People & Culture

Minds that influence valuable change do not cling to stale assumptions, nor do they allow their insightful questions to get benched by overplayed dialogue. There is an undercurrent of talent eager to break into the field of cybersecurity, and The Cyber Guild’s UWIC 2025 is opening doors to a future well worth investing in.

On October 9^th, The Cyber Guild reinvigorated the cyber community through the Uniting Women in Cyber (UWIC) event in Northern Virginia. An event where participants and panelists alike used the “contagious energy” in the space to connect with each other over some of today’s cyber hot topics, commonly shoulder-shrugged issues, and notable what if possibilities. 

People with Personality Please

There’s more than meets the eye. In a time where deep fakes and Gen AI-created human facades have challenged our ability to question beyond what we see at a glance, it’s becoming more sought after by cyber employers that team members have  “individuality…hobbies and interests,” and other desirable traits that lend itself to the human-first approach.

UWIC 2025 panelist, Dr. Alissa Abdullah (Dr. Jay), Deputy CSO and SVP of Emerging Corporate Security Solutions at Mastercard, reinforced the message that intelligence can be faked, but soft skills or “durable” skills cannot. Let’s face it, no one is eager about becoming or working alongside a “robotic-like” human. Let’s leave that part to the new tools and future agents being integrated into our workforce. Since personality isn’t something that can be taught, how are cybersecurity leaders looking differently at recruiting and matching personalities with the right roles? 

Dr Jay reminded participants that “real-world experience manifests itself in many ways.”  Filtering through resumes solely based on certifications and degrees earned is a perfect recipe for letting those with ideal soft skills and unique traits slip through the system. 

There’s now an evolving art form to examining candidates and determining who has the type of experiences that AI cannot mimic. The What’s Next for the Cybersecurity Workforce? panel discussion even went so far as to mention that this determination process starts with re-examining how Human Resource teams structure conversations with candidates and ensure they are spending time with the experts to understand what their true team needs are. 

SentinelOne, is amongst the many companies whose most successful matches have come from employee referrals. A referral indicates that the human-to-human connection has been meaningful enough to draw a clear line between unique ability and mission necessity.

The Toughest Critic in the Room

Why are you still doubting yourself? 

For aspiring cybersecurity professionals, don’t forget about your mentors! From sharing feedback on your resume to helping you navigate a new role, don’t underestimate the value of having informal chats with cyber security mentors you trust. Ingrid Peterson, graduating protege from The Cyber Guild’s RISE Mentorship Program, reflected on her own experience growing into the field and reminded us that “small steps add up quickly.” Learning how to advocate for yourself, along with a fearless mindset, is a new-age armory in a shifting job market. 

Empowering each other as women, fellow job seekers, and supporting colleagues who brave complex challenges, is a whole new experience when you remove the what’s in it for me factor and reinstall the oh, I’ve been there, so learn from my mistakes, or I’m not quite there yet, but I’m happy to learn alongside you to figure out a solution. That approach towards true empowerment has a far greater impact on the industry narrative.

Uniting women and our allies in that manner is also more conducive to facing threat actors who are not entirely well-equipped to break into the intricate depths of our lived human experience. Access to those finer details of what sets us apart is still better understood when lifted off the page and projected into authentic dialogue. 

Use your own story to your advantage as you navigate a career in this field. 

We Don’t Panic, We Prepare

Panelist Juliette Wilcox, CMG, President, Ultra I&C, Cyber Division, UK and Fmr. UK Ambassador for Cybersecurity, shared that the attack surface is becoming more readily available to threat actors. This is largely a result of our growing reliance on digital technology to live day to day. Have we reached the point where Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs should be rewritten to include chatbot companions under ‘safety and security’…not exactly, but perhaps we’ll save that rabbit hole for a different blog post. 

UWIC 2025’s Opening Power Panel moderator, Kris Lovejoy,  Global Security and Resilience Practice Leader at Kyndryl, supported Juliette’s statement by raising consideration for supply chain management and how we must think differently about the job ahead. This is, after all, a global evolution with technology and is by no means unchallenged by international dynamics. 

This mindset of building resilience is necessary when engaging with international partners, especially when agreements are drawn but not truly honored once a plan is set in motion.

Every team member, partner, and consumer has a role to play in how we protect critical infrastructure. Threat sharing and cyber security awareness are just a start to how teams need to be looking at our risk postures in a rapidly changing ecosystem of non-state actors.  

Disruptive technologies feed off of playfields of deception. An essential component of how we prepare stems from our workforces’ ability to think critically and uphold unshakable integrity. That is the missing piece that, as The Cyber Guild’s Co-Chair and former NSA SIGINT Director, Teresa Shea, says, is what the strongest cybersecurity teams will prioritize. 

Testing the Boundaries

Show me an adversary that plays by the rules…I’ll wait. Secure by design is a challenged concept in and of itself. Threat actors develop new exploits, automate attacks, and adapt to emerging defenses without ‘well-mannered oversight’. Adaptability and quick recovery are needed on the other side. The focus in this case, as UWIC 2025 experts suggested, needs to shift to minimizing exploitable weaknesses and enabling resiliency. 

So let’s talk about it then…..that word that finds its way into nearly every discussion on the future of securing our critical infrastructure: Resilience. Threat actors exploit humans and bypass systems, but this doesn’t mean that we accept momentary defeat with no plan for recovery.

Cari Cistola, Senior Director, Data Protection Engineering at Capital One, spoke to the importance of removing the ‘shame’ that follows as a result of falling victim to an attack. Open reporting and being vocal in the right spaces about incidents can give rise to well-coordinated units in security and breed environments for adaptable solutions. Emotional resilience is an essential factor in this. 

How often are we as professionals taking into consideration the importance of emotional intelligence when discussing resilience? Not often enough.

A deep understanding of human behavior is compulsory to building true cyber security resilience. This manifests when professionals start acknowledging that human error can undermine architecture, and operating under prolonged periods of intense pressure can result in chronic stress;  ultimately leaving people, systems, and business continuity vulnerable. Manage the risk by understanding the human first.

The Beginning

As the conference came to a close, there was a heightened sense of excitement and urgency shared by participants throughout the room. Special Agent Trisha Simmons of the U.S. Secret Service (USSS) reminded us that AI is transforming criminal operations—turning “pig butchering manual schemes into tech-driven exploitation machines.”

Jennifer Huerta, Acting Deputy Assistant Director, Cross-Border Financial Crimes Center, Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), built on that warning by emphasizing the importance of strong public-private partnerships. The underlying message is clear: vigilance is no longer an option. 

For many, UWIC 2025 served as a source of inspiration, much-needed reinforcement, a wake-up call, and a welcoming space to feel genuinely connected in the diversity of thought. Speaker Caitlin Sarian, Founder and Executive Director of CyberSecurity Girl, reflected on her experience as one where she felt “confident and, certain of [my] place in this field.”

Attendee Jen Sovada, General Manager, Public Sector at Claroty, shared a similar experience, calling UWIC 2025, a place where “everyone learns, and everyone leaves feeling energized!”

The unspoken, but palpable agreement was that the energizing feeling is a visible sign of how professions are evolving to face the future of cybersecurity.

---

Learn more about The Cyber Guild’s annual UWIC event—an event to advance the cybersecurity workforce through leadership, innovation, and inclusion.