https://www.safetydetectives.com/blog/interview-mari-galloway-womens-society-of-cyberjutsu/

Women Warriors Sought for Battle Against Cyber Attackers

By Paul Warren, U.S. News University Directory

For decades, computers have been used to control the nation’s vital infrastructure, such as power distribution and water treatment systems. Today, an increasing volume of our daily activities – from shopping to banking and healthcare – is conducted over the World Wide Web. With ever more systems and mechanisms relying on the Internet, however, society’s vulnerability to hackers and other cyber attackers is also rising.

As this conflict expands and evolves, there will be a growing demand for cybersecurity professionals.

In October 2012, U.S. Secretary of Defense Leon E. Panetta said that one of the most important investments America can make is in training “skilled cyber-warriors.” He said the Internet is a “battlefield of the future where adversaries can seek to do harm to our country, to our economy, and to our citizens.”

In addition, U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry recently equated cyber threats with the dangers posed by nuclear weapons.

According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), employment of information security analysts nationwide is projected to grow by 22% through 2020, a rate that’s more than 50% higher than the average job growth for all occupations. The average salary for information security analysts was almost $82,000 in May 2011.

The past several years have brought a major push to swell the number of cybersecurity professionals. The

Center for Strategic & International Studies, a Washington, D.C., think tank, reports that the Defense Department is calling for up to 30,000 additional workers. In 2009, the U.S. Cyber Challenge was launched with the goal of identifying 10,000 youngsters with the skills to eventually become cybersecurity professionals.

Bridging the Cybersecurity Gender Gap

Even with the promise of abundant career opportunities, women remain under-represented in the ranks of cybersecurity professionals.

Across all occupations, women account for about half of the nation’s workers, the BLS reports. However, several studies have pegged the percentage of women in cybersecurity much lower, which is partly a reflection of under-representation at the college level. For example, women accounted for 57% of all bachelor’s degrees awarded in 2008 but only 18% of computer and information science degrees, according to a report by the National Center for Women & Information Technology.

That’s not to say women are absent from the top ranks of cybersecurity and IT. As executive vice president of Information Systems and Global Solutions for Lockheed Martin, Linda Gooden leads about 30,000 employees who support missions for defense, intelligence and other government services. In 2010, President Barack Obama named Gooden to the National Security Telecommunications Advisory Committee.

Lockheed Martin is among the corporations and public agencies working at the K-12 level to boost the number of women in the male-dominated cybersecurity field. Research has shown that boys and girls demonstrate a similar level of interest in science and technology during elementary school, but girls’ interest levels drop steadily through middle and high school.

To combat this, the National Science Foundation and other partners sponsor various programs for students, including Cool Careers in Cybersecurity for Girls workshops. At the daylong events, middle school girls hear from cyber professionals about topics such as digital forensics and computer assembly.

At the professional level, meanwhile, organizations such as the Women’s Society of Cyberjutsu seek to foster cybersecurity career opportunities for women by offering education, mentoring, resource sharing and networking.

At the Women in International Security conference in October 2012, U.S. Secretary of Homeland Security Janet Napolitano said her agency is seeking to build a diverse workforce of cybersecurity professionals.

“To succeed as a department, and as a nation, we must draw on the skills and talents of the broadest range of Americans – men and women who want to serve the public good and contribute to our mission,” Napolitano said on her agency’s website.

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Last week, we took a look at the current landscape of minorities in cybersecurity and IT with a particular emphasis on women in those fields. Both personally and professionally, I feel that diversity is an important aspect of an effective cybersecurity approach, and can help fill the gap managers have to meet the demands for more talented cyber-professionals in today’s IT environment.

A couple of years ago, Frost and Sullivan released a study that shows that information security discipline is not evolving fast enough:

“…women represent just 11% of this profession [IT Security]. Placed in the context of women in the general workforce and women in professional and managerial roles—where women are at near parity with men in both of these measurements in developed countries—this 11% is alarming.

Furthermore, this low percent of women in the information security profession has been stagnant despite double-digit annual increases in this profession. In 2012 alone, the global information security workforce grew by 306,000 and is on pace to increase by another 332,000 in 2013.”

The first step in meeting this challenge is providing awareness of this issue by exploring organizations and resources aimed at increasing these opportunities to women and minorities within cybersecurity, as well as examining different ways your company or organization can get involved and make a difference.

Shaping the Future State

We are starting to take great strides in incorporating women and monitories in IT and cybersecurity.

On the employment front, firms like Alta Associates, a boutique executive search firm specializing in Information Security, IT Risk Management, GRC and Privacy, are pioneering the integration of women within cybersecurity roles.  A woman-owned and operated firm focused on being highly ethical and service oriented, Alta’s CEO Joyce Brocaglia, has been named, “one of the 25 most influential women in information security” by Information Security Magazine.

Under Joyce’s leadership, Alta organizes annual conferences called The Executive Women's Forum (EWF). EWF describes this annual conference as the “largest member organization serving emerging leaders as well as the most prominent and influential female executives in the Information Security, Risk Management and Privacy industries.”

EWF works to connect women in cybersecurity via annual conference, mentoring programs and various networking programs.

On the education front, universities like NYU Poly have recently launched summer programs centered on introducing high school girls to cybersecurity and potential careers in cybersecurity.

Another exciting move toward increasing the numbers of women in my profession is the establishment of organizations like Women in Cybersecurity (WiCyS).  WiCyS raises awareness about the importance and nature of cybersecurity career. Their hope is to generate interest among students to consider cybersecurity as a viable and promising career option. I am proud that Lockheed Martin is a platinum sponsor of this organization.

Non-for-Profits like The Women’s Society of Cyberjutsu (WSC) are sharing their passion for empowering women to succeed in the Cybersecurity field by bringing together information security professionals, IT professionals, programmers, and computer scientists/engineers, as well as women wanting to explore and join the field.

How to Get Involved

If this topic resonates with you the same way it does with me, there are three things you or your organization can do to get involved. There are several organizations that host events and workshops throughout the year that would like your participation and thoughts on the matter. Once you find an organization that you like or an event that resonates with you, specifically, get involved. Mentor those interested in the field, talk at events about the subject and share your knowledge with others attending those events. Finally, share what you have learned, ideas and experiences with your friends and peers. Let them know that this is an important topic, explain why it's important and what can be done to learn more.

Other resources include:

Earlier this year, Google announced that more than four-fifths of its American workforce is male. It also pledged to donate up to $50 million to nonprofits that aim to close this gender divide.

How is that money being put to use?

Three months later, several U.S. national nonprofits have received grants from Google’s Made with Code initiative. In the U.S. capitol, Girls Inc. of the Washington, DC Metropolitan Area is one of them. They received $2,500 from their national affiliate to host 100 local girls at coding parties across four DC wards by December 31, 2014.

Their aim is to excite girls about what they can create with code, at an age when they are most likely to start abandoning STEM subjects in school. This involves teaching them what code can do – or, more specifically, what code can build that they might not have thought of.

“So far, we have hosted four coding parties serving 50 girls total,” Christina Brown, program coordinator at Girls Inc. DC, told The Next Web. “Three more hosting parties have already been scheduled to take place between the rest of September and the month of October.  We are hoping to schedule at least one more in the month of October.  We have partnered with the Boys & Girls Clubs of Greater Washington to host coding parties to introduce their girls to the world of code as well.”

After a series of icebreakers and team building activities, girls at these parties make their own projects that range from JPEGs and avatars to music beats and jewelry.

“During the Coding Parties, we coded bracelets on madewithcode.com,” a 12-year-old participant named Calder explained via Girls Inc. DC.  “We also coded avatars and some musical beats.  I learned that code is used for a lot more than just computer websites and apps – it is used for music, jewelry, clothing, and so much more.”

But what happens once the parties end? Are they enough to spearhead further action?

Denese Lombardi, Executive Director of Girls Inc. DC, is well aware that inspiring girls to pursue STEM careers involves more than one-off events. It’s why she offers their girls options to learn more about these subjects during the nonprofit’s after-school programs. These programs, as well as the Made with Code parties, are an extension of a six-week summer camp that is hosted in partnership with Women’s Society of Cyberjutsu and Lockheed Martin.

And the nonprofit also offers SHE-E-O Career Days, where their girls “speed network” with women in STEM careers. Thus far, more than 100 girls have networked with women at companies like Cisco, NASA, Exxon, and more. Girls Inc. DC says they are thrilled to be working with Google, and hope Made with Code can be the catalyst for more direct mentorship.

In the meantime, Girls Inc. DC is focused on its Crowdrise campaign to buy an onsite 3D printer. Lombardi says the campaign will run at least through the end of 2014. She hopes that an on-site printer will allow their girls to see the instant results of their work, and continue coding/creating.

After all, there’s no national shortage of princesses – but there is a national shortage of engineers.

—–

This post is part of Web Summit’s Global Blogger’s Network, a series of articles on startups in the Washington, D.C. Metro area. The 4th annual Web Summit kicks off in Dublin on November 4.

Image credits: Girls Inc. DC

University of Maryland sparks interest in cybersecurity fields for girls

Summit held for 350 Prince George’s, state middle-school students

Daniel J. Gross/The Gazette Lisa Foreman (pointing), founder of the Women’s Society of Cyberjutsu, a McLean, Va.-based network of cybersecurity professionals to promote women in the industry, speaks Nov. 14 with a group of Buck Lodge Middle School girls about creating strong passwords to online personal accounts. About 350 middle school girls attended a University of Maryland-led cybersecurity summit to spark interest in science and technology fields.

Investigators cracked the case in a major identity theft incident that stripped a boy of his college savings and left him penniless — at least that was the scenario presented at a University of Maryland-led summit for middle-school girls to gain interest in and learn about potential careers in cybersecurity.

About 350 girls from Prince George’s County and around the state filled Riggs Alumni Center at the University of Maryland, College Park, on Nov. 14 to dive into group exercises on cybersecurity and identity theft led by female experts in the field from various high-profile organizations such as Lockheed Martin, Boeing, the National Security Agency and Science Applications International Corp.

“We just completed a unit on cyberbullying and Internet safety, so this is really timely for the students. I like that this gives a career slant so there is a focus on what’s available in this field,” said Susan Creamer, a technology teacher at Buck Lodge Middle School in Adelphi.

Nicholas Orem Middle School in Hyattsville, William Wirt Middle School in Riverdale and Buck Lodge were three Prince George’s schools that brought groups of students to the daylong summit. The schools were chosen by event co-sponsor CyberWatch, an advanced technology education center headquartered at Prince George’s Community College that previously worked with the selected schools on technology-focused projects.

Groups rotated between tables and each had their own piece of the cybersecurity puzzle. Topics covered included logic, lock-picking, computer parts, cryptography and stenography. A summit focusing on similar topics is planned to be held at UM every fall, said Michael Cukier, a University of Maryland associate director for education at the Maryland Cybersecurity Center.

Much of the day was spent teaching students the importance of creating strong passwords for email accounts and online websites so that personal information cannot be hacked.

“What you guys put on Facebook is public information. If you’re posting about your dog Max all the time, I’m going to think “Max” or “Max123” is your password,” said Lisa Foreman, founder and CEO of the Women’s Society of Cyberjutsu, a McLean, Va.-based network of cybersecurity and IT professionals to promote women’s involvement in such fields.

Cukier said the event was held in part to promote the university’s first undergraduate honors program in cybersecurity, opening in fall 2013, called Advanced Cybersecurity Experience for Students, which was funded through a matching gift from the Northrop Grumman Foundation. He said unlike other cybersecurity programs that promote individual competition against classmates, the program will pair students together for team-building projects and show that the industry can be enjoyable and beneficial for others to help retain students in the program.

He said retaining female students in such fields has been difficult nationally due to programs being set up for competitive, individual work and not collaborative group work.

“You really need a diverse group of people to come up with proper solutions,” said Cukier, as he explained why more girls need to go into science- and math-related fields. “Today, you still see a lot of white guys in front of computers that are asocial. There needs to be more events like this where there’s team-building. There needs to be a sense that this is for the good of the community.”

Buck Lodge eighth-grade student Susan Calderon, 13, of Langley Park said she can use what she is learning about cybersecurity in her future career. She said she wants to go into psychology and could apply knowledge of cyberbullying and identity theft in child psychology cases.

“I think that this is really fascinating, to be able to see inside of something, and it’s good to find hidden things,” she said. “Some people think that women can’t do things, but they really can because here we’re discovering hidden things.”

Riverdale resident Jordan White, 13, a student at William Wirt Middle School, said she is looking into becoming a scientist and said what she has learned about technology in the summit can help her in many scientific fields.

“It’s interesting how different types of technologies can protect different types of areas,” she said. “If someone is looking into this field, this should help them know what to do and how to handle different things.”

djgross@gazette.net

Ready to become a cyberninja?  Teen Tech Week’s almost here, and we’ll be learning coding from the pros!

Come to MLK’s Teen Space and practice your cyberjutsu. Cybersecurity experts from the Women’s Society of Cyberjutsu will be in Teen Space to teach basic programming and coding language.

Learn Python and you’ll be able to build your own games, design websites, manipulate audio and video files… the possibilities are endless!

Two University of Maryland University College alumni have created a robust networking group for women working in the cyber security field.

Lisa Foreman and Cathy Hogendobler are cyber security professionals by day and moonlight as leaders of the Women's Society of Cyberjutsu, a Virginia-based organization that aims to empower women in the field. Approximately 90 percent of the organization's student participants attend UMUC.

Foreman, who earned a bachelor's degree from UMUC in information technology, had always been interested in technology, dating back to her childhood desire to be a hacker. After earning her degree at UMUC, she began her challenging career as a cyber security professional. But she noticed there weren't many ways for women working in IT and cyber security to connect and support one another. So she decided to create an organization for professional women in cyber security to call their own.

"I wanted to create an environment where women could learn very technical knowledge in a comfortable environment," Foreman said. "We had about 10 women come out to the first workshop, so we found that there was some demand. And it grew from there."

Hogendobler, director of the organization, considers her career path a fortunate one. The early part of her 20-year career in IT featured a variety of jobs in system administration and database development. After earning a master's degree in IT management and a Master of Business Administration from UMUC, Hogendobler shifted over to the field of cyber security and hasn't looked back. While she appreciates the support from co-workers and supervisors early on in her career, she too found the Women's Society of Cyberjutsu addressed a critical need for professional women in the field.

"I attended one of the first Cyberjutsu workshops, and it was amazing to see the level of involvement, participation, interest, motivation, and camaraderie," Hogendobler said. "I immediately got excited about seeing this grow."

The Women's Society of Cyberjutsu offers hands-on training sessions, networking opportunities, mentorship and advising, and internship and job placement assistance for professional women working in cyber security. The industry, much like others in information technology, remains male-dominated, and so the organization aims to not just to empower women but also to inspire the next generation of female cyber warriors. The organization runs an academy for middle school aged girls, which offers a range of STEM programs.

While the organization did not exist when Hogendobler was a student, she did pick up notable skills and advice from memorable faculty during her time at UMUC. One professor told her to never stop learning. Another stressed the importance of certifications and experience. Another replied with "So what?" whenever any student presented a question, a response that Hogendobler believes was vital to her critical thinking skills.

Then, of course, there were the team assignments.

"At work, we bring a variety of individual talents to the organization, and we learn to work together," she said.

"That started at UMUC. I really appreciated the ability to work in a team environment in the graduate program."

Today, the work of the Women's Society of Cyberjutsu remains more important than ever. But Foreman and Hogendobler have a message for women—including UMUC students—seeking careers in cyber security: This is the field for you.

SecuraBit Episode 127: Women IT Ninjas!

May 21st, 2014

Hosts

• Chris Gerling –@secbitchris

• Christopher Mills –@TheChrisAM

Guests

• Women’s Society of Cyberjutsu – http://womenscyberjutsu.org/
  • Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/WomensCyberjutsu
  • Twitter & Instagram: @womencyberjutsu
  • Meetup: http://womenscyberjutsu.org/www.womenscyberjutsu.org/meetups
• Cyberjutsu Girls Academy
  • http://www.cyberjutsugirls.org/
  • Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/cyberjutsugirls
  • Twitter & Instagram: @cyberjutsugirls

Topics

• Lack of women in Cyber/IT fields. 11% of the cyber workforce consists of women.
• Addressing the pipeline issues with getting more girls excited about STEM
• Impostor Syndrome
• Differences in perception between men and women from an interpersonal standpoint

Use Our Discount Codes

• Use code SANS_SecuraBit150 to get 150 off of ANY training course. The discount code is good for all SANS courses in all formats.
• Register for any SANSFIRE 2014 course and receive 5% off using coupon code SANS_SecuraBit150. The training event takes place in Baltimore, MD – June 21 – 30, 2014.

Upcoming events

• http://www.secore.info

Links

• www.gh0st.net/wiki – 24/7 Penetration Testing learning environment, FREE.

Chat with us on IRC at irc.freenode.net #securabit

iTunes Podcast –http://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/securabit/id280048405

iPhone App Now Available –http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/securabit-mobile/id382484512?mt=8

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 39:49 — 36.5MB)

Making Their Mark: How Women Are Finding their Place in the Field of Cybersecurity

Recently, M-Unition had the opportunity to sit down with three women who are making their mark on the field of cybersecurity. While we certainly see more women entering the field, it is still largely a male dominated profession. So we decided to find out from three women who have made great headway in the field just what it takes for a woman to break into this male dominated profession and become truly successful. Our three panelists are:

• Diana Burley is an associate professor in the Graduate School of Education and Human Development at George Washington University
• Lisa Foreman is founder and CEO of the Women’s Society of Cyberjutsu
• Jaeyeon Jung, who holds a Ph.D. from MIT and is now a researcher at Microsoft Research in Redmond, Washington

It was a great conversation and while we covered a wide range of topics, it was interesting to see how the three women shared many common experiences and offered similar strategies for making it in the field. What I took away from the conversation is that while women might be underrepresented in the cybersecurity industry, this is very much a historical artifact and that the future will be quite different. Through education, networking, and because of women like Lisa, Diana, and Jaeyeon who have taken their seats in the forensics lab, women will be strong contributors to securing our digital world.

Check back on M-Unition this month for more profiles of women who are leading the way in the field of cybersecurity. Next month, on April 11 and 12 the Women in Cybersecurity Conference will take place in Nashville, Tennessee. Learn more about this event at http://www.csc.tntech.edu/wicys/.

Listen to the full podcast with our Women in Cybersecurity panel:
Women in Cybersecurity Panel Session

Last week Vox Product hosted nearly 30 impressive young women from a Girls Inc. summer camp. They toured the Vox Media DC office and bombarded a panel of Vox Media employees—including front-end engineers Ally Palanzi and Guillermo Esteves, designer Ramla Mahmood, front-end designer Alisha Ramos, SB Nation social media editor Michael Katz, and Vox engagement editor Allison Rockey—with tough, thoughtful questions about their day-to-day experiences in the fields of technology and media.

Alisha in particular was excited to see such young people learning to code:

 

"As someone who started delving into code from an early age, I know how important it is to instill curiosity and inspiration in young people. Given the gender imbalance in our industry, girls especially need role models to look up to. They need to realize that they, too, can be programmers, designers, coders. I loved having Girl Inc. visit our office and get a real-world taste of women working in tech. There was a broad age range represented, which was exciting, and they were enthusiastic with their questions. I really hope they all decide to work in tech in the future (and maybe at Vox!)"

And here's what Krysta Cox, Vice President of Women's Society of Cyberjutsu & Cyberjutsu Girls Academy, had to say about the camp and their visit:

 

"The Cyber Ninja Summer Camp is a fun-filled experience to build confidence and empower girls by teaching them computer tech skills. In the six weeks of camp, girls will learn the hardware components of a computer, the basics of cybersecurity and online safety practices, how to design and build websites, coding games in python, developing mobile applications, and host their very own fashion show of wearable tech projects! Visiting Vox was a great experience for the girls to learn what it would be like to be a professional in the technology world. They are very excited to learn how to make their worlds a better place!"

The program is hosted by Girls Inc and curriculum is provided by Cyberjutsu Girls Academy, a program of the Women's Society of Cyberjutsu — a start-up non profit in the Washington DC area. Help us spread the word about this really cool program! Learn more about the Academy and how you can also host the

Cyber Ninjas here. And if you know someone who should sign up, camp registration is here.

 

Last Updated on Monday, 21 April 2014 23:03

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by Lesley Piper

Last week, I attended the first annual Women in Cybersecurity Conference (WiCyS) in Nashville, TN. Dr. Ambareen Siraj, Computer Science Professor at Tennessee Tech University, organized WiCyS to start a conversation about cybersecurity as a viable career option for women. In seeking to expand awareness of cybersecurity careers, the conference brought together students, academia, government, and industry; it was funded by The National Science Foundation and a host of other sponsors, a list of which can be found here.

As stated on the WiCyS website: “Security professionals worldwide are expected to increase to nearly 4.2 million by 2015.” However, women are severely underrepresented in this field; according to a whitepaper from ISC² and Symantec, women represent just 11% of Information Security professionals. The basic questions asked at WiCyS were: how can more women be encouraged to pursue a career in cybersecurity? And what resources and strategies can be shared to help them succeed?

The conference was divided into three tracks: Research, Education, and Industry. It included workshops, panel discussions, a poster session, resume clinics and a career fair. Speakers came from a variety of backgrounds and included Deb Frinke, Training Director of the NSA; Becky Base, Chief Strategist for the Center for Forensics, Information Technology and Security; and Michele Cantley, Regions Financial Chief Information Security Officer.

There were a number of great presentations and the following stood out:

I was particularly impressed with Ms. Frincke’s keynote, Follow Your Heart While Using Your Head. She spoke about times in her career when she acted from a place of passion, candidly admitting she was unsure whether to do so would adversely affect her career. It was inspiring to learn that her instincts proved successful and resulted in an impressive career path. The frankness with which she shared her experiences was refreshing, as was the fact that her journey was unplanned. Key points from her presentation included:

• Be willing to change your plan
• Know what your interests are (She likes to start from scratch and build)
• Know what to ask for
• Speak up
• Learn how to negotiate well
• Lead change by example
• In regards to executive leadership –executive coaching can be beneficial, see if it is for you.

Another great talk with helpful advice was from Michele Cantley, Senior Vice President and Chief Information Security Officer, Regions Bank. What made her talk so interesting was the emphasis she placed on non-technical skills. Obviously having a technical background is helpful in cybersecurity, but the following are the top skills required to perform her every-day job:

• Strategic Planning
• Budgeting/ Financial
• Communication Skills
• People Management
• Critical Thinking
• Problem Solving
• Crisis Management

In her current roll, Cantely explained, she spends about 60% of her time on problem solving, even though her background is in mathematics/programming. She emphasized the importance of being able to excel in less technical areas because it increases marketability as an employee.

Technical skills are a helpful, some would say necessary, foundation in this field and Lisa Foreman’s presentation focused more on developing such skills. Ms. Foreman, founder and CEO of Women’s Society of Cyberjutsu, created her non-profit because there were no resources available to her while navigating a career path, so she built a platform where women could come together to network and learn from each other.

With over 300 members, her organization offers services including networking, training, certifications, and volunteer opportunities as well as active email discussions about jobs in cybersecurity, working in the industry, and information about virtual competitions

Finally, Becky Base, Chief Strategist for the Center for Forensics, Information Technology and Security, made several powerful points in her closing remarks. She encouraged us to:

             Acknowledge contributions women have made to security -

Elizabeth Friedman, known as “America’s first female cryptanalyst,” helped to break over 12,000 rum-runners’ messages during the Prohibition era. Meredith Gardner, Genevieve Feinstein, and the women of the Venona Project decrypted about 2,200 messages during 1942 – 1948, revealing Soviet espionage.

Nail the fundamentals – If you don’t understand how a system works, you will likely be incapable of hacking or securing it.

This is an ecosystem – Understand from top down, but change can only be effected from bottom up.

Mentor those who come in your wake – include those older than you and those with skills different than yours.

Overall, the energy and environment of the conference were relaxed, engaging, and friendly. It was easy to sit next to someone I didn't know and fall into conversation about the conference, cybersecurity in general, or more specific topics. I chatted with women who came from strikingly diverse backgrounds to land in cybersecurity, including finance, the liberal arts and law. Additionally, all the speakers were approachable and friendly. In addition to Lisa Foreman, mentioned above, I had the opportunity to speak with Dawn Isabel, Mobile Security Consultant at IBM, and Dr. Martha Kosa of Tennessee Tech University, Associate Professor of Computer Science.

Common themes throughout the conference:

• Know your interests
• Network
• Build skills outside of school/work
• Find something you are passionate about!

Cybersecurity is a burgeoning field with incredible opportunities. I had a great time over the weekend and came away re-inspired about my career, building my skill set, and the future in general. I’m already looking forward to next year’s conference (to be held in Atlanta, GA)!

WiCyS websitehas a great list of resources on its site. Students, especially, should check out the scholarship opportunities because funding is available for women majoring in Computer Science or Cybersecurity.