Women in Cyber Security Summit 2025
The Great Hall, Parliament House, Canberra.
6 February 2025 - Neesha Wilson.
Did you know the cost from global cybercrime is expected to reach $USD10.5 trillion in 2025! You read that right - $USD10.5 TRILLION - which is more than 10% of the combined world stock market, and more than the net worth of tech giants such as Apple and Amazon!
This cost of cybercrime was one of the many discussions we had when I attended the Women in Cyber Security summit held at the Parliament House last month.
I was lucky enough to participate in the summit and hear from top government and industry leaders, including our female military leaders Lieutenant General Michelle McGuinness and Lieutenant General Susan Coyle from the Australian Army. The discussions really opened my eyes to new challenges we’re facing every day from cyber security, and I learned valuable insights I can bring back to my daily work with Sunstone Advisory.
We were challenged to disrupt the status quo of cyber security, including the fact that cyber security is a highly technical field driven primarily by the male workforce. This stereotyping has resulted in only 17% of female representation in the cyber security sector.
Cyberthreat is not bounded by gender, location or time. It must be counteracted with a diverse and dynamic workforce dedicated to identifying, disrupting and deterring these threats.
Cybercriminals and adversaries are becoming more sophisticated and organised in deploying their attacks. The threat is growing at a high rate, with an increasing risk to vulnerable systems due to the use of complex technologies such as AI and Quantum Computing. Not all cybercriminals are motivated by making profits. Some of them are motivated by geopolitical agendas, which can include espionage, election interference, and attacks on critical infrastructure, posing a significant risk to national security.
To effectively combat these emerging threats, it is essential to proactively map them and identify trends, so we can forecast potential threats and prepare a workforce with the necessary skills and abilities.
Cyber security is not limited to ‘coding’ or ‘technical skills’. It is a sector that offers a wide range of career opportunities beyond technical roles, including, intelligence, procurement, human resources, governance, policy, training, logistics, communications, and media.
A diverse and inclusive workforce built across all functions, technical and non-technical, will help us build an effective, threat-orientated, and pro-active cyber defence against the increasing risk to our cyber security.
If you’d like to learn more about women in cyber security, or further discuss what I learned at the summit, please reach out to me at [email protected]