In February of 2021, we kicked off BeyondTrust's ‘Women in Security’ networking series. This series provided an interactive, virtual space for women in cybersecurity to meet, connect, and share their own stories about career development. The series also explored how to continue to grow the industry with best-in-class talent and make cybersecurity more diverse and inclusive. Through this program, I enjoyed the absolute pleasure of working with some of the brightest, kindest, and most influential women in cybersecurity. If you aren’t following these IT security leaders yet, I recommend you do!
Top 7 Webcast Sessions of 2021: Women in Security
Let’s recap the top 7 sessions from the Women in Security webcast series, which you can now watch on-demand:
1) Take a Look at Where We are, and Where We Want to Go
In this session, Executive Security Advisor at IBM Security, Limor Kessem provided her firsthand insights on being visible and vocal in a male-dominated industry. This session focused on empowering women to strive for new heights in cybersecurity. As Kessem describes, it’s all about “Creating a Culture of Intention - Make the conscious decision to be inclusive and help others. Do not miss chances to help others.”
2) 5 Cybersecurity Interview Questions Designed to Trick You
CISSP CISM Director of Information Security & IT, Naomi Buckwalter’s session introduced the best strategies for answering the five trickiest interview questions. Among her top advice is to “Show the hiring manager, show the HR recruiter that you are able to win hearts and minds for security. You need to have great people skills.”
3) Encouraging Inclusivity & Advocacy for Women in Cybersecurity
Dr. Eric Cole, former CIA Hacker and Founder of Secure Anchor Consulting (Moderator); Jo Peterson, Clarify360 VP of Cloud and Security; Diana Kelly, CTO, Executive Mentor, Research Analyst, Security Keynote Speaker; and Matt Dircks, BeyondTrust CEO teamed up in this expert-led panel to discuss how leadership can encourage and advocate for more women in cybersecurity.
Highlights from the event include Jo Peterson’s advice to women: “If you have a good foundation in IT, take some cybersecurity certs, and let it be known at your company that you want to transition into that role and that you have an interest.” Diana Kelly’s advice to leadership is that it can be as simple as having a strong mentor tell someone, “‘this is your career’–it changed my life.”
4) How-To Empower Yourself & Other Women in Cybersecurity
In this session, Meghan Jacquot, Risk Assessment Cybersecurity Engineering with Cyber Future Foundation; Sarba Roy, Product Security Consultant and Membership Chair at WiCys; and Angela Duggan, Director, User Experience at BeyondTrust discussed the importance of collaboration in the efforts to make a high-demand industry like cybersecurity more diverse, encouraging, and supportive.
As Sarba Roy explained, “it’s very important for everyone—especially women—to network in cybersecurity because this is a very vast and deep domain, and there are some phenomenal organizations out there.”
Meghan Jacquot shared her insights on the impact finding quantifiable ways of showing progress, and Angela Duggan pointed to the importance of acknowledging the qualities in yourself that might be a little bit different—they could be helping you become a better leader or advance faster in your career.
5) Developing a Security Strategy – The Human Factor
In her session, Cassandra Brunetto, IT, Risk, & Compliance Manager at Graylog, discusses the importance of reinforcing your cybersecurity technologies and processes by creating a positive and inclusive security culture—one that sets employees up for success. Her key advice for those looking to enter the field: “Communicate your motivation and willingness to learn in interviews to hiring managers, to your peers; you never know the networks that you’ll create. People will keep you in their mind, they could potentially create a role for you one day.”
6) Staying Relevant - How to Think About and Plan Your Career Trajectory
In the session, Soleil Dolce, Sr. Manager of Cyber Assurance and Resilience at Microsoft Corporation, shares her tips for cybersecurity career success: “Look 2 steps forward and think about 1 step back. That is part of strategic planning in your career.”
7) Beyond the Buzz of Zero Trust
In this session, Jennifer Minella, Founder and Principal Advisor - Network Security at Viszen Security, shares her unique take on zero trust using real-world use cases and a vendor-neutral capabilities model. “Zero Trust is really a strategy, not a product. It’s not like buying a firewall. You don’t buy a Zero Trust product. It’s more like saying layered defense or defense-in-depth. It’s a mindset and a strategy.”
Top 3 takeaways
I’ve learned and grown a tremendous amount from these Women in Security networking events. Here are the three lessons that most resonated with me:
1. The impact of having a mentor
2. The importance of asking for help
3. The importance of believing in yourself and what you are capable of.
I can’t wait to see what new insights our 2022 lineup will bring!
To see what’s scheduled so far for 2022, check out our webcasts page here.
Nancy Compean, Manager, Marketing Programs
As the Manager, Marketing Programs at BeyondTrust, Nancy supports BeyondTrust’s highly effective world-wide webinar program to continue advancing its success. At the beginning of 2021, Nancy has launched digitals events to help bring people together, give them an opportunity to network, and help create a path toward a more inclusive and diversified industry. Nancy’s passion, creativity and understanding comes after helping lead the launch BeyondTrust’s Diversity & Inclusion (D&I) initiatives in 2019.
