Women in Cybersecurity

Over the past several years, cybersecurity has moved from uber techies into the mainstream. When the Olympics can be disrupted by highly targeted malware, and ransomware has grown to be above a billion dollars, we’ve clearly reached a critical turning point. Not to mention the fact that whole countr…

Cybersecurity empowers organizations to enable trust, move faster, add value and grow. In order for cybersecurity to live up to that promise, it will require an increase in talent and new skills to take on the volume and sophistication of today’s threat landscape. According to industry analysts, the…

I’ve been fortunate to have a great career. While I was drawn to math and science in school, it was rare for a woman to get a STEM-related job in the 1980s, but I did, and at NASA! What a start. That role led by happenstance to my working on the Morris Worm, one of the first big computer worms in hi…

Solving the cybersecurity skills gap is difficult – but as an industry, we have a responsibility to educate the next generation who grew up with technology that wasn’t necessarily designed for security! In July, Cisco partnered with the Texas Advanced Computing Center (TACC), to host a cybersecurity…

Black Hat USA is my favorite Cybersecurity conference of the year, a relaxed atmosphere with fellow professionals and reunions with friends developed over the years. The Black Hat NOC is run by UBM, and Cisco Security is honored to be a technology partner for malware analysis/threat intelligence and…

I have a great job. As a Global Threat Analyst, I provide intelligence analysis to senior executives and security teams at Cisco. I focus on the confluence of global political trends and advanced persistent cyber threats. People frequently ask me how I got such an interesting job. I started as an En…

If you care about cyber security and you’re willing to work hard, we need you. Yes, YOU. The cybersecurity challenge is huge and there is a great need for people with diverse backgrounds to help solve it. Your path can originate in different places. For me, I didn’t start out intending to be a secur…

Everyone who works at Cisco knows that we encourage, promote and value a diverse workforce. Supporting women is an important part of that effort. The difference in tangible support from ten years ago to today is profound across the company; but I truly believe that the Security & Trust Organizat…

I’m going to write a book called Organic Cyber Security. A career in this continually evolving field must be just that: organic. It has to become part of your daily practice! You need the right spark to get interested, learn the basics, and you’re off! That’s an especially important notion for women…