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FS-ISAC awards cyber security scholarships in Europe
Five women have been awarded cyber security scholarships at FS-ISAC’s 2018 EMEA Summit
The Financial Services Information Sharing Analysis Center (FS-ISAC) has announced the winners of its Building Cybersecurity Diversity (BCD) scholarship programme in Europe.
The students were awarded the scholarship during the FS-ISAC Europe, Middle East and Africa (EMEA) Summit in Amsterdam.
FS-ISAC is a non-profit member-driven organisation that helps to assure the resilience and continuity of the global financial services sector.
According to the Global Information Security Workforce Study by (ISC)2, women in the European cyber security industry face the worst gender pay gap of any region in the world. The study found that women make up only 7% of the cyber security workforce in the region.
The scholarship was started by FS-ISAC in 2016 to bridge the diversity gap by helping women interested in cyber security kickstart their careers. After the success of the 2017 scholarship programme, the BCD scholarship is being awarded in Europe for the first time. To date, FS-ISAC has awarded 17 scholarships. Additional scholarships will be awarded in the US later this year.
“We have closely followed the progress of the previous scholarship recipients and have been extremely impressed by their commitment and achievements to date,” said Bill Nelson, president and CEO of FS-ISAC.
“We are pleased to expand the programme to Europe, so we can nurture the next generation of cyber security talent. Competition for our European scholarships was strong and we look forward to supporting these successful recipients as they embark on their careers. The increased diversity within the cyber security sector will lead to more creative problem solving and the overall safety of the global financial services infrastructure.”
Regional summit
The scholarship offers $5,000 and a trip to the regional summit for a chance to learn and network with influential industry leaders. Scholarship recipients are also paired with industry mentors, and network with industry chief information security officers and other security leaders to help advance their careers.
This year’s scholarship recipients are Selina Cho, Freya Hardwick, Courtney Lun, Zoe Mackenzie and Catalina Sagan.
Selina Cho is a candidate at the Center of Doctoral Training Programme at the University of Oxford. She also serves as the secretary for the Oxford Fintech and SmartLaw Society.
Freya Hardwick is pursuing a master’s degree in computer science at the Royal Holloway, University of London. She has previously worked as a software engineer, cyber analyst and research intern.
Courtney Lun is pursuing a bachelor’s degree in computer science at Royal Holloway, University of London. She participated in ongoing cyber security research at the University of Waikato in New Zealand and is a certified system administrator.
Read more about women in cyber security
- The UK needs more women in cyber security, says GCHQ chief.
- When Computer Weekly asks the technology sector to nominate women for its annual list of the most influential women in UK tech, the list of nominees grows longer every year, but still relatively few are working in cyber security.
- Deloitte launches EMEA-wide initiative to close cyber security gender gap.
- Recruiting women key to closing cyber security skills gap, say experts.
Zoe Mackenzie is pursuing a master’s degree in information security at Royal Holloway University of London.
Catalina Sagan is pursuing a bachelor’s degree in cyber security with a concentration in digital forensics and ethical hacking at Harbour Space University, Barcelona. In addition to her research, she frequently participates in online programming contests.
FS-ISAC is a member-driven organisation with members in 72 countries, whose mission is to help assure the resilience and continuity of the global financial services infrastructure and individual firms against acts that could significantly impact the sector’s ability to provide services critical to the orderly function of the global economy.
FS-ISAC shares threat and vulnerability information, conducts coordinated contingency planning exercises, manages rapid response communications for both cyber and physical events, conducts education and training programs, and fosters collaborations with and among other key sectors and government agencies.
