10 Women in Security You May Not Know But Should
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Keirsten Brager
Security Technology Lead, Entergy and Blogger, Hidden Cyber Figures
Keirsten Brager is the security tech lead at Entergy, a major power utility company where she primarily focuses on reducing risk and implementing automation. She also works as a subject matter expert at CompTIA, where she provides technical content for the Cybersecurity Analyst+ certification, and as a security engineer at Tripwire. From 2012 to 2016 she was a one-person security team at Conn's, where she designed and implemented its security compliance program.
When she's not focusing on security at Entergy, Brager blogs (https://keirstenbrager.tech/the-team/) about professional development in the security field and uses her platform to share advice on her successes, failures, research, projects, and events.
She's an active volunteer in the infosec community and has spoken at HouSecCon on a range of topics, from cyber threats against power utilities to business skills for security pros. Brager is also a member of the Cybersecurity and Security Operations Institute Advisory Board at the University of Phoenix, where she earned her bachelor of science in management.
Last year, Brager completed her master's degree in cybersecurity at the University of Maryland University College. She is currently working on an information security career guide for women entitled "Secure The InfoSec Bag: Six Figure Career Guide for Women in Security" to be published in April.
Image Source: Keirsten Brager via LinkedIn
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I know of many women in sec
I know of many in security field that are amazing and beautiful, they do not come out since doing so can get you targeted online, just like in real life. So the numbers of women in the industry are deflated.
Instances over types for social issues, too
Kelly, I think the article got off on the wrong foot. The stated goal of the article was to highlight the achievements and contributions of 10 individuals; however, as framed, we can't see the trees for the forest. Had you left out the tripwire iconography and phrases, you'd have provided 10 exemplary role models to encourage other individuals (including those that happen to be female), by showing what can be achieved by excellence.
As it is, the introduction suggested this would be yet another ad hominem (literally), diatribe - making it hard to get past that, to objectively consider the 10 profiles.
Objectivity, curtesy, respect for varied perspectives and technical competency of the participants are attributes which drew me to Dark Reading. Politics, posturing and zero-sum agendas already dominate too many forums.
I think the nature of the survey quoted provides an example of how easily we might drift (or be nudged), from substance to perception. Whenever statistical distributions for responses to questions about how someone feels are quoted, it's invariably a matter of the subjective dressed in objective clothing. Such data can be useful in targeting "average consumer" preference. As a guide to evaluating and improving policies which will impact individuals - they are as likely to mislead as inform.
As it is, the introduction suggested this would be yet another ad hominem (literally), diatribe - making it hard to get past that, to objectively consider the 10 profiles.
Objectivity, curtesy, respect for varied perspectives and technical competency of the participants are attributes which drew me to Dark Reading. Politics, posturing and zero-sum agendas already dominate too many forums.
I think the nature of the survey quoted provides an example of how easily we might drift (or be nudged), from substance to perception. Whenever statistical distributions for responses to questions about how someone feels are quoted, it's invariably a matter of the subjective dressed in objective clothing. Such data can be useful in targeting "average consumer" preference. As a guide to evaluating and improving policies which will impact individuals - they are as likely to mislead as inform.
Re: I reject this populist ideology
100% agree. Now if a woman doesn't get a promotion, it isn't because the other person put in more hours, did more work, or was more qualified, it gets spun into "sexism". Now all the focuse is on the genitals, not the work.
Re: I reject this populist ideology
Thank you for sharing your insight. The idea behind this piece was to highlight women in security who are doing cool projects and exploring new research, but are still relatively unknown. Our goal was to acknowledge these women for their work and share it with a larger community.
I reject this populist ideology
For almost a decade I have enjoyed working as a cybersecurity consultant for many large, some of the largest, US/global enterprises. Often I spend weeks, sometimes even months, on-site with customers working with their information security and other IT personnel to accomplish a common goal. I'm often given a badge, laptop, and even parking permits. I attend all the major conferences like DEFCON, BSides, and others that would reveal too much about my geographic location to enumerate.
Not once have I witnessed gender based bias. I have, on the other hand, heard women claim sexism after having been treated poorly by people who also treat men poorly. On occasion I have been a witness to said sexism, but did not read it that way at all. This has steadily become more prevalent over the last 10 years as the divisions within the country have grown wider. I, like you, am anecdotal- you can write me off because I'm just 1 person on the Internet. But all I want is to put one idea in your mind:
Reading an article insinuating that women are suppressed or somehow maligned in cybersecurity does nothing to help encourage them to become involved. Opinionated hit pieces playing into the popular myth that women are somehow under the thumb of men is not only false, it's insulting, patronizing, and dare I say, sexist toward women.
Not once have I witnessed gender based bias. I have, on the other hand, heard women claim sexism after having been treated poorly by people who also treat men poorly. On occasion I have been a witness to said sexism, but did not read it that way at all. This has steadily become more prevalent over the last 10 years as the divisions within the country have grown wider. I, like you, am anecdotal- you can write me off because I'm just 1 person on the Internet. But all I want is to put one idea in your mind:
Reading an article insinuating that women are suppressed or somehow maligned in cybersecurity does nothing to help encourage them to become involved. Opinionated hit pieces playing into the popular myth that women are somehow under the thumb of men is not only false, it's insulting, patronizing, and dare I say, sexist toward women.
Who cares
Why do people care if the person coming out with info has a penis or vagina? All this does is make things more decisive. It's almost as if the information doesn't matter, but stupid gender politics.
Re: Top 5 Leading Woman in Cyber Security - Michele Fincher
@Aka Elvis:
Excellent example. Michele Fincher is certainly a known quantity with a great rep (along with Hadnagy).
I too thought of very prominent InfoSec women that weren't listed here, but I think that's the point of the slideshow -- as the headline reads, "women in security you may not know but should".
In other words, I took this as a spotlight piece on InfoSec women with a lower profile than, say, a Michele Fincher, or a Katie Moussouris.
Excellent example. Michele Fincher is certainly a known quantity with a great rep (along with Hadnagy).
I too thought of very prominent InfoSec women that weren't listed here, but I think that's the point of the slideshow -- as the headline reads, "women in security you may not know but should".
In other words, I took this as a spotlight piece on InfoSec women with a lower profile than, say, a Michele Fincher, or a Katie Moussouris.
Top 5 Leading Woman in Cyber Security - Michele Fincher
DR Team,
Excellent article on women in cyber security. But for some reason you missed one of our epic women in Cyber Security, Michele Fincher. She has been a legend in our field for several years as a trainer, speaker, and panelist for cyber security. She has written the book on Phishing and SpearPhishing, Phishing Dark Waters, along with her team mate Chris Hadnagy. She speaks regularly at mulitple cyber security conferences, and helps lead the Social Engineering Village at DEFCON every year. She is one of the top 5 women leaders in Cyber Security. thx/elvis
Excellent article on women in cyber security. But for some reason you missed one of our epic women in Cyber Security, Michele Fincher. She has been a legend in our field for several years as a trainer, speaker, and panelist for cyber security. She has written the book on Phishing and SpearPhishing, Phishing Dark Waters, along with her team mate Chris Hadnagy. She speaks regularly at mulitple cyber security conferences, and helps lead the Social Engineering Village at DEFCON every year. She is one of the top 5 women leaders in Cyber Security. thx/elvis
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