(ISC)² Blog

Associate of (ISC)² Spotlight: Angel Sayani

Angel Sayani is making her mark in the cybersecurity world at just 19 years of age. She already holds several industry certifications including Associate of (ISC)², Cloud Security Alliance’s CCSK and eight from CompTIA. Passing all of them within seven months. She is also the founder of IntellChromatics Inc., a Security-as-a-Service (SECaaS), software ML and application-AI robotics company and published the app Glitter Funny Stickers on Google Play. We spoke to Angel to gain more insights into her passion for cyber and what she’s looking forward to in her career. What prompted your initial interest in cybersecurity? I was reading... Read more →

CELEBRATING YOUNG WOMEN IN CYBERSECURITY – WEIJIA YAN, (ISC)² UNDERGRADUATE SCHOLARSHIP RECIPIENT

The (ISC)² Scholarship Program is part of an effort to bridge the cybersecurity workforce gap—which stands at 2.72 million needed professionals—by providing future cybersecurity professionals across the globe with scholarships to prepare them for a rewarding career in this important field. At the same time, the industry urgently needs more diverse perspectives and fresh talent to tackle the challenges of today and tomorrow. With the scholarships, (ISC)² wants to create more opportunities for historically underrepresented individuals and inspire more young people to pursue a career in cybersecurity. In 2021, Weijia Yan was awarded an (ISC)² Undergraduate Scholarship which supported her... Read more →

Catching up with Kaleb Worku, 2020 KnowBe4 Black Americans in Cybersecurity Scholarship Recipient

Kaleb Worku’s record of academic distinction and relevant experience earned him the 2020 KnowBe4 Black Americans in Cybersecurity scholarship and the following year the CyberCorps® Scholarship for Service. Today, he is a junior in the School of Computer and Cyber Sciences at Augusta University pursuing a Bachelor of Science degree in cybersecurity. He is an undergraduate research assistant investigating medical device cybersecurity under the supervision of Dr. Michael Nowatkowski, CISSP and the captain of his school’s computing programming division of the Association for Computing Machinery. We caught up with Kaleb to discuss how earning this scholarship has impacted his journey... Read more →

Celebrating the Black History of Cybersecurity

In honor of Black History Month, we celebrate and acknowledge black pioneers in computer science and cybersecurity. Without their incredible contributions to technology, the cyberworld in which we live may not have been possible. We encourage you to learn more about these individuals and have included links below to read more. Annie Easley was one of the first black women to be hired by NASA as a ‘human computer’. She specialised in computer programming and alternative energy technologies, providing the technological foundations for some of the most important inventions of the 20th century, including communications, military and weather satellites. Dr.... Read more →

CISSPs from Around the Globe: An Interview with Chinyelu Philomena Karibi-Whyte

The Certified Information Systems Security Professional (CISSP) certification is considered to be the gold standard in information security. This is so because of all the doors that certification opens to a CISSP professional. Those doors lead to many different types of positions and opportunities, thus making the information security community dynamic and multifaceted. In this installment, we talk Chinyelu Philomena Karibi-Whyte. Chinyelu shares with us why she pursued CISSP and how achieving it enabled her to develop her career and negotiate a better salary. What job do you do today? I am a Cyber Security Consultant within the Cloud Infrastructure... Read more →

CISSPs from Around the Globe: An Interview with Dr. Christine Izuakor

The Certified Information Systems Security Professional (CISSP) certification is considered to be the gold standard in information security. This is so because of all the doors that certification opens to a CISSP professional. Those doors lead to many different types of positions and opportunities, thus making the information security community dynamic and multifaceted. In this installment, we talk to influential trailblazer Dr. Christine Izuakor. Christine shares with us her incredible story as the youngest student and first African-American woman to achieve a P.hD in Security Engineering, how she planned her journey to achieve her dream job and how her passion... Read more →

(ISC)² CEO Clar Rosso Receives Cyber Futurist Executive Award

This month, CEO Clar Rosso received a Cyber Futurist Executive Award during the 6th Annual Cyber Future Summit in Augusta, Georgia, U.S. The Cyber Futurist awards celebrate c-suite and boardroom leaders who recognize the importance of cybersecurity within their organization and community. These awards shine a light on senior level leadership who exemplify the importance of cyber resilience in all aspects of decision-making within their organization. During the presentation, Clar was introduced by Karl Mattson, CISO at No Name Security, as an “innovator that is representative of being a thought leader in the industry.” He further described Clar and the... Read more →

Meet Megan West, Honoree of the 2021 (ISC)² CEO Global Achievement Award

Megan “Meg” West, CISSP, is an Incident Response Consultant for IBM’s X-Force Incident Response Team. Prior to joining IBM, she worked as the Global Cybersecurity Incident Response Manager for another F100 company. She currently holds the CISSP and Security+ certifications as well as a Master of Science degree in cybersecurity. She has spoken at several international cybersecurity conferences including (ISC)² Security Congress and SAP Sapphire Now. Megan spends her free time mentoring college students as they enter the cybersecurity field. She also enjoys creating free cybersecurity content on various social media platforms such as YouTube and Twitter. Register now to... Read more →

CISSPs from Around the Globe: An Interview with AJ Yawn

The Certified Information Systems Security Professional (CISSP) certification is considered to be the gold standard in information security. This is so because of all the doors that certification opens to a CISSP professional. Those doors lead to many different types of positions and opportunities, thus making the information security community dynamic and multifaceted. In this installment, we talk to AJ Yawn. AJ tells us about his motivation for setting it up his own business, his passion for mentoring and opening up pathways into cybersecurity, and why he thinks (ISC)² Chapters are a great place for networking and accelerating your career.... Read more →

CISSPs from Around the Globe: An Interview with James Wright

The Certified Information Systems Security Professional (CISSP) certification is considered to be the gold standard in information security. This is so because of all the doors that certification opens to a CISSP professional. Those doors lead to many different types of positions and opportunities, thus making the information security community dynamic and multifaceted. In support of this, (ISC)² has launched a series of interviews to explore where CISSP certification has led security professionals. In our last interview, we met Jason Lau. In this installment, we meet James Wright. He is a cybersecurity technologist with The Walt Disney Company. He is... Read more →

CISSPs From Around the Globe: An Interview with Adesoji Ogunjobi

The Certified Information Systems Security Professional (CISSP) certification is considered to be the gold standard in information security. This is so because of all the doors that certification opens to a CISSP professional. Those doors lead to many different types of positions and opportunities, thus making the information security community dynamic and multifaceted. In this installment, we talk to Adesoji Ogunjobi, who is passionate about cybersecurity in Africa. He is Chief Information Technology (security) Architect and Trainer with Kavod Doyen Consulting in Lagos and talks about how this industry has changed over his 14-year professional background and his ambitions for... Read more →

CISSPs from Around The Globe: An Interview with Theresa Grafenstine

The Certified Information Systems Security Professional (CISSP) certification is considered to be the gold standard in information security. This is so because of all the doors that certification opens to a CISSP professional. Those doors lead to many different types of positions and opportunities, thus making the information security community dynamic and multifaceted. In this installment, we talk to Theresa ‘Terry’ Grafenstine. Terry tells us about her time working as the appointed Inspector General of the U.S. House of Representatives and her journey to becoming Chief Auditor for Global Technology at Citi. She shares with us her passion for cybersecurity... Read more →

CISSPs From Around the Globe: An Interview with Laurie Mack

The Certified Information Systems Security Professional (CISSP) certification is considered to be the gold standard in information security. This is so because of all the doors that certification opens to a CISSP professional. Those doors lead to many different types of positions and opportunities, thus making the information security community dynamic and multifaceted. In this installment, we talk to Laurie Mack. Laurie lives in Canada and is Director for Security and Certifications at Thales. In this interview, Laurie shares with us how she started her career in the Canadian Armed Forces as a radio communicator and how her proudest professional... Read more →

CISSPs from Around the Globe: An Interview with Jason Lau

The Certified Information Systems Security Professional (CISSP) certification is considered to be the gold standard in information security. This is so because of all the doors that certification opens to a CISSP professional. Those doors lead to many different types of positions and opportunities, thus making the information security community dynamic and multifaceted. In support of this diversity, (ISC)² has launched a series of interviews to explore where CISSP certification has led security professionals. Last time we heard from Mari Aoba and her experiences with CISSP. This installment features Jason Lau, CISO for Crypto.com and an official member and contributor... Read more →

CISSPs from Around the Globe: An Interview with Melissa Parsons

The Certified Information Systems Security Professional (CISSP) certification is considered to be the gold standard in information security. This is so because of all the doors that certification opens to a CISSP professional. Those doors lead to many different types of positions and opportunities, thus making the information security community dynamic and multifaceted. In support of this diversity, (ISC)² has launched a series of interviews to explore where CISSP certification has led security professionals. Last time Angus Macrae shared his CISSP experience. This installment features Melissa Parsons, Senior Consultant in Cyber Security for KPMG Canada. She has notable success driving... Read more →

CISSPs from Around the Globe: An Interview with Angus Macrae

The Certified Information Systems Security Professional (CISSP) certification is considered to be the gold standard in information security. This is so because of all the doors that certification opens to a CISSP professional. Those doors lead to many different types of positions and opportunities, thus making the information security community dynamic and multifaceted. In support of this, (ISC)² has launched a series of interviews to explore where CISSP certification has led security professionals. Last time we met Jerome Leach and discovered his experience with the CISSP certification. This installment features Angus Macrae. He is Head of Cyber Security at King’s... Read more →

CISSPs from Around the Globe: An Interview with Jerome Leach

The Certified Information Systems Security Professional (CISSP) certification is considered to be the gold standard in information security. This is so because of all the doors that certification opens to a CISSP professional. Those doors lead to many different types of positions and opportunities, thus making the information security community dynamic and multifaceted. In support of this, (ISC)² has launched a series of interviews to explore where CISSP certification has led security professionals. In our first interview, we met Javvad Malik and heard about his experiences. This installment features Jerome Leach. He works as Cyber Officer in the Coast Guard... Read more →

CISSPs from Around the Globe: An Interview with Javvad Malik

The Certified Information Systems Security Professional (CISSP) certification is considered to be the gold standard in information security. This is so because of all the doors that certification opens to a CISSP professional. Those doors lead to many different types of positions and opportunities, thus making the information security community dynamic and multifaceted. In support of this, (ISC)2 has launched a series of interviews to explore where CISSP certification has led security professionals. Our first installment features Javvad Malik, a security awareness advocate at KnowBe4, as well as blogger and YouTuber at JavvadMalik.com. He’s also contributes on two podcasts, The... Read more →

CSSLP Spotlight: John Kent

Name: John Kent Title: Manager IT, DevSecOps Employer: FedEx Location: Irving, Texas Education: BAAS Computer Science, MS Cybersecurity Years in IT: 37 Years in cybersecurity and/or privacy: 13 Cybersecurity certifications: CSSLP, CEH, CHFI How did you decide upon a career in security software development? My passion for software development began in 1981 and launched my career in 1987. It wasn’t until my first exposure to pen test results in 2005 that I understood software design, development, test and operations from a much wider perspective. There was so much more to programming than creating working software — it had to be... Read more →

(ISC)² Member Spotlight: Jasmine Rodriguez

Name: Jasmine Rodriguez Title: Managed Services Engineer Employer: KnowBe4 Location: Clearwater, FL Education: BA, Psychology from San Diego State University and Masters, Education from Vanderbilt University Years in IT: 3 Years in cybersecurity: 2 Cybersecurity certifications: SSCP, Associate of (ISC)², Security+, CEH How did you decide upon a career in cybersecurity? I found my way into the cybersecurity field a couple years after entering the workforce. I always had a passion for technology. My entry point was in a Network Operations Center where I soaked in knowledge quickly. How did you decide to pursue your CISSP? I utilized self-study materials... Read more →