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Fortinet has announced major innovations across the Fortinet Security Operations (SecOps) Platform. The updates feature next-generation SecOps advancements, including expanded agentic AI capabilities, a preview of FortiSOC, managed services, and endpoint security enhancements delivered through FortiEndpoint.

“As attackers weaponize AI to accelerate reconnaissance, exploit development, and social engineering, security operations must function with the same speed and coordination. Fortinet is advancing a unified, AI-powered security operations platform that provides a scalable operating architecture across our defense framework, enabling organizations to build, extend, or optimize their SOC through a single architecture spanning self-managed, cloud, and managed deployments,” said Ken Xie, Chairman of the Board, and CEO at Fortinet.

Advancing security operations

Security teams must defend an expanding attack surface across endpoints, identity, cloud, email, and networks while facing skills shortages, alert overload, and fragmented tooling. The Fortinet Security Operations Platform unifies telemetry, analytics, threat intelligence, and response across the kill chain, reducing complexity and accelerating investigations without forcing operational rebuilds.

This release strengthens four core areas for organizations: SOC modernization, agentic AI execution, FortiGuard managed services, and simplified endpoint security.

FortiSOC and FortiAI: Unifying cloud SOC and advancing agentic operations

As security operations mature, tool sprawl and workflow fragmentation slow teams down.

Fortinet is previewing FortiSOC, a cloud-delivered offering that brings together the core capabilities of FortiAnalyzer, FortiSIEM, FortiSOAR, and FortiTIP into a single integrated service, while expanding FortiAI to introduce new agentic workflows across security operations.

FortiSOC supports log ingestion, normalization, correlation, automation, case management, behavioral analytics, and identity-focused investigations through a single console and a unified data model, integrating telemetry from Fortinet and third-party environments. Built-in SOC best practices, shaped by Fortinet’s own global SOC operations, are embedded alongside AI/ML and FortiAI capabilities to accelerate analysis and response. Simplified subscription licensing and elastic cloud scale helps streamline deployment, while future endpoint and continuous threat exposure management (CTEM) architectural expansions will be incorporated into the FortiSOC experience.

Fortinet is also expanding FortiAI across FortiAnalyzer, FortiSIEM, FortiSOAR, and FortiSOC to move beyond interactive copilots toward agentic execution that connects telemetry, tools, and response actions across the SOC. Enhancements include a dedicated agent that automates alert triage, investigation, threat hunting, and Model Context Protocol (MCP) support to maintain shared context and execution continuity across detection, investigation, and response workflows.

FortiGuard SOC-as-a-Service: Strengthening managed coverage

For organizations requiring continuous monitoring and escalation, Fortinet enhanced FortiGuard SOC-as-a-Service, extending the unified SOC architecture with Fortinet expertise and curated intelligence.

Enhancements include third-party log sources for multivendor monitoring, expanded Security Fabric integrations, FortiNDR telemetry to improve detection fidelity, and FortiCNAPP telemetry to extend cloud visibility, strengthening investigation confidence across hybrid environments.

FortiEndpoint: Simplifying endpoint security

Endpoints remain a primary attack vector and a source of operational complexity. Fortinet announced unified endpoint security enhancements though FortiEndpoint to consolidate multiple endpoint products, reduce agent sprawl, simplify licensing and management, and strengthen protection against emerging threats, including AI application misuse.

Enhancements include single-agent unification across ZTNA, SASE, EPP, EDR, and DLP, extending data protection without additional agents. Fortinet also introduced FortiAI-powered application visibility and control to detect and govern AI applications and their communications, reducing unsanctioned usage and data exposure risk. Enhanced EDR integration further streamlines management through a unified console and simplified licensing.

These innovations advance Fortinet’s SecOps platform by strengthening unified SOC modernization, previewing a transformative cloud SOC experience, expanding agentic AI, enhancing managed coverage, and simplifying endpoint security. The result is a single architecture that reduces operational complexity, accelerates investigations, and enables organizations to defend against AI-driven threats at scale.


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A carnival thrill-ride that manages to evoke America's radical revolutionary history while referencing and responding to decades of cinematic rebellion, One Movie After Another is one of writer/director Paul Thomas Anderson's richest films, and somehow maybe even his most fun. Its 13 Oscar nominations put it in line with the most-honored movies ever, alongside the likes of From Here to Eternity, Mary Poppins, Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?, and The Fellowship of the Ring. Of course, One Battle has the slight misfortune to be running against Sinners, with its all-time high of 16 nominations. Still: not bad.

With a variety of tones and styles, these 10 other movies approach radical activism and the aftermath thereof from multiple perspectives. Some of them even directly inspired Anderson in the making of One Battle.

Running on Empty (1988)

I'm letting Paul Thomas Anderson himself do some of the work here, as he's already suggested this one is a good match while serving as a guest programmer on TCM. No surprise, really, as this 1988 film also follows one-time members of a radical anti-war guerrilla group (played by Judd Hirsch and Christine Lahti) who've been on the run since the 1970s, sure that the past isn't done with them. Having relocated to yet another new town and with new identities, their teenage son Danny (River Phoenix) is hoping to make a life for himself, particularly when he's recognized for his musical talent by a teacher who wants to know more about him and his family. Though there's none of the action and little of the satire of One Battle, the themes are definitely similar. Rent Running on Empty from Prime Video.

How to Blow Up a Pipeline (2022)

Turning a non-fiction work into an action-thriller, How to Blow Up a Pipeline follows eight individuals committed to bombing an oil pipeline in two separate locations. The movie, like the book it is based on, makes the case that property damage isn’t the worst thing in the face of environmental catastrophe; still, the level of commitment required to carry out such an act takes a deeply personal toll. Stream How to Blow Up a Pipeline on Hulu.

BPM (Beats Per Minute) (2017)

Set amidst the AIDS crisis in the early 1990s, BPM focuses, to some extent, on HIV-positive ACT UP activist Sean (Nahuel Pérez Biscayart) and his developing relationship with newcomer Nathan (Arnaud Valois), though the film is very much an ensemble piece in the aggregate, a fact that ties into its meaning and messaging. It explores the evolving nature of ACT UP's activism and its messy internal battles over strategy, and the how-far-is-too-far considerations that are part and parcel of every movement. Writer-director Robin Campillo and co-writer Philippe Mangeot brought their own ACT UP experiences to the film, offering up a bit of verisimilitude to the more fictional activism of One Battle. Rent BPM from Prime Video.

Up Tight (1968)

Stars Ruby Dee and Julian Mayfield co-wrote and starred in this film from blacklisted director Jules Dassin, adapting a 1925 novel about an informer in the wake of the Irish Civil War. The setting is Cleveland in the immediate aftermath of the assassination of Martin Luther King Jr. The narrative revolves around Tank (Mayfield), representing the complexities of Black political struggle in an era in which the non-violent Civil Rights Movement had both succeeded and failed spectacularly. Tank supported King's movement but lost his job and went to prison for defending his Black co-workers. Now released, jobless, and rootless, he sees his friends questioning his commitment to the cause—in spite of his sacrifices, a more radical, revolutionary movement is in the offing. The distrust of Tank becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy in this appropriately angry thriller. Rent Up Tight from Prime Video.

V for Vendetta (2005)

Though its politics are more muddled than those in the Alan Moore/David Lloyd graphic novel it's based on, V for Vendetta works as a superhero film with more going on under the hood than most (not for nothing that it popularized the Guy Fawkes mask as a kind of all-purpose anti-establishment symbol). Hugo Weaving gives a fine lead performance, despite mostly working from behind that iconic mask, as the terrorist and/or freedom fighter working against a fascist, totalitarian regime. As much as the British original was heavily influenced by Margaret Thatcher, this 2005 film speaks to the George W. Bush era, which we currently seem to be reliving. (Fun!) Natalie Portman co-stars as Evey Hammond, an ordinary citizen radicalized by an attempted sexual assault by the police. Stream V for Vendetta on HBO Max.

The Company You Keep (2012)

Late national treasure Robert Redford directs and stars (alongside the somewhat less-beloved Shia Shia LaBeouf) as a defense attorney with a past: for decades, "Jim Grant" has evaded the FBI for a bank robbery and murder that occurred while he was a Weather Underground militant. LaBeouf is Ben Shepard, a reporter anxious for a big story who's very willing to blow up Jim's life, but things get more complicated when he tracks down the original arresting officer (Brendan Gleeson), as well as another former Underground member (Julie Christie) who might be able to clear Jim's name. This one's about the persistence of our past choices, much like One Battle, but it also deals with the activism of the Vietnam generation, interrogating the extent to which that idealism has served any purpose. Rent The Company You Keep from Prime Video.

The Battle of Algiers (1966)

A shockingly relevant film about the tensions between Algerian nationalists and French forces in North Africa, a conflict that erupted into a three-year war, director Gillo Pontecorvo's hyper-realistic film is thrilling on one level, but also deeply challenging. While the its morality leans slightly toward the Algerians trying to reclaim their home from the French, it's also clear that the shocking acts of violence perpetrated by the guerrilla fighters render any discussion of heroes or villains ridiculous. (Bob is seen watching Battle of Algiers at one point during One Battle, so it works on a meta level, as well.) Stream The Battle of Algiers on HBO Max or rent it from Prime Video.

Dog Day Afternoon (1975)

Al Pacino and the late, great John Cazale (who was never in a bad movie) play Sonny and Sal, first-time bank robbers is this crime thriller based on a true story. Sonny is desperate for money to pay for his trans partner’s gender-reassignment surgery, so he plans the heist with friend Sal. The result is a violent debacle that leads to a standoff with police. With an eye on queer liberation, the movie tackles the failures of the counterculture while gleefully thumbing its nose at the cops. It’s a fabulous heist movie, and one of the best movies of its era, period,. Notably, it doesn’t look down on its lead character’s bisexuality, nor his marriage to a trans woman—Sonny might not be a genius, but he's a good guy. Stream Dog Day Afternoon on Tubi or rent it from Prime Video.

Born in Flames (1983)

I'm going furthest afield suggesting this no-budget, radical feminist faux-documentary, but it works as a bit of counter-programming. One Battle finds Bob adrift in the wake of his period of radical activism, while Born in Flames imagines that socialist idealism of previous decades bore fruit—but that there are still plenty of battles to be fought. Adele Bertei plays Isabel, who runs the pirate radio collective Radio Ragazza in an alternate, socialist United States, while Honey (just "Honey") plays Honey, the voice of the competing Phoenix Radio. In the face of increasing government oppression, the two women and the factions they represent come to see that liberation, ultimately, requires more than just talk. Stream Born in Flames on the Criterion Channel or rent it from Prime Video.

Repo Man (1984)

A Paul Thomas Anderson favorite, Repo Man matches One Battle a bit less in story terms than many of these others, but it might be the best match in terms of anarchic tone. A pitch-perfect Regan-era satire (timely, given that I'm not sure we've ever really left the Reagan era), Alex Cox's film finds the great Harry Dean Stanton recruiting Emilio Estevez's Otto Maddox into the unexpectedly wild world of automobile repossession in 1980s LA. Otto's absconding with an unusual 1964 Chevrolet Malibu puts him on the run from pretty much everyone: the government has placed a $10,000 bounty on the car, which sends every repossessor in the city after him (the Feds have a very particular reason for wanting it, and it has to do aliens—but not the usual immigrant kind). A cult essential. Rent Repo Man from Prime Video.


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Before the better-known Strava lawsuit against Garmin grabbed headlines last year, Suunto had actually sued Garmin first. In September, Suunto and their parent company Dongguan Liesheng quietly filed suit against Garmin over five patent infringement allegations. Garmin recently responded with a 218-page countersuit that reads less like a legal filing and more like Garmin decided it was done being polite.

Why did Suunto sue Garmin?

The five patents in the initial lawsuit from Suunto had to do with the following features:

  • Golf shot tracking using an accelerometer to detect impact

  • Respiration rate derived from an optical heart rate sensor

  • Slot mode antenna design in wearable devices

  • Antenna placement in a wrist-worn device

  • Additional wrist-worn antenna design concepts

Three of the five are antenna-related, one covers physiological metrics, and one is about golf shot detection. As patent lawsuits go, Suunto's original filing was relatively standard in tone; Garmin's response was not. Suunto and Garmin are not, historically, enemies. The two companies coexisted constructively for the better part of two decades, with Suunto licensing numerous technologies from Garmin during that span. That's what makes this lawsuit stand out. 

What's in Garmin's 218-page countersuit

So how did Garmin respond to all of this? Well, here’s a stand-out quote, spotted by DC Rainmaker: "Like everything else, Suunto predictably looked to copy Garmin's GPS technology as it fell behind in the marketplace." That’s pretty blunt language to have on the record.

Garmin's response goes on to argue that Suunto's products have historically followed Garmin's technology roadmap, particularly around GPS features. Garmin filed five counter-patents of its own, and the filing makes clear the company intends to fight.

What’s also worth noting in Garmin’s language is a recognition that the company it's going after in court isn't quite the same Suunto it spent two decades working alongside. Garmin seems to understand that it's fighting Dongguan Liesheng's lawyers more than it's fighting Suunto's people.

What the Suunto/Garmin lawsuit means for you

Patent cases between major tech companies move slowly. Claims get narrowed, filings get amended, and many of these disputes end in cross-licensing agreements rather than verdicts. For athletes and consumers, nothing about your current devices or features changes in the short term.

But stepping back, this case is a useful reminder of just how much intellectual property is layered underneath a modern sports watch. The hardware and software that makes these devices work is deeply patented territory, and when ownership structures change and relationships cool, that IP becomes leverage. As always, if you have any precious data saved to a watch or app, make sure to back it up on your own personal hard drive. 

For the full technical breakdown of the filings, Ray Maker's reporting over at DC Rainmaker is the definitive read.


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The MacBook Neo might just eclipse the iPhone Air as the most interesting Apple product in years. This machine offers buyers the full macOS experience, in their choice of fun new colors, for $599 ($499 for "students"). Not so long ago, Apple's cheapest laptop, the MacBook Air—long priced at $999, but increased to $1,099 with the launch of the current M5 model—felt like a good deal. Now, you can get a machine that includes all of Apple's latest Mac features for as little as half the price.

Of course, the Neo isn't a MacBook Air. To get the price of a Neo down to $500 or $600, Apple had to make some concessions, like using a mechanical trackpad instead of a modern haptic one; the absence of Touch ID on the base model keyboard; older USB-C tech, including one USB-2.0 port; and no backlight on the keyboard. These are things many users won't notice or won't miss much in light of the price. But what's really allowing for the lower cost of the MacBook Neo is arguably its most interesting feature: While all of Apple's Macs now run the company's M-series chipset, the Neo is running the A18 Pro, the chip Apple put in the iPhone 16 Pro, coupled with 8GB of RAM.

Not only is the Neo running an iPhone SoC, this one has one fewer GPU core than the A18 Pro found in the iPhone, as Apple is using the "binned" version of the chip for this laptop. When chips are manufactured, some come out better than others. The better ones are sold as higher-end chips, while others are sold as lower-performing chips, or "binned" chips. In this case, the MacBook Neo is running A18 Pros that weren't up to the iPhone 16 Pro standard. You can see that from the Neo's tech specs: While it has the same six-core CPU as the iPhone 16 Pro, the Neo has a five-core GPU, one fewer than the iPhone 16 Pro's six-core GPU.

It seems safe to assume that a MacBook running a binned iPhone chip, with 8GB of RAM, no less, wouldn't fare as well running the latest macOS as a chip designed for the operating system. But the truth is more complicated than that.

MacBook Neo keeps up with some M-series MacBooks in benchmarking

While there aren't any full reviews of the MacBook Neo quite yet, initial benchmarks, as spotted by MacRumors, are quite promising. The Neo's first Geekbench tests show the laptop's A18 Pro chip scores a 3461 in single-core performance, 8668 in multi-core performance, and 31286 in Metal (GPU) performance.

Those numbers don't mean anything unless they're compared to other devices, of course. Let's look at the iPhone 16 Pro first: Despite having one more GPU than the Neo, the 16 Pro has slightly lower single-core (3445) and multi-core (8624) scores. That sixth GPU core likely helps it eke out a win in the Metal test, scoring a 32575. Still, performance across the board is relatively similar between the two devices—despite running totally different operating systems.

Where things start to get really impressive, however, is when you start comparing the Neo's "iPhone" chip to the Mac chips in other MacBooks. The M1 MacBook Air, for example, scores a 2346 in single-core, 8342 in multi-core, and 33148 in Metal. While M1 beats the Neo in Metal tests, the Neo's A18 Pro chip wildly outperforms M1 in single-core performance, and even wins out in multi-core by a few hundred points. That means simple tasks that don't require a lot of processing are going to run faster on the Neo than an M1 Air, as will complex tasks—though not by as much.

Even Apple's M4 MacBook Air doesn't totally obliterate the Neo. The M4 Air scores a 3696 in single-core, 14730 in multi-core, and 54630 in Metal. Yes, in multi-core and GPU-intensive tasks, the M4 Air smokes the Neo. But for single core tasks, it outperforms the Neo by a smaller margin than the Neo outperforms M1 in multi-core. Simple tasks will likely feel comparable between the M4 Air and the Neo.

The MacBook Neo could be a big win for Apple

Benchmarks don't necessarily reflect real-world performance, so we won't really know how the MacBook Neo stacks up against Apple's M-series MacBooks until reviewers put it through its paces. But these numbers only make me more convinced than ever that the MacBook Neo is going to be a huge success for Apple. Not only is this a great alternative to a Chromebook or a low-end Windows PC, it seems like it's a good MacBook in its own right. You could buy an older MacBook, say an M1 or M2 machine, or you could buy a brand-new Neo, and enjoy the perks that come with a fresh purchase.

That said, one area the benchmarks don't measure is multitasking. The Neo has 8GB of RAM, which should be find for single tasks, but once you start running too many things at once, you could choke the system. If you open too many browser tabs, or run too many apps at once, you may start to feel that pain. That's not an issue if you were between a Neo and an M1 MacBook Air with 8GB of RAM. But if you can find an M1 MacBook Air with 16GB of RAM at a similar price point, that might be the move. You'll get comparable performance and more flexibility for multitasking—not to mention some future-proofing with the additional RAM, as macOS gets ever more complex.


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Russian state hackers are trying to break into Signal and WhatsApp accounts used by diplomats, military staff, and government officials worldwide, Dutch intelligence agencies warned. They believe journalists and other people who attract attention from Moscow may also be affected.

Signal WhatsApp Russian hackers

Investigators reported attackers attempt to trick users into revealing verification codes and PINs that protect their messaging accounts.

The agencies said the Russian campaign does not exploit technical vulnerabilities in the messaging services. Instead, the attackers misuse legitimate security features of the apps.

“It is not the case that Signal or WhatsApp as a whole have been compromised. Individual user accounts are being targeted.” stated Director-General of the AIVD Simone Smit.

According to the agencies, hackers used two methods. One involves posing as a Signal support chatbot to trick targets into sharing login credentials. The other exploits the linked devices feature in Signal and WhatsApp, which allows additional devices to connect to an account.

Once the code is shared, attackers can read private conversations and group chats.

Users likely assumed that the reputation of apps like Signal would shield them from hacking attempts, a belief Russian hackers seem to have deliberately leveraged.

“Chat applications like Signal and WhatsApp, despite having end-to-end encryption, are not channels for classified, confidential, or sensitive information,” emphasizes Vice Admiral Peter Reesink, Director of the MIVD.

Officials advise users to watch for duplicate identities in group chats, as this can signal a compromised account. If the same person appears twice under identical or slightly different names, it may indicate an account takeover or a replacement profile. To support those affected, a cybersecurity advisory has been released.


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Charging multiple Apple devices often turns into a mess of cables. An iPhone charger here, an Apple Watch puck there, and another cable for AirPods. A single charging station like the Belkin MagSafe 3-in-1 Fast Wireless Charging Pad helps simplify things. It’s currently $39.99 at Woot, down from its original $149.99 price. The same charger is selling for about $100.58 on Amazon, and price trackers show it rarely dipping below $75.99. Shipping is free for Amazon Prime members—everyone else pays a $6 fee. Woot says the deal will stay live for 23 days or until it sells out, whichever happens first.

The appeal here is convenience: Instead of plugging in three separate chargers every night, this pad lets you place all your devices in one spot. It can charge an iPhone, Apple Watch, and AirPods at the same time, which is helpful if you use Apple gear daily and want a simple bedside setup. The phone section uses MagSafe magnets, so compatible iPhones snap into place without much effort. Charging speeds reach up to 15W for iPhone 12 models and newer, which is Apple’s standard for fast wireless charging. The Apple Watch section also supports fast charging for newer models like the Series 9, so a quick top-up in the morning can add a useful amount of battery. AirPods with a wireless charging case sit on the third section of the pad.

This charger is clearly built with Apple devices in mind, so it doesn’t make much sense if you use Android phones or non-MagSafe accessories. You also need an iPhone 12 or newer to get the magnetic alignment and full 15W charging speeds. Older iPhones will still charge, but without the magnetic guidance. At $39.99, it costs less than many single-device MagSafe chargers.

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Speaker diversity in cybersecurity has been a talking point for over a decade, with panels, pledges, and dedicated conference tracks failing to produce change. Stages still skew heavily male, even as women represent millions of qualified professionals in the field.

SheSpeaksCyber, a free and open directory launched by the Women4Cyber Foundation, aims to close that gap by making female experts discoverable to event organizers worldwide. With a target of 50 percent female representation at cybersecurity events by 2030, the platform is as much a community movement as a search tool. We spoke with founder Erlend Andreas Gjære about how it works and why now.

women cybersecurity speakers

The cybersecurity conference circuit has been talking about the speaker diversity problem for well over a decade. There are panels, pledges, and diversity tracks. What makes a searchable directory the intervention that moves the needle when public commitment alone has not?

While I do believe the needle is moving already, I think it should be moving much faster. There are simply so many expert women in cybersecurity today, I am always surprised and disappointed when events fail to feature these in their programs.

When asking such event organizers about this, I often hear something like: “We tried to find a female speaker for topic X, but we couldn’t!”. With experts readily available through SheSpeaksCyber, such excuses should be irrelevant for the future.

Our co-founders at Women4Cyber Foundation have previously been receiving weekly requests from event organizers, asking them to recommend female speakers. Considering their manual effort with this, SheSpeaksCyber now allows time to be freed up for other activities.

With estimates of women in cybersecurity maybe just a little bit ahead of the 20% in IT altogether, there is much work left to do. Still, the actual number of female specialists are in the millions. And this number of people itself simply means that there are more than enough experts to go around for speakers at every event, regardless of percentage share, right?

SheSpeaksCyber is a directory, but you and Women4Cyber are calling it a movement. At what concrete point does a speaker directory stop being a UX convenience and start being something that shifts conference culture?

I believe the community here makes all the difference. Having the speaker directory available, free and open is just a tool. Then, the people who show up to actually use it – as speakers and event organizers, will be part of making the impact real.

There have been so many people reaching out these weeks since launch. Even those who are neither speakers (yet) nor organizers, including men, of course –stating their support and offering assistance, whatever that may be – from all over the world. I think the convenience of this directory is very efficient to progress in the conversations and, in turn, the culture.

Expertise is not always 1:1 with visibility, and many experts are way too careful to raise their hand and speak up. This could of course apply to men, too. However, to bridge an apparent gap here, making the community in general more visible and peers approachable to each other, can be the spark needed to dive into speaking. I have been part of an agency catalog for paid speakers myself (not specifically for cybersecurity), and picked up quite a few things from fellow speakers there. And I have connected with other “colleagues” in the catalog who I may never have connected with otherwise.

I think we can easily agree on the positive aspects of visibility for experts on stages. Both for their own personal career development, as inspiration for others, and for defining the agenda. Seeing the women and their expertise on stages makes all the change, the directory can only hopefully help them get there more often.

The stated goal is 50 percent female representation at cybersecurity events by 2030. That is a specific, measurable target. What metric are you tracking today, and how far off is the current baseline from that number?

As we launched the speaker directory in January this year, we set a target of 1,000 speaker profiles published before 2027 – and we’re already in the hundreds of speaker sign-ups so far. Not all are published yet, but simply the step of starting to draft a speaker CV can be something of value for the individuals, too.

While it’s still early days, speakers will be adding entries for their previous talks on their profile pages. From these data, it will be possible to survey progress according to linked event programs. The infrastructure is ready, we’re adding the speakers and content, and hopefully the network effect will continue to take it from here.

The website also includes a feed for events which are offering open calls for speakers/presentations (CfPs). While various other sources for these data exist, we’re looking to directly suggest relevant events for the speakers in the directory, as they appear. Hopefully event organizers will also want to publish their CfPs on the platform, and at the same time receive suggestions for relevant speakers. We haven’t set any target metrics for these things yet, it is rather about just solving some really basic stuff to unlock the community potential here even more.

If SheSpeaksCyber hits its 2030 target, what does that change about who gets to define what cybersecurity problems matter most at the industry level?

I love this question, because it highlights the importance of which voices are being heard. And voices who are put on stages are naturally heard by more people. This is really basic common sense, and that’s also why it matters.

My personal experience is that also among fellow speakers and panelists, opportunities present themselves for exclusive networking, including the typical speaker’s dinner. And this also extends to validating each other’s credentials, through the mutual experience of being accepted and invited onto stage together.

Peers tend to build connections for mutual respect and even future benefit over these occasions. If we’re no longer missing out on thousands of experts, also in the more closed circles because they’re now also present on stages, I think security improves for everyone.

Your background is in making cybersecurity feel approachable and human-centered for non-experts. SheSpeaksCyber is aimed at getting more women onto stages in front of experts. Is the confidence gap you are trying to close with this platform a discovery problem, a credentialing problem, or something more structural that a directory cannot fix on its own?

The overall lack of IT and cybersecurity skills is declared a gap and challenge towards safety and quality of life for each and everyone of us. The workforce skills gap can by no means be filled without the women.

Women are certainly needed in our industry for all the things which make them naturally different to men, too. Only then can we serve society as a whole, both men and women equally well, through the digital solutions we build and protect. Even equal pay is at stake with cybersecurity being a higher-paid industry, if the women aren’t equally represented.

SheSpeaksCyber is meant to solve the discovery part of the challenge, but I hope and believe it can also serve to help beyond this. We need efforts all the way from upbringing and education, through visibility, confidence and opportunity for expertise. Women are statistically not the first to raise their hand if someone invites the room in our industry, yet their expertise I think we can safely assume. If they are visible on SheSpeaksCyber, they should definitely be worth paying attention to.

Learn more: How to give better cybersecurity presentations


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