#018 - Sophina Kio-Lawson on Cybersecurity and Empowering Other Young Women

Jase Avec Moi

This week I am speaking with Sophina Kio Lawson, a cybersecurity analyst, and the co-founder of SheSecures.org. We talk about how she discovered the field of security, her first time using computers, and what led her to create an initiative empowering other young women to join her in this field. Tune in :)

01:45 - Sophina introduces herself, and She Secures, her initiative to empower young women interested in cybersecurity

05:00 - How she stumbled into security by following her interests, when she hadn't even used computers before

09:15 - How she got her first job in cybersecurity, and how that led to other opportunities

[Most of the time you might not learn on the job, you have to back it up with self-development, trying to learn on your own, and backing it with real life scenarios that the job provides you with - Sophina]

14:10 - How Sophina keeps learning in order to remain on top of where the industry is going

[Take what works for you, what's of interest and most important and ignore the rest, to avoid information overload - Sophina]

18:30 - On where she gets information and the people who guided her in the field

23:00 - How being open and honest, not being afraid to say what she wants has led her to today

25:25 - How an initial hackaton meetup She Secures, and the different activities that the organization provides

29:15 - A list of the different opportunities that exist in cybersecurity

30:00 - The biggest challenges in driving the organization and lessons learned

[Just keep pushing, and driving as much impact as you can - the right partners will come - Sophina]

35:30 - What she's most proud of and her hopes for the next 5 years

41:50 - Advice to younger people who want to follow a similar path

You can follow the She Secures organization on the website, Twitter, and Instagram

You can find Sophina on LinkedIn, Instagram,and Twitter

If you are in Kenya, you can also explore She Hacks Kenya

What did you think of the episode? Please share your thoughts with us in the comments, and if you liked it - share it with your friends :)

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In the meantime keep striving, keep thriving, and keep shining!

Michaella