Women in Cybersecurity: Career Paths, Advice and Persistent Barriers

Summary

Two DarkOwl employees discuss their paths into cybersecurity, advice for newcomers, workplace challenges for women, and why the field needs diverse skills and perspectives.

Key points

• Both interviewees describe entering cybersecurity from different backgrounds, including corporate research, language translation, and military intelligence.
• They recommend curiosity, hands-on experience, mentorship, and learning from mistakes for people starting in cybersecurity.
• Suggested resources include WiCyS and WISP, CompTIA Network+ and Security+, and scholarships for SANS training.
• The interviewees say cybersecurity roles extend beyond coding and technical work to include analysis, communication, languages, psychology, and business skills.
• They describe persistent gender barriers, including isolation and hostility, while encouraging mentorship and support among colleagues.
• They emphasize human error, social engineering, and phishing as security concerns, and advocate for organizations to consider both internal and external views of valuable data.

People