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The UNSECURITY Podcast – Episode 88 Show Notes – Women in Security Pt5

We continue the Women in Security series this week with another great guest!

Women in Security Series

The Women in Security series continues to get better each week. Brad and I started this series because we wanted to learn more about challenges women face in the information security industry. It would be shallow and dry if Brad and I chose to discuss this subject ourselves. Instead, we chose to interview women that we know and ones who were referred to us.

What better way to get a woman’s perspective on things than to ask them directly?!

So far, we’ve had four women join us as guests on the show. Each woman brought her own set of experiences, perspectives, and opinions. No two guests have been alike, and we’ve learned a TON!

Here’s our guest line up thus far:

  • Episode 84 – Renay Ruter (an information security business/IT executive)
  • Episode 85 – Lori Blair (a 35-year information security veteran)
  • Episode 86 – Victoria Fogarty (relatively new to the industry)
  • Episode 87 – Kristin Judge (founder and CEO of the Cybercrime Support Network, SC Media “Women in IT Security Influencer” in 2017, former Director of Government Affairs at the National Cyber Security Alliance (NCSA), thought leader, and all-around amazing information security expert)
  • Episode 88 – Andrea Hatcher (Today’s Show) (Senior majoring in Cybersecurity Analytics and Operations at Pennsylvania State University)
  • Episode 89 – Judy Hatchett (Information security corporate leader and expert formerly with Accenture, Best Buy, SUPERVALU, 3M, Fairview Health Services, and current VP, Information Security and CISO at Surescripts)
  • Episode 90 – Amy McLaughlin (Information security leader and expert in education, having served with the State of Oregon, the Consortium for School Network (CoSN), Chemeketa Community College, and Oregon State University)
  • Episode 91 – Theresa Semmens (Chief Information Security Officer at the Nevada System of Higher Education, former AVP/Chief Information Security Officer at the University of Miami, and former Chief Information Security Officer at North Dakota State University)
    /not-yet-confirmed (information security executive in healthcare, CISO in higher education, or senior information security sales executive)
  • Episode 92 – Lee Ann Villella (Senior Enterprise Security Sales Consultant at FRSecure, Program Director for the Minnesota Chapter of the Information Systems Security Association, and member of the Cyber Security Summit Advisory Board Committee)
  • Episode 93 – TBD/not-yet-confirmed (information security executive in healthcare, CISO in higher education, or senior information security sales executive)

This is an amazing lineup of information security professionals! These women represent our information security industry extremely well, and we’re honored to speak with each of them on our show!

Here’s what we’ve done so far…

Women in Security Series – Part One

We kicked off the Women in Security series on June 15th, and we couldn’t have chosen a better first guest! Renay Rutter, FRSecure’s COO, got the series started by sharing the experience, wisdom, and insight she’s gained over her 30+ year IT career. Renay expressed how important it has been for her to be strong throughout her career, and in her opinion, women need to be strong to survive in the information security industry. This was a great show!

If you missed this episode, you can catch up here; https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/unsecurity-episode-84-women-in-security-pt-1-renay-rutter/id1442520920?i=1000478037575

Thank you Renay!

Women in Security Series – Part Two

We kept things in the FRSecure family for week two, hosting Lori Blair. Lori is full of information security knowledge and wisdom! She started her career in the industry in 1985, working for the federal government. Over the next 35 years, she’s traveled the world helping organizations with their information security needs and held various leadership positions. She’s excelled everywhere she’s gone and even found time to raise children along the way! Today, Lori is a Senior Information Security Consultant at FRSecure, tackling difficult challenges and mentoring other women.

I have a TON of respect for Lori, and her opinions carry weight for me (and many others). It’s not just her experience that makes Lori amazing, she’s a wonderful, practical, and level-headed person who loves mentoring others. This is a can’t miss episode, go give a listen here; https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/unsecurity-episode-85-women-in-security-pt-2-lori-blair/id1442520920?i=1000479175255

Thank you Lori!

Women in Security Series – Part Three

We welcomed up and comer Victoria Fogarty to the show for Part Three. Victoria is an Associate Information Security Analyst at FRSecure, where she started her career in 2019. She possesses natural gifts for this industry, and her perspectives were fresh. She’s intelligent, relatable, and an excellent communicator. She did a great job explaining how she researched a career in information security while she was an Insurance Adjuster, a job she disliked. Her journey is pretty cool so far, and her future is VERY bright! She even shared a shocker (at least for Brad and me) in this episode. Definitely worth the listen!

If you missed episode 86, here it is; https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/unsecurity-episode-86-women-in-security-pt-3-victoria/id1442520920?i=1000480167348

Thank you Victoria!

Women in Security Series – Part Four

Kristin was our first non-FRSecure guest in the series. This was a great interview! Kristin shared how she got her introduction to information security while she was serving as an elected official (Washtenaw County Commissioner). She has an incredible journey so far, especially considering she has only been in the industry for a little more than 10 years.

She held some very exciting roles before founding the Cybercrime Support Network in late-2017. Her passion for helping people is inspiring, and we’re looking forward to making a difference in this industry together!

Learn about Kristin Judge, her journey, her opinions, and her work founding and running the Cybercrime Support Network in episode 87. If you missed it, go give it a listen; https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/unsecurity-episode-87-women-in-security-pt-4-kristin-judge/id1442520920?i=1000482892565

Truly an amazing person; we loved chatting with her!

Thank you Kristin!

This brings us to today’s episode…

Women in Security Series – Part Five

Today we welcome Andrea Hatcher to the show! Andrea is a Senior at Pennsylvania State University (Penn State), majoring in Cybersecurity Analytics and Operations. Andrea is an avid listener to our show who contacted us through email. We invited her to be our guest, and we’re thrilled she accepted! We’ve only talked to Andrea once; a brief telephone call to prep her a little for her time in the spotlight. 🙂

Can’t wait to get Andrea’s take on things!

WELCOME ANDREA!

Let’s get to the show, shall we?

I’m (Evan) leading the show this week, and these are my notes…


SHOW NOTES – Episode 88

Date: Monday, July 13th, 2020

Episode 88 Topics

  • Opening
  • Introducing Our Special Guest: Andrea Hatcher (Penn State Senior majoring in Cybersecurity Analytics and Operations)
  • Catching Up (as per usual)
  • Women in Security
  • News
  • Wrapping Up – Shout outs
Opening

[Evan] Hey there! Thanks for joining us for episode 88 of the UNSECURITY Podcast. Today is July 13th, 2020, and I’m your host, Evan Francen. I’m joined by my good friend and co-worker, Brad Nigh. Good morning Brad!

[Brad] Cue Brad!

[Evan] Today we’re doing Part Five of the Women in Security Series, and I’m excited to welcome our guest! She’s a Senior at Penn State University, majoring in Cybersecurity Analytics and Operations, and her name is Andrea Hatcher. Welcome Andrea!

[Andrea] Cue Andrea!

[Evan] I’m especially excited for today’s show for a couple of reasons. One, because Andrea is just beginning her information security career journey and we get to play a small part in it, and two, Andrea is a fan of the show. Fans of the show are the best fans in my opinion! 😉 Thanks again for agreeing to be on the podcast Andrea.

[Andrea] Cue Andrea again…

[Evan] First things first. Before we get too deep, we gotta check in.

Catching Up

Quick discussion about last week, the weekend, or whatever else comes to mind.

  • How are you guys?
  • Tell me about your weekend quick.
  • Anything in particular that you’re excited about?

[Evan] Thanks guys! Alright, let’s get to it.

Women in Security, Part Five

[Evan] This is Part Five of the Women in Security series, and each week just gets better and better. The purpose behind the series is bring to light the unique experiences, perspectives, and opinions of women in our industry in the hopes of making the path smoother and more inviting for others. We’re doing this by inviting women as guests of our show to share with us. They’re sharing their experience, their wisdom, and their opinions on a variety of topics.

We purposely chose women at various stages of their career and in various roles. The more varied the perspectives, the better the learning for all of us. That’s the theory anyway.

All that being said, let’s get back to our current guest, Andrea Hatcher!

Do we have a shortage of women in our industry? If so, what’s the big deal? Why is the topic important for us to talk about? Lot’s of questions and I’m sure just about everyone has an opinion. Instead of people listening to our opinions, we’re going to talk to the people this relates to the most; women! What better way to get a woman’s perspective on things than to talk to a woman? Let’s do this.

Open Discussion (~30 minutes)

  • How did you get started? Why information security?
  • How soon do you graduate? Got a dream job in mind?
  • Tell us about any internships you might have coming up.
  • Tell us about the Penn State Cybersecurity Analytics and Operations major.
    • How big are the classes?
    • Did you have to qualify to get accepted into the program?
    • What’s the gender ratio?
    • What do your family and friends think about your major?
  • What challenges or difficulties have you encountered so far?
  • Do you have any advice for someone just starting out?
  • Have you heard about our (alleged) industry talent shortage?
    • Do you think we need more women in our industry and why?
    • Opinions about the talent shortage in our industry.
  • What can we do better in recruiting more people, and specifically more women in our industry?
  • Whatever else we’d like to share.

[Evan] Thanks again for joining us Andrea! We’re very excited about your future and we’re sure you’ll be great!

Now it’s time for some news. Andrea, please stick around. If you’ve got anything to add to our commentary, please don’t hesitate.

News

[Evan] More newsy things…

Wrapping Up – Shout outs

[Evan] There you have it! Episode 88 is a wrap. Well, almost. Thank you Andrea for a joining us and making this fifth installment of to the Women in Security series a great one! Next week, we welcome another great guest, Judy Hatchett. Judy is a very skilled enterprise information security leader.

Either of you have any shout outs this week?

[Brad and/or Andrea] We’ll see.

[Evan] We appreciate you, our listeners. If you’ve got something to say to us on the show, send us an email at unsecurity@protonmail.com. If you’re the social type, socialize with us on Twitter. We finally set up an UNSECURITY Podcast Twitter account; @UnsecurityP. If you want to socialize with Brad, he’s @BradNigh. If you want to socialize with me, I’m @evanfrancen. Andrea, do you want people to get in touch with you? If so, how should they?

Lastly, be sure to follow SecurityStudio (@studiosecurity) and FRSecure (@FRSecure) for more goodies.

That’s it! Talk to you all again next week!