What inspires you in your current role? Seeing how intelligence continues to inform other teams. 

What do you enjoy most about your company or role? I love presenting relevant information to each partner team. One day its on how the finance department could be targeted by cyber criminals and the next how my team can improve what it shares with the incident response team.

How did your journey into cybersecurity begin—was it a twist, a calling, or a leap of faith? Random twist. I was sure I’d be a diplomat or work in counter-terrorism. But in applying to jobs, I randomly ended up in cybersecurity and love it.

What do you like most about cybersecurity? Everyday I learn something new, I’m never bored.

This year’s International Women’s Day theme is #AccelerateAction. What does that mean to you? About 18 months ago some of my colleagues and I started a group for women in cyber in finance. As a result, we’ve seen a growth in our community in NY with people increasing their knowledge of cybersecurity as well as find new roles. 

What challenges have you faced as a woman in cybersecurity, and how have you overcome them? I had several managers and teammates in the first ten years of my career who often only saw me as a young woman who didn’t fully understand cybersecurity or knew what I was doing. I would spend time learning outside of work and talking to others regularly for guidance, more than my male counterparts. I had two supportive bosses a man and a woman at two different points who also helped me get past the negative experiences and find my voice. Now I try to mentor others in the same way and remind others that we all have our own paths and it only takes one good boss or mentor for an individual to learn or remember how to shine bright.

LinkedIn: Sydney Jones