WiCyS 2017 Addresses Skills, Gender Gap in Cybersecurity Industry

The cybersecurity skills gap continues to grow, despite recent efforts to drive change. With Frost & Sullivan estimating 1.8 million open and unfilled cybersecurity positions by 2022, the skills gap is global problem that simply cannot be ignored. What’s more worrisome is the fact that representation of women in the cybersecurity profession remains alarming low at 11 percent.

In response to both the skills gap and the gender gap, it is imperative that industry, government and academia band together to build awareness among people of all ages, whether K-12, college, university or beyond. One of the greatest opportunities to see such collaboration in action is at the upcoming Women in Cybersecurity (WiCyS) Conference 2017.

More About WiCyS

Launched in 2013 with help from a National Science Foundation grant, WiCyS aims to recruit, retain and advance women in cybersecurity. With support from various industry, government and academic partners — including IBM — WiCyS brings together women in cybersecurity from academia, research and industry for the sharing of knowledge and experience, networking and mentoring.

Through the WiCyS community, organizers and partners of the event aim to raise awareness about the importance and nature of careers in cybersecurity. The organization hopes to generate interest among students of all ages to consider cybersecurity as a viable and promising career option.

This Year’s Conference

Running March 30 to April 1, 2017, in Tucson, Arizona, this annual conference provides a unique opportunity for women with a common interest to meet other security professionals and enthusiasts. The program includes workshops, networking socials, lightning talks, panels, a poster competition, career fair, and several highly regarded keynote and distinguished speakers.

One such keynote will be presented by Wendi Whitmore. In her talk, “Make Your Own Luck: Key Strategies for Building Your Own Career,” Wendi will share some of her experiences, from being a special agent at the U.S. Air Force Office of Special Investigations to her current role as Global Lead, IBM X-Force Security Services.

If you are attending WiCyS 2017, be sure to visit me and my IBM colleagues at our career fair booth, where we will be happy to answer your questions about studying and working in the exciting field of cybersecurity.

Heather Ricciuto

Academic Outreach Leader, IBM Security

Airplane cybersecurity: Past, present, future

4 min read - With most aviation processes now digitized, airlines and the aviation industry as a whole must prioritize cybersecurity. If a cyber criminal launches an attack that affects a system involved in aviation — either an airline’s system or a third-party vendor — the entire process, from safety to passenger comfort, may be impacted.To improve security in the aviation industry, the FAA recently proposed new rules to tighten cybersecurity on airplanes. These rules would “protect the equipment, systems and networks of transport…

Protecting your digital assets from non-human identity attacks

4 min read - Untethered data accessibility and workflow automation are now foundational elements of most digital infrastructures. With the right applications and protocols in place, businesses no longer need to feel restricted by their lack of manpower or technical capabilities — machines are now filling those gaps.The use of non-human identities (NHIs) to power business-critical applications — especially those used in cloud computing environments or when facilitating service-to-service connections — has opened the doors for seamless operational efficiency. Unfortunately, these doors aren’t the…

Communication platforms play a major role in data breach risks

4 min read - Every online activity or task brings at least some level of cybersecurity risk, but some have more risk than others. Kiteworks Sensitive Content Communications Report found that this is especially true when it comes to using communication tools.When it comes to cybersecurity, communicating means more than just talking to another person; it includes any activity where you are transferring data from one point online to another. Companies use a wide range of different types of tools to communicate, including email,…

Security Intelligence

{{title}}

{{title}}

{{title}}

Topics

More About WiCyS

This Year’s Conference

More from

Airplane cybersecurity: Past, present, future

Protecting your digital assets from non-human identity attacks

Communication platforms play a major role in data breach risks

Topic updates