Katie Teitler
TAG Cyber – Senior Cyber Security Analyst

What do you do at Tag Cyber?
TAG Cyber is a cyber security analyst firm so we conduct research into the vendor landscape and enterprise end users’ processes and priorities. Our aim is to talk to as many vendors as possible, get a true lay of the landscape, then advise enterprises based on their unique portfolio ad program needs. On the enterprise side, we work with major organizations, primarily in finance, telecom, and government, and help them with everything from product portfolio management to mapping their programs to industry-leading frameworks such as NIST, and executive training.

How long have you worked there?
​I’ve been at TAG since September 2019.

What do you enjoy most about your job?
Getting to work with so many types of security companies and enterprises. Every one is different—there is no one-size-fits-all—so it keeps me on my toes and always learning!

What do you enjoy most about the company?
Ed is a great boss and leader. He is open to everyone’s ideas and approaches, which gives me the flexibility to forge my own path—in service of the business, of course. We are a young company and the opportunities for growth are huge. Contributing to that growth and knowing I am making a difference inside TAG and with clients is incredibly satisfying. Also, our clients are great to work with! We write and publish custom content for vendors, and working that closely with all different types of security companies allows me to really dig in on a bunch of different spaces, something I probably wouldn’t get to do at a traditional analyst firm, and really learn about myriad types of technology. We try to get creative with what we write, and our customers understand and have a lot of fun with it, which, in turn, makes my job more fun.

How did you get into cybersecurity?
I was working in sales at Forrester. In ~2008, a ton of security vendors started popping up in my territory. A number of them wanted advisory consulting and I got to sit in with the analysts and hear how they were advising companies. I thought it was interesting and something I could learn, and wanted to learn, to do.I had wanted to get out of sales anyway—I am much more of an introvert than one really needs to be for a sales position—and had even talked to one of the research directors about how to transition. It really wasn’t viable for me with Forrester’s structure, but in my next role at a security advisory company, I was able to take on research, content, and writing and start my analyst journey.

What are your hopes for women in cybersecurity in the future?
​We are starting to see the number of women working in security rise, albeit slowly. It’s like anything else; if girls or young women starting their careers see a prevalence of women working in the field, they’ll be more curious about it. Studies of girls show that they are interested in careers in which helping people and making a difference in the world are important. If we can show girls that security doesn’t have to just be about the tech, that there is a greater good, that will align the industry with their ambitions and help them see this can be a wonderful field in which to work.

This year’s International Women’s Day theme is #ChooseToChallenge. How will you help forge a gender-equal world?
The challenge is broader than security. It’s about speaking up when there is inequity. It’s about pushing boundaries and being fearless even when it’s hard or scary…or when you know, as a woman, you’ll be called names (or possibly reprimanded, demoted, or even fired) for speaking up or promoting yourself and/or others who are treated unequally. It’s about creating networks of other strong, successful women and offering to help others when they need or want it. Volunteering is important and getting involved with groups that support diversity and inclusion is a must. In 2021, I know I can’t fix things with a piece of paper, but I want to create an active diversity and inclusion policy for TAG Cyber and work with some of our clients to do the same for their companies.

Read her blog post What Four Women Cyber Security Executives Say About Leadership.