Canadian Women in Cybersecurity 2021: Leading the Future of Security
The Canadian Women in Cybersecurity 2021 event brought together influential female leaders and industry allies to champion diversity and discuss advanced cyber defense strategies. The forum was held at siberXchange, providing a virtual or dedicated collaborative space for networking and knowledge exchange.
Core Themes and Highlights
The event focused on the pivotal roles women play in advancing organizational security and addressed the need for greater inclusion across the industry. Key themes likely included:
Executive Leadership and Strategy:
Featuring numerous Directors, VPs, and CISOs, the discussions focused on boardroom-level cybersecurity strategy, risk management, and the evolution of the CISO role.
Sector-Specific Resilience:
Sessions highlighted defense strategies across critical sectors, including finance (Scotiabank, TD, HOOPP), energy (OPG, Enova Power), and government (Treasury Board of Canada Secretariat).
Building the Cyber Workforce:
A focus on career development, mentorship, and strengthening the pipeline of female talent in technical and leadership roles, featuring leaders like Bonnie Butlin (SPF) and Heather Phelps (Phelps Group).
Speakers and Sponsors
The event featured an exceptional lineup of speakers and was broadly supported by technology leaders and industry partners dedicated to the Canadian cyber community.
Speakers:
The roster was packed with senior female executives shaping the Canadian cyber landscape. Notable speakers included Olivera Zatezalo (General Manager, Cybersecurity at OPG), Allison Atkins (Director, Cyber & IT Risk at Scotiabank), Jennifer Williams (Director of Information Security at HOOPP), and Sherry Rumbolt (Senior Cybersecurity Strategist at Treasury Board of Canada Secretariat). Their diverse experience provided insights ranging from legal and privacy matters (Vanessa Henri) to global enterprise architecture (Suzie Smibert). Male leaders, such as Daniel Pinsky (CDW Canada), also participated to demonstrate allyship and support for the initiative.
Sponsors:
The event garnered widespread support from a vast collective of industry leaders and technology providers, emphasizing commitment to the cybersecurity community and diversity initiatives. Major technology sponsors included AWS, BELL, IBM, and JUNIPER NETWORKS. Key security vendors and partners involved in threat intelligence, cloud, and defense included VEEAM, PROOFPOINT, RECORDED FUTURE, and TENABLE. The involvement of municipal and regional bodies (Durham REGION, Town of Ajax, City of Oshawa) highlighted the collaborative nature of security across the public and private sectors in Canada.
YouTube Playlist
While the recap article provides an overview, session recordings and highlights related to the event can be found on the organizer’s YouTube channel. You can view the relevant content by checking the playlists available at: https://youtu.be/YCvlsHTfutM?si=kkFbfzm0lHdyPueD
