In my last interview, I had the pleasure of speaking with Senior Security Analyst and Brakeing Down Security podcast host Amanda Berlin. Defensive security and blue teams are cool, and it’s about time that the area gets the recognition it deserves.

This time, I spoke with Sorene Assefa. She’s the founder of Cyber Czar, a cybersecurity firm based in South Africa.

Kim Crawley: What is your cybersecurity role?

Sorene Assefa: I am the founder and Managing Director of Cyber Czar, an organization focused on creating a culture of cybersecurity in South Africa, advocating the advancement of women in the tech sector, and working towards empowering young African women to play an active role in the field of cybersecurity.

KC: Please tell me a bit about what Cyber Czar has been doing lately.

SA: Cyber Czar is an emerging and vibrant firm. Our slogan is ”ignite a culture of cybersecurity,” which follows a multidimensional and multidisciplinary approach.

We have a number of services and initiatives designed to build an ecosystem around South Africa’s cybersecurity

Here are some of our current initiatives and projects:

  • Cyber Aware aims to drive behavioral change among all stakeholders, so that they adopt simple, secure online behaviors that help protect themselves from cyber criminals.
  • Privacy Aware aims to empower individuals and enable businesses to respect privacy, safeguard data and build trust.

Despite the growing demand and tremendous opportunities in the job market, cybersecurity remains an area where there is a significant shortage of skilled professionals regionally, nationally and internationally. Even worse, women’s representation in this male-dominated field is alarmingly low.

Cyber Czar thus aims to guide, inspire and raise awareness about the importance of women’s partaking in cybersecurity careers by providing training and creating networking platforms and mentorship programs.

More than half of all civil (Read more...)