CyberWire Daily
Maria Thompson-Saeb: Be flexible and make it happen. [Program Management] [Career Notes]
Feb 16, 2025
Maria Thompson-Saeb, a Senior Program Manager at Illumio, shares her inspiring journey from government contracting to cybersecurity. She discusses her initial aversion to math and instead pursued information systems management. Maria highlights her transition into Unix and Linux environments as a pivotal moment, sparking her interest in security. She emphasizes the importance of flexibility and continuous learning in overcoming career challenges, especially as a woman in a male-dominated industry, while navigating her path to recognition in cybersecurity.
09:26
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Quick takeaways
- Maria Thompson-Saeb emphasizes that adaptability and continuous education are crucial for success in the rapidly evolving cybersecurity field.
- Her career path illustrates the challenges faced by women in cybersecurity, highlighting the importance of credentials to demonstrate expertise.
Deep dives
The Shift to Zero Trust Security
Traditional security measures, such as firewalls and VPNs, have proven inadequate in preventing breaches, as evidenced by a significant increase in ransomware attacks. Zscaler's approach emphasizes the importance of a Zero Trust security model, which conceals the attack surface from potential hackers, enhancing protection by making applications and IPs invisible. This model operates by permitting user access only to specific applications after continuous verification based on identity and context, thereby eliminating lateral movement within the network. By leveraging AI to analyze over 500 billion daily transactions, this security framework not only simplifies management but significantly reduces the chances of successful cyberattacks.
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