Cybersecurity professionals inspire students at WiCyS launch event

The new Northeastern University chapter of the national organization Women in CyberSecurity (WiCyS) recently kicked off its presence on campus with a panel of prominent women in the cybersecurity workforce. The aim of the panel was to “establish the importance of an organization like WiCyS, and most importantly, the importance of community,” says NU WiCyS co-founder Soraya Alli (BSCY ’20).

None of the three panelists thought they would end up in cybersecurity. They discovered their love for the field while breaking glass ceilings along the way. “You probably see a lot of similarities even though we come from all parts of the world,” said Janine Comstock, senior vice president and chief security officer of MFS Investment Management. “We’re inquisitive, we’re passionate, we’re stubborn, and we’re persistent.”

As long-time professionals in a relatively new field, the panelists had a unique perspective on the shortage of workers in cybersecurity, including women and the general population. The current state of women in cybersecurity is “appalling,” said Effie Lewis, director of information security management at life insurance company John Hancock. She named barriers such as cultural norms of what someone in cybersecurity should look like and profiling in the recruiting process — something the third panelist had a personal experience with.

When panelist Trini Arrowsmith studied electronics at a technical school in her home country of Spain, she was the only woman in her class. Then, when she applied to jobs after graduation, she had to change her name on her resume from “Maria” to her gender-ambiguous middle name “Trinidad” for a better chance of landing interviews. Now a senior information security engineer at MFS, she is excited to see increasing numbers of women in the industry, from C-Suite positions to co-ops. “I can’t wait until I go to a conference and it’s half women,” she said. “I want to wait in the bathroom line.”

Lewis shared how having more women in her teams adds different perspectives to threat modeling, a critical aspect of cybersecurity. “You’re going to have more ideas and better solutions the more diversity you bring in. It just enriches the perspective, and you have more room to not make a mistake,” she explained.

The value of diversity applies to mentorship as well, which the panelists urged students to seek. Comstock advised students to not get “stuck in the social norm” of what mentorship can look like. She had mentors who were male, others who were female, industry veterans, younger professionals just starting out — and learned something from every one of them.

“When we think about talent, it’s not just people like us who have been around for a long time,” she said. “It’s also bringing in people from different areas of the organization and a variety of ages, because sometimes we have to get pushed out of our comfort zone. It’s just diversity all the way around.”

The panelists encouraged students to take advantage of the many available resources such as online tutorials and networking events – and to keep learning. “When you get off school, technology is not going to stop,” said Arrowsmith. “The learning doesn’t stop just because you get your degree.”