a new type of security function.

Drawing upon her expertise as a cyber-anthropologist (through her consultancy, The Anthrosecurist), her practical experience as a security-focused software developer and as a security practitioner; Lianne combines the human and the technical aspects of security to evangelise a cultural security transformation.

She is on the advisory board for a community enterprise aimed at encouraging diversity in tech, is a published author, podcast regular, and recently won Computing.com’s Security Specialist of the Year for her work on human-centric approaches to security.

In 2021 she won two awards for Security Leader of the Year 2021 and Woman of the Year in the Enterprise category and in 2023 she won ‘Cyber Personality of the Year’ in The Real Cyber Awards.

You can listen to Lianne talk about her human-centric approach every Thursday on her podcast Compromising Positions, in which she interviews non-cybersecurity people from the world of anthropology, psychology and behavioural science about cybersecurity culture.

She is doing a Masters in AI and Data Science in 2024.

On Lianne’s first day in tech she overheard another team suggesting that recent cohort of graduates into the tech programme (the one Lianne was a part of) was merely a diversity initiative, and that the women who got a place on the scheme were ‘diversity hires’ and not there on merit. This obviously wasn’t true as there was a robust interview and technical element to being successfully offered a place on the scheme. Lianne reported the incident and the matter was dealt with but looking back, Lianne now feels grateful to have been faced with such adversity so early on in her career. It spurred her on to do talks, set up code clubs and be a very public advocate for career re-trainers and women in tech. Her aim with these talks is to raise awareness and ensure no-one will every have to have a first day in tech like she did.

The post #MIWIC2024: Lianne Potter, Head of SecOps at ASDA and Cyber Anthropologist at Compromising Positions first appeared on IT Security Guru.

The post #MIWIC2024: Lianne Potter, Head of SecOps at ASDA and Cyber Anthropologist at Compromising Positions appeared first on IT Security Guru.

Organised by Eskenzi PR in media partnership with the IT Security Guru, the Most Inspiring Women in Cyber Awards aim to shed light on the remarkable women in our industry. The following is a feature on one of 2024’s Top 20 women selected by an esteemed panel of judges. Presented in a Q&A format, the nominee’s answers are written in their own words with minor edits made by the editor for readability and where relevant, supplemented with additional commentary by their nominator.

In 2024, the awards were sponsored by BT, Think Cybersecurity Ltd. and Plexal, with Eskenzi PR, Assured and Women in Cybersecurity UK & Ireland Affiliate as partners.

What does your job role entail?

In my role, I’m responsible for all aspects of cyber security, that means making sure we are keeping up with the cyber landscape, we are operating in a cyber resilient way across the business and we have a positive security culture at all levels. Being a CISO is a daily balancing act that goes beyond the technical. The security of the company is at the heart of every decision I make but it’s important to ensure security is not hindering business progress, rather, ensuring the business moves forward and stays competitive in the most secure way possible.

How did you get into the cybersecurity industry?

I studied an Ethical Hacking degree in Dundee, and have worked in the industry since I graduated. However, I didn’t always want to work in cyber security, and I certainly didn’t want to work in IT when I was in high school! I loved science, particularly biology and I knew I wanted to help people in my job so I wanted to pursue a career in pharmacy. But I was rejected from all pharmacy degrees I applied to, and I had no plan B. I hated school computing but it was my strongest subject so with no other career options on the table, I decided to investigate how I could help people through IT instead of medicine. I had never tried to hack into anything so really didn’t know if Ethical Hacking was for me, but I loved the idea of helping people and businesses stay safe from hackers so I took a leap of faith and started my degree. I’ve had my ups and downs through university and my career but pursing cyber security has ultimately turned out to be the right choice!

What is one of the biggest challenges you have faced as a woman in the tech/cyber industry and how did you overcome it?

In my experience, I’ve been underestimated, undermined and disrespected on far too many occasions and I’ve considered leaving the cyber security field more times than I’d care to admit. I’ve found particularly in leadership roles I’ve had to be more confrontational than I would naturally like just to be heard, and to set my professional boundaries.

Having worked in several toxic cultures, I used to feel quite angry and disheartened but I’ve realised how essential it is that I continue to fight against this, both for myself and for other women. I’ve grown as a cyber leader, developed a thicker skin and know how to deal with poor attitudes and exclusionary behaviour quite quickly. Yes I am often underestimated, but it doesn’t tend to be for long.

What are you doing to support other women, and/or to increase diversity, in the tech/cyber industry?

In my day-to-day work I will not tolerate behaviour which is exclusionary and disrespectful of women. Having worked in toxic cultures, I always strive to foster an inclusive and welcoming culture in my teams. I want to attract the most talented people to my team, from a whole range of backgrounds so we have different approaches, different thought processes and ultimately different and unique ways to stay cyber secure.

I have been involved in the women in tech community since university and have spoken at many events, hosted my own events and mentored some exceptional women. I’m a trained STEM ambassador and have went into schools to help inspire the next generation of girls to choose cyber security, but I’ve also spoken at events for women returning to the workforce, and women already at university who may want to consider cyber security. I also had the privilege of being the keynote speaker at IT’s Not Just For the Boys twice.

What is one piece of advice you would give to girls/women looking to enter the cybersecurity industry?

Own the space you have, know you have every right to be there and constantly remind yourself that you have the skills, knowledge and background which allows you bring something unique and invaluable to your work.

The post #MIWIC2024: Chelsea Jarvie, CISO and Director at Neon Circle first appeared on IT Security Guru.

The post #MIWIC2024: Chelsea Jarvie, CISO and Director at Neon Circle appeared first on IT Security Guru.

Organised by Eskenzi PR in media partnership with the IT Security Guru, the Most Inspiring Women in Cyber Awards aim to shed light on the remarkable women in our industry. The following is a feature on one of 2024’s Top 20 women selected by an esteemed panel of judges. Presented in a Q&A format, the nominee’s answers are written in their own words with minor edits made by the editor for readability and where relevant, supplemented with additional commentary by their nominator.

In 2024, the awards were sponsored by BT, Think Cybersecurity Ltd. and Plexal, with Eskenzi PR, Assured and Women in Cybersecurity UK & Ireland Affiliate as partners.

What does your job role entail?

I am a knowledge management subject matter expert, with a primary focus on the ingestion, standardisation, verification, documentation and publication of critical indicators and threat intelligence. My goal is to ensure such critical information is searchable and accessible to the varying teams, tools and community members who need it. I am a proud member of Secureworks Counter Threat Unit and an advocate for DE&I activities in my workplace.

How did you get into the cybersecurity industry?

I got my first job in Cyber Security after being headhunted for a Personal Assistant role at Secureworks. But I *really* got into the field when I took up my subsequent roles in Secureworks as a Change Manager and Coordinator. This was the role where I really begun to understand the needs and concerns of organisations from a cybersecurity perspective, ranging from compliancy checks, to red-teaming, to threat hunting, to compromised networks and beyond. It was my first role directly communicating with customers during their time of need, and inspired me to think ‘What could I do more to help’.

What is one of the biggest challenges you have faced as a woman in the tech/cyber industry and how did you overcome it?

Still to this day, I struggle regularly with self-doubt. I have always been someone who wants to jump in and support, but always questioned ‘Am I the right person?’ and ‘Can I do this?’. I’m not sure where it comes from but I do know I am someone who needs reassurance and affirmation to know I am pleasing my leaders and organisation. As I said, this is still something I feel to this day, but I am embracing it and have spun the self-doubt to actually be that I care deeply for what I am doing, that the concerns and nervousness is just because I simply care that much. That helps me feel more at ease with it all.

What are you doing to support other women, and/or to increase diversity, in the tech/cyber industry?

I am an active mentor and have push myself both in and out of work, to reach as many people as possible. In 2023 alone I undertook more than 30 initiatives to drive diversity and inclusion with an outreach of 2000+ people. This included presenting on many occasions on threat intelligence and industry specific knowledge, offering coaching, supporting STEM and female-focused events, working alongside SENCO and neurodiversity programs, as well as creating various blogs and podcasts.

What is one piece of advice you would give to girls/women looking to enter the cybersecurity industry?

You can do it! There is a space for you. It can be hard when you look at a cyber security organisation but cannot see anyone like you and so therefore aren’t sure to apply. But the fact is in industry we are there and we see you and we want you! My second piece of advice is to not be hung up on the need to be technical. Yes there are roles which require technical skillsets, but cybersecurity isn’t all coding and hacking. As long as you are keen to learn and ultimately want to help keep people safe, then there can be a place for you in Cyber Security.

The post MIWIC2024: Rebecca Taylor, Threat Intelligence Knowledge Manager at Secureworks first appeared on IT Security Guru.

The post MIWIC2024: Rebecca Taylor, Threat Intelligence Knowledge Manager at Secureworks appeared first on IT Security Guru.

Organised by Eskenzi PR in media partnership with the IT Security Guru, the Most Inspiring Women in Cyber Awards aim to shed light on the remarkable women in our industry. The following is a feature on one of 2024’s Top 20 women selected by an esteemed panel of judges. Presented in a Q&A format, the nominee’s answers are written in their own words with minor edits made by the editor for readability and where relevant, supplemented with additional commentary by their nominator.

In 2024, the awards were sponsored by BT, Think Cybersecurity Ltd. and Plexal, with Eskenzi PR, Assured and Women in Cybersecurity UK & Ireland Affiliate as partners.

What does your job role entail?

I founded Cyber Security Unity Limited (formerly the UK Cyber Security Association) to help bring the cyber security industry together to go some small way towards combatting the growing cyber threat. My role involves working on key initiatives and projects in various workstreams including for women in cyber, stress/burnout/mental health in cyber, neurodiversity in cyber security (I neurodivergent myself and diagnosed with autism in 2018 and ADHD in 2023), combatting bullying and abuse in cyber security, our “Generation Cyber” campaign, our AI and Security workstream and more. I’m also responsible for our community channels, strategic partnerships, content hub/events and ensuring our members and partners are happy with the direction that Cyber Security Unity Limited is going in, and I I love the large variety of things I get to work on. Community and awareness in cyber security is very important to me; I see a lot of siloes in our industry and my aim with Cyber Security Unity Limited is to break down some of those siloes and get the industry working together more effectively. We talk a lot about the same challenges and frustrations in cyber security, and I aim to bring about some positive change and progress for those challenges.

How did you get into the cybersecurity industry?

I spent many years working in the entertainment industry at the management company of leading TV and radio personalities in the UK, and I worked predominantly with Chris Tarrant of “Who Wants to be a Millionaire” fame before Jeremy Clarkson took over as the host of the show. My ex, however, was very high up as a ethical hacker/penetration tester and she did a lot of penetration testing work for the government and the MOD, much of which she couldn’t tell me about as she was bond by the official secrets act. I was always fascinated with the psychology of hacking and cyber psychology though, and the human elements of cyber security. To help her do her day job quicker, my ex invented a software tool in her spare time that scans routers, networks and firewalls and looks for vulnerabilities in the config files that need fixing. I joined the business in 2009 to help with her increasing workload, and suffice to say I never looked back. Once I was in cyber security, I was hooked.

What is one of the biggest challenges you have faced as a woman in the tech/cyber industry and how did you overcome it?

I entered the cyber security and tech industry in 2009, 15 years on and we are still talking about many of the same challenges. These are things like the gender pay gap, the cyber skills gap, the lack of women in the cyber security industry and the lack of diversity at conferences and events when it comes to speaking opportunities. Things are getting better, and some progress is being made, albeit slowly. I’ve also never been afraid to call things out when I see them, for example, in 2019 I attended the annual Infosecurity event when it was at Olympia, and on the Wednesday of the event I was walking around the exhibition. It was only 10am in the morning when I saw some trolleys loaded up with beer bottles being wheeled to some of the booths. I thought maybe they were for Happy Hours later in the day, but it turned out that some exhibition stands were offering bottlers of beer out to the men to entice them into their stands, but ignoring women completely! I didn’t want a beer but as an exercise I deliberately walked past some of the booths that were doing this, and sure enough, not once was I offered a beer, but plenty of men were offered one! I wrote about this and called it #BeerBias, and raised it with the organisers at Infosecurity. Today they only allow beer and alcohol to be offered on stands at the end of the day and during designated Happy Hours.

Another thing that happened to me was when I was working at a leading not for profit cyber security organisation a couple of years or so ago. I was offered a “Head of” role by the CEO who said that the position came with a £5k salary increase. But in real terms it didn’t, as I had already taken a salary cut of £4k to go there, so the increase was only £1k. But I believed in them and what they were trying to do at the time, which is why I took the slight drop. I then found out that the CEO had offered a “Head of” equivalent level role to a male counterpart that came with a £15k salary increase for him. I was so horrified I resigned straight away. It went against everything I believed in, and I was lucky to find something else relatively quickly. I appreciate not everyone can just leave when they find out things like this like I did, but I could not continue at this organisation after they had shown a huge amount of contempt and disrespect for women in the industry, it was so wrong.

These are just a couple of examples, I’ve seen many others where women have been treated less favourably or singled out.

What are you doing to support other women, and/or to increase diversity, in the tech/cyber industry?

I’m currently working on a range of initiatives to support other women in cyber security and to increase diversity. These include:

– the creation and launch of a campaign called #GenerationCyber which aims to get more women into the cyber security industry, as well as those from minority backgrounds and those who are neurodivergent into the industry. We are all #GenerationCyber, and cyber security is something everyone should have on their radar.

– I am a coach and mentor for women looking at getting into the industry, and regularly give up my time to support those who I coach and mentor into careers in cyber security. I also provide resources and help for tackling bullying and abuse in the workplace (something I have lived and first-hand experience of)

– the release of the third volume of my book “The Rise of the Cyber Women”. I launched this 2 years ago as I wanted to showcase some of the amazing women in the cyber security industry with a view to inspiring the next generation into careers in cyber. I also wanted to shine a light on the many different pathways into the industry and dispel some of the myths to getting into cyber security. The next volume will be released on Friday 8 March 2024 – International Women’s Day. [Editor note: the book can be found here]

What is one piece of advice you would give to girls/women looking to enter the cybersecurity industry?

You will come across bullies and abusers not just in cyber security but in life who nine times out of ten will also have narcissistic personality disorder or narcissistic personality traits. Sometimes women will also target other women, which is very disheartening as we should supporting each other, not tearing each other down.

If you find yourself targeted by one of these unfortunate individuals, my advice is to disengage as much as you can and deploy what is called the “grey rock” method, which is to give these individuals responses that are as benign as you can make them. When they realise they can’t get to you or manipulate you, this makes you less interesting to bullies and abusers.

Please don’t take it to heart if you are targeted though, although I know having been targeted myself by bullies and abusers many times, it is easier said than done. It says MUCH more about them than it EVER will about you. You are more than enough, please don’t let bullies and abusers dull your shine, keep being authentically and unapologetically you.

The post #MIWIC2024: Lisa Ventura MBE, Founder of Cyber Security Unity Ltd. first appeared on IT Security Guru.

The post #MIWIC2024: Lisa Ventura MBE, Founder of Cyber Security Unity Ltd. appeared first on IT Security Guru.

Organised by Eskenzi PR in media partnership with the IT Security Guru, the Most Inspiring Women in Cyber Awards aim to shed light on the remarkable women in our industry. The following is a feature on one of 2024’s Top 20 women selected by an esteemed panel of judges. Presented in a Q&A format, the nominee’s answers are written in their own words with minor edits made by the editor for readability and where relevant, supplemented with additional commentary by their nominator.

In 2024, the awards were sponsored by BT, Think Cybersecurity Ltd. and Plexal, with Eskenzi PR, Assured and Women in Cybersecurity UK & Ireland Affiliate as partners.

Andrea Cullen, Co-Founder of CAPSLOCK Education Ltd.

What does your job role entail?

CAPSLOCK is a reskilling bootcamp that supports people with no experience in cyber into a role in industry. Helping to run the business alongside my fellow co-founder. This involves wearing many hats from strategy development to practical day to day jobs in the classroom, and everything in between.

How did you get into the cybersecurity industry?

I used to be a software engineer. I was then a stay at home parent and did a degree in computer science as a mature student with 4 children. I then did a PhD in operations and got a role a a lecturer, developing an MSc in Cyber. This was 2004. I have been in cyber ever since.

What is one of the biggest challenges you have faced as a woman in the tech/cyber industry and how did you overcome it?

Being ignored and talked over can be a problem. I used to go very quiet when this happened but I now make sure I make myself heard. One of the biggest problems is a lack of diversity. We tackle that every day at CAPSLOCK but for me the biggest way to overcome this is through role modelling and making yourself visible.

What are you doing to support other women, and/or to increase diversity, in the tech/cyber industry?

It is part of everything we do. It is key to our strategy at CAPSLOCK. I also get involved in many events and talks at conferences and trade shows. I spend time with hiring managers and also work with businesses to see how they can hire diverse talent.

What is one piece of advice you would give to girls/women looking to enter the cybersecurity industry?

Do it – there is so much scope and opportunity. Get a mentor, identify your role models, join a community, find the right company, see yourself as a role model for others (this is sometimes a great way to overcome imposter syndrome and grow confidence).

The post #MIWIC2024: Andrea Cullen, Co-Founder of CAPSLOCK Education Ltd. first appeared on IT Security Guru.

The post #MIWIC2024: Andrea Cullen, Co-Founder of CAPSLOCK Education Ltd. appeared first on IT Security Guru.

Organised by Eskenzi PR in media partnership with the IT Security Guru, the Most Inspiring Women in Cyber Awards aim to shed light on the remarkable women in our industry. The following is a feature on one of 2024’s Top 20 women selected by an esteemed panel of judges. Presented in a Q&A format, the nominee’s answers are written in their own words with minor edits made by the editor for readability and where relevant, supplemented with additional commentary by their nominator.

In 2024, the awards were sponsored by BT, Think Cybersecurity Ltd. and Plexal, with Eskenzi PR, Assured and Women in Cybersecurity UK & Ireland Affiliate as partners.

Zinet Kemal, Cloud Security Engineer at Best Buy

What does your job role entail?

As a cloud security engineer I help design and implement security measures to protect an organisation’s cloud-based infrastructure and data. This includes identifying and mitigating risks, implementing security controls, and monitoring for security breaches.

Collaborate to support a secure and scalable transformation and migration from the data centre to the cloud.

How did you get into the cybersecurity industry?

So I came to the US 10 years ago and I had a law degree and career in the legal field prior to my cybersecurity life. My journey into the cybersecurity industry began late 2017, during my undergraduate studies. At that time, I was pursuing a Computer Science degree and chose an elective course titled “Introduction to Information Security,” which was an elective class to the program. This course, and particularly the professor teaching it, became the gateway to my career in cybersecurity.

The professor, recognising the potential in his students, offered to coach any interested candidates for the upcoming Minnesota Collegiate Cyber Defense Competition (CCDC). The opportunity was too good to pass up, so I, along with several classmates, signed up. Preparing for the CCDC was a significant commitment. Over five months, I dedicated my Saturdays to self-study for the competition. This was alongside my full-time class schedule, a part-time IT internship, and the responsibilities of caring for my three young children at the time.

The hard work paid off when I was selected as one of the eight students to represent our university at the MN CCDC. Participating in the competition was an eye-opening experience. It provided me with a practical glimpse into the cybersecurity industry, from understanding the roles of blue, red, and white teamers to learning how to defend against simulated cyber attacks in a business environment.

Our team’s effort and dedication were rewarded when we secured 3rd place among Minnesota colleges and universities in the 2018 competition. That achievement marked a turning point for me; I was hooked. Motivated by this success, I dove deeper into the field through continued education, earning certifications, and gaining experience through internships. By 2018, I had landed my first professional role in cybersecurity. My entry into this industry was a blend of academic curiosity, competitive challenge, and relentless pursuit of professional growth, setting the foundation for my career in cybersecurity.

What is one of the biggest challenges you have faced as a woman in the tech/cyber industry and how did you overcome it?

Navigating being a mom of 4 and rebuilding my career in a whole new continent in a male dominated field from scratch is one. But I witnessed and continue to witness how women are assumed non-technical no matter the degree, security certifications and credentials I built, folks don’t even know these biases sometimes. Not getting the proper respect and getting ignored or not being included in important meetings or work intentionally or not being considered.

However the way to overcome it is to build your brand and be your best advocate. Champion yourself before anyone does then no matter what you know where you stand you are grounded. You will then have a whole tribe built that is your advocate on your behalf. Your brand will speak for itself because you consistently built that with patience and hard work.

What are you doing to support other women, and/or to increase diversity, in the tech/cyber industry?

I’m deeply committed to supporting women and increasing diversity in the tech and cybersecurity industries, using my journey and achievements as a springboard to inspire and empower others. Here’s a glimpse into how I’m contributing:

• Writing Impactful Children’s Books – My children’s books, such as “See Yourself in Cybersecurity” and “Oh, No … Hacked Again!”, are crafted to encourage young minds, especially girls, to envision themselves in cybersecurity roles. These stories foster empowerment and introduce online safety, aiming to spark curiosity about cybersecurity careers from a young age by intentionally including girls as the main characters. I am also the author of “Proud in Her Hijab” teaching about girls empowerment.
• Authoring Significant Works – As a co-author of “Securing Our Future: Embracing The Resilience and Brilliance of Black Women in Cyber”, I’ve had the honour of contributing to a work that highlights the accomplishments, challenges, and untapped potential of Black women in the cybersecurity field.
• Educational Initiatives and Speaking Engagements – Through my role as a TEDx speaker and LinkedIn Learning instructor, I share valuable insights and experiences with a broader audience. My aim is to demystify the field of cybersecurity, making it more accessible and inviting to women and underrepresented groups, and demonstrating that a fulfilling career in cybersecurity or Tech is within their reach.
• Advocacy and Recognition – The numerous awards and recognitions I’ve received, such as the 2023 Minneapolis/St. Paul Business Journal 40 under 40 and the 2023 SANS Difference Makers Award for Best Book of the year etc allow me to use my platform to advocate for diversity in cybersecurity.
• Community Engagement & author visits – By participating in cyber podcasts and engaging with the community, I offer insights, encouragement, and mentorship. My involvement in these activities is geared towards supporting those entering the field, fostering a sense of community and belonging.

The post #MIWIC2024: Zinet Kemal, Cloud Security Engineer – Best Buy first appeared on IT Security Guru.

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Organised by Eskenzi PR in media partnership with the IT Security Guru, the Most Inspiring Women in Cyber Awards aim to shed light on the remarkable women in our industry. The following is a feature on one of 2024’s Top 20 women selected by an esteemed panel of judges. Presented in a Q&A format, the nominee’s answers are written in their own words with minor edits made by the editor for readability and where relevant, supplemented with additional commentary by their nominator.

In 2024, the awards were sponsored by BT, Think Cybersecurity Ltd. and Plexal, with Eskenzi PR, Assured and Women in Cybersecurity UK & Ireland Affiliate as partners.

Lauren Zink, Manager of Security, Culture and Awareness at Indeed

What does your job role entail?

Being the Manager of the Security Culture Awareness and Training team at Indeed entails creating and delivering security information needed to develop a culture of secure behaviour across the organization. This includes tailored training, security communications, social engineering simulations and so much more.

How did you get into the cybersecurity industry?

I actually started out as an educator, both at the high school and college level, and through that I started to take courses in information technology. A position opened up at a large, global organisation with the title “security awareness analyst” and I applied because it married by two passions- adult learning and technology. The hiring managers saw something in me that gave me my chance to get my foot in the door of the security industry. From there I became like a sponge, trying to learn from all the intelligent people I was surrounded by and I never looked back. I fell in love with the cybersecurity industry, but more specifically the human risk side of the house and the passion for that remains and continues to grow stronger.

What is one of the biggest challenges you have faced as a woman in the tech/cyber industry and how did you overcome it?

I would be lying if I didn’t say there were a few. Some of the biggest and most difficult ones I have encountered include being either the only, or one of a very small subset, of females on the team. Another is ensuring that my voice was heard even though I had a seat at the table- not allowing the voice of others being loud to drown mine out. And of course I, along with most women, have experienced imposter syndrome in this field where I questioned whether I belonged and/or what I brought to that seat at the table.

While these are just a few of the challenges I’ve faced I’ve tried to look at it through the lens of not being a roadblock, but instead a small hurdle that was creating an opportunity to challenge myself, learn from the situation and grow. I tried to create my own confidence if I wasn’t always getting it from within my work environment and advocate for myself when others wouldn’t. I also always try to find time to reflect and create lessons learned from everything, not only so that I can remember how far I’ve come, but also so I can share my story so that it will hopefully help others.

What are you doing to support other women, and/or to increase diversity, in the tech/cyber industry?

I actively try to become involved and advocate for both women and minorities through various non-profits, speaking engagements and other efforts such as #sharethemicincyber.

I also think continuing to share our stories and support each other goes on a long way in this industry. If women can’t find support in their team at work, they should know there are networks of women out there cheering them on from afar. If there is ever an opportunity to celebrate a woman or minority in cyber and their accomplishments I believe we should all take it and cheer them on all along the way. Though we’ve made great strides there is still so much more to do to create a more diverse tech/cyber industry for the future.

What is one piece of advice you would give to girls/women looking to enter the cybersecurity industry?

Take the leap. Dive in head first and immerse yourself in it and learn as much as you can. Share you passion, grow your network and get involved beyond just what is required at work. Don’t be afraid to apply for positions if you don’t meet 100% of the listed requirements. You never know who may see something in you and give you a chance. Everyone started somewhere, so therefore so can you. Cyber is really an amazing field to be in as it is always ever changing due to new risks and you get to make a difference every day making the world a safer and more secure place.

The post #MIWIC2024: Lauren Zink, Manager of Security, Culture and Awareness at Indeed first appeared on IT Security Guru.

The post #MIWIC2024: Lauren Zink, Manager of Security, Culture and Awareness at Indeed appeared first on IT Security Guru.

Organised by Eskenzi PR in media partnership with the IT Security Guru, the Most Inspiring Women in Cyber Awards aim to shed light on the remarkable women in our industry. The following is a feature on one of 2024’s Top 20 women selected by an esteemed panel of judges. Presented in a Q&A format, the nominee’s answers are written in their own words with minor edits made by the editor for readability and where relevant, supplemented with additional commentary by their nominator.

In 2024, the awards were sponsored by BT, Think Cybersecurity Ltd. and Plexal, with Eskenzi PR, Assured and Women in Cybersecurity UK & Ireland Affiliate as partners.

What does your job entail?

I founded Cyber for Schoolgirls, a volunteer-led non-profit organisation that helps to educate young schoolgirls about starting a career in cybersecurity. As the Founder, I spend most of my time reaching out to secondary schools across Ireland. As well as seeking opportunities for collaboration with the industry and other technology non-profit organisations. I volunteer with a group of women in the cybersecurity industry, spread across Ireland. I usually find opportunities to visit secondary schools for the sole purpose of running cybersecurity workshops with the schoolgirls, like escape rooms, phishing tests and ethical hacking to generate awareness of security. I also attend exhibitions and speak at events to promote our cause.

As a Senior Information Security Manager, my work focuses on the field of governance, risk and compliance (GRC). As organisations move through increasing levels of security maturity, I help them establish policies, processes and systems to cover key areas of information security within the organisation. I conduct periodic risk assessments and compliance audits to help the business leaders of the organisation understand the state of information security within their organisation. I run cybersecurity awareness programs to build the security culture of the organisation. My expertise is further backed by relevant certifications, including CISM and CISA, and two Master degrees in the Cybersecurity field.

How did you get into the cybersecurity industry?

11 years ago, while I was in university studying telecommunications engineering. An old friend mentioned to me that he had just enrolled in a cybersecurity training course and asked if I was interested. I had always been intrigued by the movies and how hackers could extract information from computers in seconds. Looking back now, I realise that the movies were very exaggerated. I decided that I wanted to understand how data is transferred and protected on digital systems.

So I said, “why not?” I had some money, so I paid for the summer training course. It was on Ethical Hacking; Information Gathering, Reconnaissance and Social Engineering. That summer I learned about cybersecurity. I learned how to gather information about a person or organisation and how to exploit them using the information acquired. Naturally my skills grew, especially my skills in ethical penetration testing and email harvesting. By the time, I graduated, I knew I wanted a career in cybersecurity. I wanted to be one of the good guys in cybersecurity. To take things further, I moved to Ireland to study a master’s degree in Information and Network Security Engineering.

I joined a managed security service provider in Ireland. At the time I had just graduated from the Information and Network Security Engineering course. My dissertation was an in-depth comparison of the top open-source Security Information & Event Monitoring software. It impressed the CEO so much that I was hired on the spot. That was my first role in the industry, I became a Security Analyst. Everything went onwards and upwards from that point.

What is one of the biggest challenges you have faced as a woman in the tech/cyber industry and how did you overcome it?

It’s a combination of being undermined, doubted, distrusted and intimidated with regards to my ability to perform at the level that is expected in an organisation. I’ve faced this many times with mild to extreme experiences. I had to learn to advocate for myself and to believe in myself. I don’t get rattled anymore, and I have learned and still learning to operate within different types of power structures at a high level.

What are you doing to support other women, and/or to increase diversity, in the tech/cyber industry?

I believe that I am a next-generation leader in the cybersecurity industry, so I take my role as an advocate in the industry quite seriously. Currently, I am the Founder of Cyber for Schoolgirls, which is exist to bridge the gender gap and prepare the next generation of young women for the world of cyber. I’ve gathered a passionate group of like-minded women, and together we spread the gospel of cybersecurity careers to girls in secondary schools everywhere. It’s been my long held belief that one of the ways we can address the lack of women in cyber, is helping young girls take an interest in the field and support them throughout their education.

In 2019, I co-founded a non-profit organisation called Cyber Women Ireland, which aimed to support women in cybersecurity and women trying to enter the cyber industry. We ran a mentorship program during the 2020 lockdown and successfully helped two women land a cybersecurity role. I also dedicate my time to speaking/mentoring women across the world who seek guidance in starting a career in Technology & Cybersecurity.

I show up everywhere I can, being the representation of diversity in the cybersecurity industry for those who do not have anyone to look up too.

What is one piece of advice you would give to girls/women looking to enter the cybersecurity industry?

Cybersecurity itself isn’t hard, and it can be a lucrative and secure career path for young girls and working women everywhere. There is more freely available cybersecurity knowledge and training now than ever before, there are also mentorship programs just for women. Don’t be afraid. As much as you want to work in cyber, the women who are already in cyber are just as eager to have more women to call friends and colleagues in cyber. You will not be alone. You will always have support because people like me are building a community that you can be part of.

Cybersecurity is interesting, there’s always room for career growth, there’s always new things to learn, and no two days are the same. There’s just so much to know between the constant updates of frameworks, emerging cyber threats and innovations in cyber defence. You belong here!

The post #MIWIC2024: Blessing Usoro, Cyber for Schoolgirls first appeared on IT Security Guru.

The post #MIWIC2024: Blessing Usoro, Cyber for Schoolgirls appeared first on IT Security Guru.