Here at Zeguro, we wanted to celebrate Women’s History Month by highlighting some of the most influential women in the cybersecurity industry.
Cybersecurity has always been a historically male-dominated field. In 2019, women represented just 20% of the global cybersecurity workforce. Despite this alarming lack of representation, there have been many women in recent years that have worked hard to shatter the glass ceiling in cybersecurity and move the gender needle closer towards a more equal representation. Here are some of those women.
Deidre Diamond
Deidre Diamond is the founder and CEO of the national cybersecurity company Cyber Security Network (CyberSN), which helps match companies with cybersecurity professionals. Diamond is also the founder of Secure Diversity, a nonprofit aiming to promote women and other underrepresented groups in the cybersecurity field.
Dr. Jane LeClair,
Dr. LeClair is the president of the Washington Center for Cybersecurity Research & Development, an organization dedicated to the advancement of knowledge in the cyber security industry through education and training. Dr. LeClair regularly briefs the U.S. Congress on important cybersecurity initiatives, and has given multiple interviews discussing the need for more women in the cybersecurity space.
Dr. Alissa Abdullah
Dr. Abdullah is the Chief Information Security Officer (CISO) of both Xerox and Stryker Corporations, Deputy Chief Security Officer for Mastercard, and the former Deputy Chief Information Officer for the White House. She is known for leading several cybersecurity efforts across the political community.
Dr. Bhavani Thuraisingham
Dr. Bhavani Thuraisingham is a distinguished professor of computer science and the Executive Director of the Cyber Security Research and Education Institute at the University of Texas at Dallas. Dr. Thuraisingham is also the co-director of the Centers for Women in Data Science and Women in Cyber Security which brings together cybersecurity students and female cybersecurity professionals to share knowledge and experience for mentoring.
Lisa Jiggets
Lisa Jiggets is a veteran of the United States Air Force and is the founder, president and CEO of the Women’s Society of Cyberjutsu (WSC). The WSC is a nonprofit organization focused on empowering women worldwide to succeed in the cybersecurity industry. The WSC does this through their free workshops, training, and mentoring opportunities.
Ann Barron-DiCamillo
Ann Barron-DiCamillo is the Managing Director and Global Head of Cyber Operations at Citibank, former Vice President of Cyber Threat Intelligence and Incident Response at America Express, and Director of the United States Computer Emergency Readiness Team at the Department of Homeland Security. As Director of US-CERT, Baron-DiCamillo led the DHS’s efforts in cyberspace to respond to significant incidents and analyze cyber threats worldwide.
Jennifer Granick
Jennifer Granick is the Director of Civil Liberties for the Stanford Law School Center for Internet and Society, where she studies, writes, and practices in the areas of cybercrime and security, electronic surveillance, consumer privacy, data protection, and free speech. Garnick also founded and directed Stanford Law School’s Cyberlaw Clinic, where she worked on some of the most influential cyberlaw cases of the early 2000s. Garnick currently sits on the Surveillance & Cybersecurity Counsel of the American Civil Liberties Union.
Organizations Advancing Women in Cybersecurity
Here are some organizations working to advance women in cybersecurity and promote equity in the historically male-dominated field.
