We are the women in cyber. The few protecting the many. The underrepresented, who over influence. The half of the world, who see the problems differently, who solve them uniquely. We are the women in cyber safeguarding society. Protecting us all. We need more like us. We need more like you.
Meet Agne, a Senior Consultant at Deloitte Netherlands on the Cyber Strategy team. She uses her skills every day to step into the minds of cyber criminals and think about what their strategy is, what they are looking for, what tactics they use – all in an effort to inform society about how we can better protect ourselves. Through red teaming exercises, education and awareness programs and simulations, she helps her clients think through various scenarios that can happen and build resilience against cyberattacks. She empowers them to protect themselves against potential cyber threats with her knowledge and analysis of attacks and trends in their industry. What she loves most about her job is the challenge. There is no playbook for what she does, she is constantly pushed to think outside the box and think through the various outcomes that are possible in a situation.
Agne didn’t always work in cyber. She first got into it when she was working on anti-money laundering and fraud investigations projects, where she worked closely with colleagues who were experts in cybersecurity. This sparked her interest and encouraged her to learn about cyber, ultimately landing her where she is today. But coming into a cyber career, she wasn’t always confident that it would be a good fit for her. She says, “I was not sure if I’m going to be good for it, if I’m fit for it because I never studied computer science. I never received a cybersecurity degree.” So she encourages anyone thinking about a career in cyber to explore what is out there, not to be intimidated by the complexities of cyber, and not think you are limited because you don’t have a certain type of degree. To take advantage of the cyber opportunities of the future, we need professionals with diverse backgrounds and opinions.
We need more like Agne. We need more like you.