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.
Overall I consider myself a community specialist when it comes to cyber security.
I founded WiTCH not only to create a safe space for women who were looking to join industry but also to help the women who were currently working in industry.
Our focus is about support and working together to make actionable changes to inclusivity in and around tech.
I have always been a hobbyist when it comes to cyber security, and I actually met my partner of 10 years at DEFCON. However, I never really thought I would work in the industry.
I have always had a passion for the social aspect-such as social engineering-but personally never thought I would work in cybersecurity as I often deem myself non-technical.
After working in finance and pensions, mostly in administrative roles, I decided to become an independent financial advisor during lockdown.
My partner was actually the one who suggest I apply for a job at a cyber security innovation space and I started working with them to give business guidance to small businesses.
This led me first to re-create BSides Cheltenham, a conference on its third year and has grown from 200 people to 500 and then creating WiTCH or the Women in Tech and Cyber Hub.
I have found myspace owning my entrepreneurial and operational side to help change cyber security for the better.
I don't think I will ever overcome my imposter syndrome, however there are three things that have definitely helped me work through it -.
Realising a lot of what creates imposter syndrome is systematic and I can work on changing that.
Whether is creating hyper-completive work environments for women because there is a perceived notion that historically there has only ever been 1 out of 6 c level positions filled by a woman, or internalising that happens when girls can't code or aren't good at math because that is what we heard during our formative years is a systematic problem not a personal problem.
I have obviously created WiTCH with the sole purpose of supporting women, we have monthly meetups, mentorship programs and really working hard to expand knowledge sharing.
As community manager for Bristol and Bath Cyber, I was lucky enough to run my first trial of program called Confidently Cyber which was a free two day workshop to help women feel more comfortable with public speaking and increase the number of role models what are out speaking in cyber security.
I also work closely with Cyber First as part of this role and looking how I can promote opportunities for girls at a younger age to engage with the ecosystem.
I am also a neurodiversity champion, working to raise awareness of neurodiversity, and more importantly how to support those who are neurodiverse in cyber security.
Whether that is through public speaking or a partnership with Inclusive Change to provide Neurodiversity Workshops to cyber security companies.
Whether it keeps you continuously learning about new exploits orthe motivation to finding that vulnerablility after running into metaphorical wall 50 times curiousity is fundemental for cyber security.
Not just for the technical either, from a non-technical aspect being curious can find new and innovative ways to get engagement for cyber security training or more effective ways for client management.
This Cyber News was published on www.itsecurityguru.org. Publication date: Tue, 09 Apr 2024 14:43:05 +0000