Cybersecurity Ventures recently reported a percentage increase of woman in The Global Cybersecurity Workforce from 11% reported by (ISC)² Cybersecurity Workforce Study in the year 2017 to 20%. But is this a big increase?
The gender gap and in the field of cybersecurity has been a chronic problem for a long time. The idea of diversity incorporates acceptance and regard. It implies understanding that every individual is one of a kind, thus perceiving our individual differences. Inclusion on the other hand is the degree to which different voices of a diverse workforce are respected and heard. It is the environment in which an employee perceives that he or she is an esteemed member of the work group through experiencing treatment that satisfies his or her needs for belongingness and uniqueness. The two aspects need to work hand-in-hand to imbibe new ideas and innovation amongst the employees.
It is required today that every organization in the industry encourage females to work in this sector by creating role-models and mentorship programs like the initiatives of companies like Google, IBM, and Facebook. National Initiative for Cybersecurity Career and Studies (NICCS) wrote, “Diversity encourages a culture where divergent opinions can be brought together to develop innovative solutions to solve some of the toughest problems our nation faces today.”
On this very note, InstaSafe, this new year brings forth a list of women leaders in this field of technology and cybersecurity as a whole across various sectors based out of India:
Specialising in Technology laws, Blockchain Laws, Cyber Crime Cases, GDPR Legal Compliance, Artificial Intelligence & IoT Laws, E-commerce Laws, Fintech Laws , Smart City Laws, Digital Healthcare Laws and its application in the Indian scenario and in the International perspective, Puneet is a pioneer in Cyber Laws in India and has been awarded as the Best Cyber Lawyer. She is one of the firsts in India to conduct Information Technology Law Compliance Audits. She is an advisor and consultant for Information Technology Law compliance and Data theft cases in leading Indian Companies along with drafting the Privacy Policies, Terms & Conditions, etc. for E-Commerce Companies, major Nationalised banks and regularly assists them in being compliant with Cyber laws. With a postgraduate degree in Cyber Laws and studies Cyber Security Risk mitigation from Harvard University, she is constantly evangelising in the field of cybersecurity for corporates and school children as well. In addition to the above, Puneet also assists the Rajya Sabha Committee on reforms in Cyber Pornography Laws in India and is also a member of the Cyber Security Task Force Working Group on Skills and Policy Development for the Digital India Movement, an initiative by Data Security Council of with NASSCOM.
Satyavathi Divadari is working as Director – Cyber Security at Cognizant Technology Solutions . Prior to that, she worked in Wells Fargo, Capgemini, IBM and Tata Communications Ltd.
Satya is an information security leader with more than 20 years of experience in Banking, Telecom and IT/ITES industries. She has formulated and led the execution of strategic enterprise wide transformations and improved security posture with higher return of investment. A distinguished information security professional with expertise in Cloud Security, Cyber Security, Application Security, Enterprise Security Architecture, Third Party Security, Network Security, Risk Management and Data Privacy, Satya holds variety of certifications, key ones to quote are: AWS Cloud Solution Architect Associate, CFE, CIPT, TOGAF, PMP and CISSP*. She constantly evangelises on cybersecurity and is a noted speaker in national and international forums and an innovator with paper pending for patent.
Vandana Verma is a Security Solution Architect at IBM, India with over 12 years of experience specializing in application, Infrastructure/network, Mobile and Cloud security domain which includes manual and automated code review, vulnerability assessment, pentesting and remediation support.
Vandana comes from strong application security background and has been working on Cloud Security, Application security, Vulnerability assessment, secure code review, threat profiling and remediation support for web/client server applications on different technologies based on Secure Design/Development guidelines and OWASP standards/guidelines. She is part of security communities such as Volunteer Coordinator – Asia Pacific for OWASP Women in Appsec (WIA) & OWASP WIA Secretary, OWASP Chapter Leader and Heading InfoSecGirls.
She has given talks and workshops at many colleges and security conferences including AppSec Europe, AppSec USA, BSides Delhi, NullCon and cocon.
President and CIO at Edelweiss Financial Services Ltd., Kalpana is a senior professional with over 20 years experience in financial securities industry with an ability to envision, lead and implement strategic business initiatives. Result oriented strategic thinker with leadership and communication skills, natural team builder and hands-on team leader with a consistent track record of corporate goal achievement she has demonstrated ability to build business on a global scale. Kalpana with her proven skills in analysis of Securities Market Domain & Systems from Operational, Techno- Functional and Regulatory perspective has recognised achievements in new products launch and Project Management of multi-disciplinary functional and technical Projects teams.
Kalpana is a great example and an able leader in this sphere.
Puneet, an IT Leader with 22 years of global experience having extensive knowledge on developing and implementing strategic plans and end user services by addressing company needs and promotion of growth. She has worked with leading companies like Motorola, Reliance, Duncans, Carrier Aircon, UK Land Investments, Bharti Airtel Limited, Soma Networks and Motoricity (AT&T) across the globe and in countries namely, Dubai, US, UK, Canada & across APAC especially on projects, and thus brings in table a symbiotic association of various corporate and international culture in the technology sphere. Her role at Mannapuram Finance Limited involves creation of strategic IT annual and long term roadmap with focus towards generating new revenue streams through innovation and intelligence. She is a striking example of a leading lady in the technology sphere.
Lopa Mudraa, a leading Security Evangelist with 17+ years of rich, versatile experience in Information Security, Data Privacy, Risk Management & Governance with a proven performance record of delivering value as business enabler by transforming Security & Privacy to business USP thereby boosting the business confidence by providing secure platform to operate & explore new avenues of revenue generation to achieve intended business goal safely. She also authors articles and is a regular speaker & panelist in the professional public domain on the same.
Adding to her technical & domain skills, she has expertise in – Diverse, Multicultural Global Team Building, Talent Management & Motivation to Deliver Under pressure, Strong Networking, Client, Stakeholders & Partner Relationship Management, Contract Management, Vendor Negotiation & Management, Business RFP & Pre-sales, Functional Budgeting. She has been honored with top 100 CISO Award, Infosec Maestro Award and C|CISO Of The Year Awards.
Priya is presently working with GBHackers, an Advanced Persistent Cyber Security Online platform which includes CyberSecurity Research, Web Application and Network Penetration Testing, Hacking Tutorials, Live Security Updates and Security Investigations.
Experienced with analyzing cyber threats, providing incident response and malware analysis, creating high fidelity IOCs, conducting forensic investigations, pentesting, vulnerability assessment, Priya’s specialities include Malware Analysis, Security,Web application and network pentesting, Virtualization, Antivirus, WAF, IPS/IDS, Troubleshooting, Network Administration and she has experience in security assessment of online banking, Payment Gateway (PCI-DSS compliance) and stock trading systems.
Priya is one of the role models among the white hat security researchers and a lady.
Harmeen Mehta, the Global CIO of Bharti Airtel is responsible for providing the overall strategy and leadership to the IT and Engineering function. Harmeen Mehta started her career as a consultant with British Airways and Qantas. With a diverse experience in various continents and companies like HSBC London, Merrill Lynch India Technology Services, which later on merged with Bank of America and BBVA she is a great example of a women in the technology sphere leading large scale business transformation projects across Europe, US and Latin America.
She has successfully worked globally across locations such as UK, US, Germany, Spain, Hong Kong, Singapore, Japan, Australia, India and Spain and consistently works and speaks for diversity in the technology sphere.
An experienced sales leader of 14+ years, Shalini is the Security Sales Specialists for IBM. Shalini is someone, who consistently drives teams to over-achieve and exceed their goals/objectives, and their numbers. With a proven track record in leading high performance sales teams to drive revenue and market share growth in complex technology sales, Shalini is an apt example of Women in Cybersecurity at large.
Connect with us:
We welcome all women in the area of cybersecurity to join our LinkedIn group “Women in CyberSec” and drop in their details here in order to bring together enthusiastic professional from industry, academia and research to network, share knowledge and spread awareness on cybersecurity issues.
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