Canadian Women in Cybersecurity 2022: Driving Diversity and Innovation
The Canadian Women in Cybersecurity 2022 conference, held at the siberXchange venue, championed the power of diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) as a critical driver for new innovations and techniques within Canada’s cybersecurity ecosystem. The event served as a platform to celebrate the achievements of women leaders and to collectively address the industry’s most pressing technical and strategic challenges.
Core Themes and Highlights
The central theme was the importance of diverse thought and background in solving complex cyber challenges. The agenda featured a strong mix of high-level strategic discussions and focused technical sessions.
Executive Leadership and Career Journeys:
Numerous C-suite leaders and VPs shared their career paths, with discussions focused on advancing women professionals, shattering the “glass ceiling,” and building resilient security teams.
Next-Generation Cyber Threats: Sessions covered the Evolution of Ransomware, strategies for effective Incident Response, and insights into Threat Intelligence and Cyberwarfare in turbulent times.
Governance, Privacy, and Emerging Tech:
Key technical and legal topics included the Data Governance Imperative (featuring experts like Cat Coode and Jordan Prokopy of PwC), and the increasing relevance of Zero Trust architectures and Identity and Access Management (IAM).
Speakers and Sponsors
The event’s success was powered by an impressive assembly of speakers and substantial corporate and government support.
Speakers:
The conference featured influential women leaders across various sectors. Notable speakers included CISOs like Ireen Birungi (Interac) and Olivera Zatezalo (OPG), demonstrating leadership in critical infrastructure. Strategic and technical expertise was provided by Dr. Eman Hammad (PwC) on cyber-physical security, Heather Ricciuto (IBM) on cloud security, and legal perspective from Vanessa Henri (Henri & Wolf Law). The presence of allies like Kevin Magee (Microsoft Canada CSO) ensured a collaborative discussion on workplace inclusion.
Sponsors:
The forum was heavily supported by a wide-ranging group of technology and community partners. AWS, BELL, IBM, JUNIPER NETWORKS, and MNP were among the major corporate backers. Specialized support came from security experts like VEEAM, PROOFPOINT, TENABLE, and SECURITY SCORECARD. Community and regional support was demonstrated by the inclusion of organizations like the Canadian Cyber Threat Exchange, Durham REGION, and the ISACA Toronto Chapter, emphasizing a collaborative, country-wide approach to digital defense.
The official YouTube playlist of the organizer provides further details and potential recordings of the event’s sessions, available at Canadian Women in Cybersecurity 2022 YouTube Playlist. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-muJVhHka3I&list=PLmPGnrZ2SYxbqdTN6y_4XcK09gmGFQnSi
