Organised by Eskenzi PR in media partnership with the IT Security Guru, the Most Inspiring Women in Cyber Awards aim to shed light on the remarkable women in our industry. The following is a feature on one of 2024’s Top 20 women selected by an esteemed panel of judges. Presented in a Q&A format, the nominee’s answers are written in their own words with minor edits made by the editor for readability and where relevant, supplemented with additional commentary by their nominator.
In 2024, the awards were sponsored by BT, Think Cybersecurity Ltd. and Plexal, with Eskenzi PR, Assured and Women in Cybersecurity UK & Ireland Affiliate as partners.
Rosie Anderson, Head of Strategic Solutions at Th4ts3cur1ty.Company
What Does Your Job Entail?
My role as Head of Strategic Solutions, or Magic Genie Person, is to work with customers to help to solve their problems. I am customer-focused, helping customers of all shapes and sizes identify their security challenges, and looking to provide the right security solution.
For example, one morning I could be speaking to a scientific organisation who have a tech roadmap, but security is new to them. For that business, we may discuss a risk and maturity assessment, which helps them identify where they are in terms of cyber maturity, where they want to be, and a plan to get to that point. On the next call, I could be speaking to a customer about our PocketSIEM SOC solution, on either a 24/7 (Platinum) basis, or 1 hour a day (Silver) service.
That same day I might be scoping out a penetration test, with one of our Security Consultants, and pulling together the proposal and SoW as part of that sales process. Another popular piece of work is a Cyber MOT, which is a smaller high-level security assessment that assesses a business’s processes and makes recommendations. My days are full and varied, and I am constantly learning which I love.
How Did You Get Into The Cybersecurity Industry?
Prior to this role I spent 20 years in tech recruitment, with the last 10 years focusing on helping businesses to attract, hire and retain cyber security staff. I have also been assisting Capslock for the last 18 months as head of mentoring, helping people to transition into cyber security from other careers. I have also helped to set up BSides Lancashire as a brand new cyber security conference, and bring back BSides Leeds, last year, which are annual cyber security conferences that brings together the technical cyber security community. I have been on the periphery of the industry for some time, and, when I saw an opportunity with Eliza-May Austin to come and join th4ts3cur1ty.company I initially recommended a few people for the role. A couple of weeks later we spoke after an event, and although I wasn’t actively looking for a new role, the position at th4ts3cur1ty.company sounded ideal for me, and would allow me to grow and develop within cyber security. It was a great example of recruitment done right – the advert went viral and attracted lots of candidates. The rest as they say is history!
What is one of the biggest challenges you have faced as a woman in the tech/cyber industry and how did you overcome it?
Mainly my own confidence – I have pushed myself to overcome the natural self doubt, and regularly think “oh crap, how am I going to do this!” Setting up a conference (with a great team of us) was an “ok, how hard can it be?” moment – setting up two in short succession was madness! However I would rather grab an opportunity and take it, than regret what I didn’t try!
What are you doing to support other women, and/or to increase diversity, in the tech/cyber industry?
I run the mentoring programme for Capslock, which is a bootcamp reskilling people from a wide variety of careers into cyber security roles. I bring together mentors who volunteer their time to help groups of the cohort, and regularly offer career advice, cv coaching, interview techniques and tips etc.
The BSides events that I organise are inclusive spaces – and safe places for people to learn and ask questions. I also run different meetups – one in Manchester and one in Cheshire on a monthly basis.
I also run a podcast – Bee in Cyber, which showcases the different career options not just for entry level talent, but for people mid career who are wondering what is next.
What is one piece of advice you would give to girls/women looking to enter the cybersecurity industry?
Find your tribe of people who will encourage and support you, and push you to be the best version of yourself. You might find you enjoy Ladies Hack Society, or BSides, or ISACA events or OWASP, but find a community that you love and can continue to learn from.
