Women's Panel Discussion: My Journey To Cybersecurity
March is Women’s History Month! And, professionals in cybersecurity are literally making history as we speak, thanks to its ever changing, ever evolving nature! Join us for a special panel of women who will be sharing their personal experiences about entering the cybersecurity field and their career path.
This EvolveSec panel discussion in informative for for anyone who is looking to learn about different pathways of entering the cybersecurity field to how to grow in the cybersecurity field. The panelists share a bit about themselves and their backgrounds.
Topics and questions covered include (minute marker):
0:04 Welcome
3:34 What is your Name? Where you currently work? Any tidbits as to how you got into cybersecurity?
9:09 What do I need to in order to break into cybersecurity? What are the educational options?
14:39 What are various cybersecurity paths? There are a lot of niche areas to go in to.
21:27 What are your thoughts about the gender gap we see in cybersecurity? Why is it important that that gap closes, if you agree with that? How can we close that gender gap?
28:05 Do you think more emphasis needs to be put onto younger women? Any initiatives that are great that are working with the next generation?
30:19 What is it about cybersecurity that is attractive to women, or in general?
35:59 Do you have any tips for individuals trying to jump into the cybersecurity field?
38:54 Any last thoughts or tips?
40:42 What does an IT staffing firm or IT security recruiter do?
42:53 Re-introduction of panelists.
43:54 What was your favorite part of Evolve Academy?
46:46 What are some of the things that CISOs are most concerned about?
50:03 What can a male ally do to better support women in security?
51:15 What can a dad in the field do to expose his daughters to the field of cybersecurity?
51:26 Evolve Security is partnering with Girl Scouts – visit evolvesecurity.io/academy/events. There are also many emerging programs for girl, children and young adults.
55:12 What are the top three things a recruiter looks for in a cybersecurity candidate?
56:35 Is it valuable for aspiring ethical hacker to participate in bug bounty programs? Can I put it on my resume? Will I get paid for my finds?
58:21 Do you consider yourself a superhero?
59:03 Are you seeing the gender divide vs the gender gap?
1:03:25 How does someone determine if a certain aspect of cybersecurity is for them?
1:05:33 Last thoughts or words of wisdom?
1:05:51 Closing remarks
About Aleksandra Vold
Aleksandra’s emphasis on cybersecurity offers clients a critical safeguard. Her practice is devoted to privacy breach response and preparedness, payment card industry standards and investigations, and advising on how to identify, evaluate and manage first- and third-party data privacy and security risks. She coordinates a skilled team including forensic and public relations professionals, and notification vendors to protect her clients' reputation. Aleksandra’s strengths in cybersecurity are bolstered by her representation of startups and closely held technology companies in a variety of commercial disputes, including intellectual property, trade secrets, federal labor law and contract matters. Aleksandra frequently advises clients on compliance with state, federal and international laws and regulations.
About Ariel Ehrlich
Ariel has always loved technology and working with computers but never considered it as a career. She studied environmental science and geology in college but after graduating she decided against going to law school and instead that she wanted to work in IT. Ariel participated in the very first Evolve Security Academy cohort and that experience ignited her passion in cybersecurity and gave her the fundamentals to pursue a career in this exciting field. Since then, she has worked in application security at United Airlines, originally running the Bug Bounty program and more recently moved to the ethical hacking team, focusing on pentesting web apps.
About Chantel Sims
After going through Evolve Security’s bootcamp, Chantel went into the cyber security field as an Jr Information Security Analyst where she monitors and scans for cyber threats, conducts penetration tests, and strengthens the security posture of her company. She loves all things ethical hacking and red teaming and will be joining her first red team this summer. She aspires to mentor other women entering the field and hopes to start her own Offensive Security firm in the future. In her spare time, she works on security related home projects and is preparing for more certifications that will enhance her ethical hacking skills.
About Evolve Security Academy
Evolve Security Academy provides live or live online immersive cybersecurity training, giving students the concrete and practical skills they will actually need on the job. Students gain real work experience through the live security assessment work they perform on not-for-profit companies. With 350,000 unfilled cybersecurity jobs in the U.S. and 1,000,000 globally, our primary focus is on creating top-tier cyber security talent to solve this labor shortage.
