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List:       isn
Subject:    [ISN] A change in wording could attract more women to infosec
From:       InfoSec News <alerts () infosecnews ! org>
Date:       2015-11-20 13:32:36
Message-ID: alpine.DEB.2.02.1511201332250.32559 () infosecnews ! org
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http://www.csoonline.com/article/3005406/it-careers/a-change-in-wording-could-attract-more-women-to-infosec.html

By Lysa Myers
CSO
Nov 17, 2015

Information security is an endeavor that is frequently described in terms 
of war: Red team. Blue team. White hat. Black hat. Battle plan. Kill 
chain. Command and Control. Trojan horse. Payload. Demilitarized zone. 
Reconnaissance. Infiltration. Adversary. But what would the gender balance 
of this industry be like if we used more terms from other disciplines?

At the recent National Initiative for Cybersecurity Education (NICE) 
conference, I found myself in several discussions about the possibility 
that battlefield verbiage caused girls to avoid pursuing InfoSec careers. 
Answering the question above is not a simple task, but we may take some 
clues from history, as well as other industries, to view the 
possibilities.

The biggest reason we use so many battle-related security phrases is 
probably because the military has long been an incubator for new 
technology. Protecting that machinery and knowledge from prying eyes is no 
small feat; the military trains and employs a great number of people to 
secure its systems. As a result, many people involved in cybersecurity 
started their careers in military or government organizations.

As far as gender imbalances go, the military is nearly as lopsided as the 
InfoSec industry: 14.5 percent of the active duty force as of 2013 was 
comprised of women, with only 7.1 percent of the top ranks being held by 
women. In cybersecurity specialties 14 percent of personnel are female. 
Though, as is described in the previous link, many of those women have 
gone on to high-ranking positions in government and private sector 
organizations.

[...]



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