Introducing women with a deep interest in cybersecurity

Hi, I’m Faith from Trustwave. I am an associate director handling product management in APJ. The product management role includes conceptualising, developing and launching new services for that will be useful and beneficial to enterprises. We also develop Go-To-market strategies to target the right audiences to grow sales leads and revenue for Trustwave. In short, we manage the whole lifecycle of a product or service offering from beginning to end-of-life.

What brought you to the cybersecurity industry?

I joined the industry by chance when I first entered a managed security service provider as a regional product manager. My skillset was what they happened to be looking for at that time. As I had also come from the telecommunications industry, which is also a service provider, my experience was useful for the role.

What were your defining moments in this industry, and factors or guidance that helped you achieve them?

Success is often tagged to winning awards and public recognition but in my opinion, it is more than simply that. The cybersecurity landscape is dynamic and evolves year on year. That alone keeps me going as I never have a dull moment with the constant new cybersecurity products to manage and new knowledge to acquire. The motivation to learn and overcome new challenges is also a key contributing factor to success. Apart from that, the organization culture is also a very important source of motivation. A culture that everyone’s end goal is aligned to uphold and maintain cyber security for everyone. Seeing everyone come together to brainstorm for ideas on how to solve new threats and challenges keeps me anchored on my purpose here as well.

In addition, as threats evolve faster and get more widespread these days, the gap between the demand and supply will be much greater. To mitigate that, there will be an increase in automation in terms of service offerings and speeding up of sales cycles so as to fill the gap.

What is it that you love most about your role?

Other than the reason that the cybersecurity landscape being dynamic and evolves year on year that translates to being a keen learner, another motivating factor is the culture formed by the people in the organisation. It is a culture that everyone comes together to understand more about a new threat and brainstorm on how we can help others stay safe.

Prominent Cybersecurity trends:

What are some of the trends you have seen in the market lately, and what do you think will emerge in the future?

Cybersecurity professionals are perceived cool and the industry itself probably has a reputation of being distant and inaccessible, like a niche market for elites only. But it is really like any other industries, where it is more about the job fit than anything else. Men and women usually have distinctive traits and it is vital to consider all aspects before a well-designed service is launched.

I would also like to add that hackers have been so stereotypically portrayed in dramas as males but there are female hackers too. This industry may have been overplayed in its male dominant image and we do not want to undermine the contribution of females to ensure we are able to fight the adversaries.

Females in Cyber Security

What can we do to encourage more women to join the cybersecurity sector?

If you have an interest in furthering your career in this industry, you can first try to join a cybersecurity interest group or association to meet people in this industry. This way, you get to expand the network and have exposure to updated information on the industry landscape and trends to expect.

Final thoughts

How can you debunk the myth that cybersecurity is only for men? Is there any indication this stereotyping is changing?

You can always try to participate in competitions or initiatives to help grow your practical experience. The track record will prove useful when you apply for jobs in the industry in future.