Cybersecurity Awareness Month: Meet Laurie Lai, Senior Counsel for Cybersecurity at CISA.
Happy Cybersecurity Awareness Month! In partnership with the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency, all month long we’re featuring some amazing women making waves in the #Cybersecurity field. Today, we’re spotlighting Laurie Lai, Senior Counsel for Cybersecurity at CISA. Check out our exclusive Q and A with her below.
Why do you think young women should consider a career in cybersecurity? Cybersecurity is a growing field right now, and there’s a huge need for talent, so there are a lot of opportunities to jump in. It’s a good skill to have, and given the importance of cybersecurity, there are a lot of jobs that pay well. It’s also an exciting field that requires creativity, problem-solving, and energy, which makes it a lot of fun!
What advice would you give to girls who are interested in a cybersecurity career? Explore what you are interested in and do what you love! When I was younger, I thought I wasn’t a science person — I didn’t like projects involving circuits and I wasn’t good at calculating sums quickly in my head. Instead, I liked reading and writing and playing musical instruments. But I also liked computers, so I taught myself how to make websites. And I enjoyed the logic of mathematical proofs, so I took challenging math courses. And I liked building towers and bridges for the Science Olympiad. I pursued what I enjoyed while also working hard in all my studies, and I ended up deciding to major in physics in undergrad.
There’s no need to try to fit a particular image, just work hard at what interests you. Your path may not look like anyone else’s, and that’s okay. Be persistent when something is confusing or hard — many challenging concepts can be broken down into smaller pieces, and if you take the time to thoroughly understand each of the pieces, you’ll eventually be able to understand the whole.
What challenges have you encountered in the cybersecurity field as a woman? Starting from when I chose a STEM major in undergrad, there have been a lot of times I’ve entered a room or joined a meeting and realized that everyone else is a man. When I don’t look like anybody else in the room, don’t sound like anyone else, don’t give off the same vibe, sometimes it’s harder to get people to pay attention to what I’m saying, or it can be easy to doubt myself. In those times, it’s important to trust in my knowledge, my skills, the hard work that I’ve put in. It’s important to speak up, and to speak in a way that the audience will respond to. I don’t have anyone to model myself after, so I have to be myself and blaze a new path.
Stay tuned and follow us all month long to learn more about inspiring leaders in cyber.
