Cybersecurity Awareness Month: It’s All About the People

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VMware Champions Cybersecurity Awareness Month

October is Cybersecurity Awareness Month, an initiative co-led by the National Cyber Security Alliance and the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Agency (CISA) to increase the focus on cybersecurity both nationally and internationally. With cyberattacks growing in sophistication and frequency, VMware values its long-standing strategic partnership with the federal government and is proud to be a 2022 Champion for Cybersecurity Awareness Month.

"Cybersecurity Awareness Month shines a light on why a strong public-private sector collaboration is paramount to improving the broader security ecosystem and defending cyberspace. As a founding member of CISA's Joint Cyber Defense Collaborative (JCDC), VMware is actively aligned with a global network of industry and public sector organizations focused on helping to combat cyberattacks, protect critical infrastructure, and build resilience. Cybersecurity is a shared responsibility."

Alex Tosheff, Chief Security Officer, VMware The Importance of Building and Maintaining Trust

The ever-changing enterprise landscape requires organizations to adjust their security strategies to protect stakeholder data, achieve compliance, and effectively defend against the cyberattacks threatening our digital world. VMware is helping organizations chart a more secure future and build trust across any app on any cloud across any device.

"Cybersecurity is now part of our everyday lives-it's no longer unusual to hear about cyber-related events in the daily news," said Stuart Lee, Chief Privacy Officer, VMware. "Having a solid cybersecurity foundation means organizations can navigate and manage the rising bar of compliance with global privacy requirements. And that's core to building and maintaining trust with customers, partners and employees."

Closing the Cybersecurity Skills Gap

Think of cybersecurity as being comprised of three pillars: people, process, and technology. Although technology is the tool and process is the enabler, cybersecurity is ultimately all about the people. In the spirit of this year's Cybersecurity Awareness Month theme - "See Yourself in Cyber" - we will spend this month highlighting our people and showcasing their paths that led to careers in cybersecurity.

Follow along on theVMware Security blog throughout the month to learn more about the career paths of VMware defenders as well as advice for anyone looking to break into the industry.

As Karen Worstell, senior cybersecurity strategist at VMware, notes, "Security touches everything, and a career in the field is incredibly rewarding and impactful. What the security industry needs is people with a strong sense of service and a desire to make a difference."

And there is a desperate need. The global cybersecurity workforce is facing a skills gap of 3.5 million workers and is only 25% women, according to Cybersecurity Ventures. ¹ As a force for good across the technology industry, VMware is empowering the next generation of women leaders through projects such as VMinclusion Taara, VMware Achieve Scholarships, and partnerships with organizations such as I WISH. By investing in programs to expand the community of female and diverse talent in technology, VMware is committed to helping more women see themselves in cyber.

People who are mavericks, those who look at things differently and have a natural curiosity to make the world a better place, make the best defenders."

Karen Worstell, Senior Cybersecurity Strategist, VMware

In celebration of Cybersecurity Awareness Month, tune into Ask the Howlers on October 20 where host Karen Worstell will be joined live by Lynn Dohm, Executive Director at Women in Cybersecurity (WiCyS), to discuss how we can grow and diversify the cybersecurity workforce.

To join in on the conversation via social, use the hashtags #SeeYourselfInCyber and #CyberMonth, and don't forget to tag @VMware, @vmw_carbonblack and @vmwarensx.

Sources

1. World Economic Forum, "Empowering women can help fix the cybersecurity staff shortage," Sept. 9, 2022.

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