Kim
Author of Hacker Culture: A to Z
Toronto, Ontario
My Role
I share knowledge about pretty much all areas of cybersecurity with the world. I help the tech industry communicate ideas about their products and services. And with Hacker Culture: A to Z, I've broadened my scope to the history and culture of computing in general.
What I love most about my role
I have such an unusual role in this industry, because I'm a cybersecurity writer and researcher but I don't really write technical documentation. I recently wrote another book with detailed tutorials on pentesting cloud applications, but usually my work is more approachable fare-- whitepapers and blogs. Sometimes tech companies haven't been able to figure out how to utilize my particular skill set. But when a company does, I get quite a bit of creative freedom and autonomy. Most recently, the founder of a cybersecurity services firm called Assured Enterprises created a role for me where I do whatever writing and research the company asks me to do. I love the flow of creative ideas between me and the company I work for. Writing about enterprise cybersecurity all the time means that I'm constantly learning and brainstorming.
How I define success
Success to me means building a reputation where people trust you and expect you to perform well. I would never want to be in a C-suite role. I work with C-suite people constantly and I like being the technology wordsmith they can rely on to get their message out.
The best piece of business advice I ever received was
Get everything in writing! Especially if people are discussing business plans with you. Never rely on just verbal agreements and handshakes.
What would I tell my younger self
So many people are going to tell you that you're wasting your time blogging about cybersecurity. It will take you years until it turns into a viable career, but you've got to keep going.
What 2B Bolder mean to me
It's cliche, but it takes a lot of drive and confidence to succeed as a woman in any industry, especially a male dominated industry like tech. I'm so glad that 2B Boulder provides women with a platform to exchange ideas and support our advancement.
Years of Experience
About 15 years in IT, 13 years researching and writing about cybersecurity, and six years of writing about cybersecurity as a self-supporting career.
I recommend you focus on developing these 3 skills to succeed in a role like mine
Researching from a variety of sources, from academic papers to threat intel to OSINT (opensource intelligence).
Being very good at keeping up with my email and Google Calendar.
Being able to explain technical concepts in a way that business people understand.