Organised by <\/span>Eskenzi PR<\/span><\/a> in media partnership with the IT Safety Guru, the <\/span>Most Inspiring Ladies in Cyber Awards<\/span><\/a> intention to make clear the exceptional girls in our business. The next is a function on one among 2026\u2019s Prime 20 girls chosen by an esteemed panel of judges. Introduced in a Q&A format, the nominee\u2019s solutions are written in their very own phrases.<\/span><\/p>\n

In 2026, the awards had been sponsored by BT<\/a>, Bridewell<\/a>, Plexal<\/a> and Constancy Worldwide.<\/a> Group companions included <\/span>WiCyS UK & Eire Affiliate<\/span><\/a>, <\/span>Ladies in Tech and Cybersecurity Hub (WiTCH<\/span><\/a>) and Seidea<\/a>.<\/span><\/p>\n

What does your job function entail?<\/b><\/h3>\n
The function of Senior Director for Cyber Defence and Cyber Testing leads the organisation\u2019s strategic posture in opposition to subtle and rising cyber threats. My remit spans safety operations, menace detection, incident response, and menace intelligence, guaranteeing the enterprise maintains a proactive and resilient defence mannequin.<\/span><\/p>\n
I additionally direct the organisation\u2019s cyber testing and assurance programmes\u2014together with penetration testing, pink teaming, and steady safety validation\u2014offering a sturdy understanding of real-world publicity throughout crucial methods. By a mix of technical experience and strategic management, I drives enterprise-wide enhancements in safety maturity, operational readiness, and danger administration. I accomplice throughout know-how, enterprise, and governance groups to make sure safety capabilities are scalable, efficient, and aligned with organisational priorities.<\/span><\/p>\n
How did you get into the cybersecurity business?<\/b><\/h3>\n
I used to be engaged on a army base for the UK MOD in 2014 when everybody was speaking about cyber warfare and cyber defence \u2013 principally within the army context.\u00a0 That piqued my curiosity and I gained sponsorship to start a Postgraduate Diploma in Cyber Defence and Info Assurance.\u00a0 On the similar time, I despatched my CV off to 2 orgs for 2 jobs which I in all probability wasn\u2019t certified to do.\u00a0 A type of orgs \u2013 Vodafone Group \u2013 took a bet, by providing me the function of cyber menace intelligence analyst which I took up in 2016, taking an enormous pay minimize within the course of.\u00a0 Since then it has been onwards and upwards.\u00a0 I moved into the cybersecurity business with no cyber background, no IT background, no technical abilities or accreditations.<\/span><\/p>\n
What is among the greatest challenges you may have confronted as a girl within the tech\/cyber business and the way did you overcome it?<\/b><\/h3>\n
The most important problem that I proceed to face is being listened to and heard.\u00a0 If I’m the one lady within the bodily or digital room with an viewers that doesn\u2019t know me, I’ve to work exhausting to get my level throughout or to be given the respect I deserve.\u00a0 For instance \u2013 I bear in mind a couple of years in the past being given a demo of a platform while I used to be in a earlier function of International Head of Cyber Defence.\u00a0 After the demo, the gross sales rep requested me once we could be doing the demo with my boss and when \u201che\u201d is likely to be accessible.<\/span><\/p>\n
What are you doing to assist different girls, and\/or to extend variety, within the tech\/cyber business?<\/b><\/h3>\n
I constructed and led a International Cyber Defence Incident Administration workforce for Vodafone Group.\u00a0 It was one of the crucial various groups throughout the operate \u2013 not simply when it comes to gender however for ethnicity, faith, sexuality and neurodiversity.\u00a0 It’s one thing that I’m most pleased with.\u00a0 My ardour is teaching and mentoring others. I’ve been a part of quite a few mentoring packages together with Profession Accelerator which gives actual world assist to 13\u201316 year-old college students from various backgrounds equivalent to BAME and LGBTQ+.\u00a0 I helped mentees improve their future prospects within the Digital Sector via mild but sincere mentoring.\u00a0 I used to be additionally a part of Mission Embody which is a world cross firm, cross-sector mentoring programme for the aim of making change and advancing variety and inclusion at senior ranges.<\/span><\/p>\n
I’m an business decide for the Cyber Leaders\u2019 Problem \u2013 a contest fashion initiative geared toward connecting tertiary college students with professionals within the cybersecurity area, fostering abilities and networks important for future challenges within the cyber panorama. The problem focuses on recruiting various expertise and equipping individuals with the talents wanted to navigate an more and more complicated menace setting. It emphasises collaboration amongst authorities, business, and academia to assist college students from all backgrounds in changing into the subsequent technology of cybersecurity leaders.<\/span><\/p>\n
I give again to the younger expertise in Edinburgh and to Edinburgh Napier College (ENU) the place I used to be an undergraduate 1993-1997.\u00a0 I sit as a non-exec director for ENUs Board as its Digital Know-how material professional.\u00a0 I additionally sit as a director for ENUs Scholar Affiliation.\u00a0 The Edinburgh Napier College students\u2019 Affiliation (ENSA) is the scholar union for all college students at Edinburgh Napier College.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n
Who has impressed you in your life\/profession?<\/b><\/h3>\n
In my profession \u2013 that\u2019s a simple one \u2013 Emma Smith, Cyber Safety and Know-how Director<\/span><\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Organised by Eskenzi PR in media partnership with the IT Safety Guru, the Most Inspiring Ladies in Cyber Awards intention to make clear the exceptional girls in our business. The next is a function on one among 2026\u2019s Prime 20 girls chosen by an esteemed panel of judges. Introduced in a Q&A format, the nominee\u2019s […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":12901,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[58],"tags":[8307,959,8306,355,3551,8305,8303,6695,8304,508],"class_list":["post-12899","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-cybersecurity","tag-analog","tag-cyber","tag-defence","tag-devices","tag-director","tag-kumar","tag-miwic26","tag-senior","tag-sonia","tag-testing"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/techtrendfeed.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12899","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/techtrendfeed.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/techtrendfeed.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/techtrendfeed.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/techtrendfeed.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=12899"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/techtrendfeed.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12899\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":12900,"href":"https:\/\/techtrendfeed.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12899\/revisions\/12900"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/techtrendfeed.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/12901"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/techtrendfeed.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=12899"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/techtrendfeed.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=12899"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/techtrendfeed.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=12899"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}