Every month, WISDOM highlights the achievements and perspective of inspiratinoal colleagues in the field as part of a Q and A series. Our very first nominated role model and trail blazer is Fatimah Adelodun, the Cyber Security Engineer at Nigerian Bulk Electricity Trading Plc.
Fatimah has a bachelor’s degree in computer science from the University of Ilorin, Nigeria and graduated from Edhec Business School where she earned an MBA degree. Fatimah started her career as an intern in IT in the year 2012 and over the years she has worked and evolved to become a well-rounded IT professional with immense passion for cyber security. She has worked on numerous projects and applications and has acquired various certifications including CISA, CISM, CEH, ITIL. Fatimah is also well-versed in cloud computing and data analytics. She is a regular speaker at the annual “Girls in ICT Day” where she sensitizes young girls about IT security and careers in IT.
What do you think is the most challenging aspect of information security?
Fatimah: Information Security is a constantly evolving ecosystem. Earlier security incidents were often contained to individual user’s systems, resulting in little downtimes. However, the complexity of security attacks have increased over the years. With the increasingly interconnected environment, information is exposed to a growing variety of risks such as computer hacking, malwares, denial of services, etc. and the resulting effects range from causing billions of dollars of damage to businesses and completely shutting down others. Even with the proliferation of security solutions in the market, threats have continued to grow in severity making remediation even more challenging. This makes implementing and maintaining information security arduous for any organization.
What has been the proudest moment of your career to date?
Fatimah: That would be the moment I was confirmed as a full-time staff at my place of work. Having started as an intern with an organization in infancy, I was entrusted with a role to build the IT department from the ground up. I literally had to have a 360-degree understanding of running an IT department and as a fresh graduate then with mostly theoretical knowledge, I had a lot of challenging moments. Summarily, I enrolled in courses, broke a few things, built some, but mostly, I grew as an IT professional. I learnt and became even more passionate about IT. Getting retained as full-time staff (not a common practice in my office) based on my outstanding performance after the completion of my internship made all the hurdles even more worth it.
What are the most enjoyable parts of your work?
Fatimah: As a firm believer in the advantages offered by technology and information security, I enjoy deploying robust digital protection (firewall, anti-virus, wireless security, etc.) against a cyber diverse range of issues. Ensuring that users can use computer systems and applications as and when needed while reducing the risks from potential threats to the barest minimum enhances productivity at work. I also enjoy a good challenge and working in cyber security ensures to keep me on my toes as protecting critical infrastructure is anything but boring. Besides protecting systems and data, I love learning new things and because information security is constantly evolving and new technologies emerging, jobs in the domain evolve too and so do the required skills.
What are the most challenging parts of your work?
Fatimah: Everyday comes with its own challenges. Some unique, others not. While security incidents are almost unavoidable, being proactive and putting necessary measures can help in reducing the risks to an organization. A rather challenging aspect of my work is convincing the management to view information security as an intrinsic part of the business.
What lessons have you learnt as your progress through your career?
Fatimah:
* Enact a multi-layered defense strategy that covers the entire enterprise (endpoints, data, applications, mobile devices).
* Continuously back-up data to safeguard against incidents and attacks such as ransomware.
* Patch software regularly.
* Problems don’t finish, live a little.
What are your reflections on diversity and inclusion within your field?
Fatimah: The STEM fields and particularly IT is male-dominated. There are moments of awkwardness when I walk into a meeting-room filled with men. Globally, women endure work environments where their contributions are not as valued as much as their male counterparts and so have more to prove. Some people are of the opinion that men are more built for technical roles than women and this type of reasoning discourages young girls and limits our opportunities in the workplace. It is refreshing to have discussions surrounding diversity and inclusion. Although many companies put their efforts towards both on their website, only few actually implement it.
In your view, how can we increase diversity and inclusion in information security?
Fatimah: At the core of inclusion and diversity should be the deliberate creation of an enabling environment that supports all genders, religion and ethnicities. More importance should be placed on competence than gender, the color of our skin or religious beliefs.
What advice would you give to someone just starting their career?
Fatimah: I would advise anyone starting their career to dare to dream. The tech industry is a huge one. Take your time in deciding your areas of interests/specialization. Also, invest in self-development; There are loads of useful resources that can help in guiding you to becoming more grounded. Finally, build a network of professionals in the industry. This is really important for future opportunities.
What advice would you give to recruiters for your field?
Fatimah: I would advise recruiters to let candidates know their status in recruitment processes as soon as possible.
Do you know inspirational colleagues who could be our next WISDOM Trailblazer? If so, please get in touch with wisdom-owner@lists.rhul.ac.uk and/or amy.ertan.2017@rhul.ac.uk.
Author: Amy Ertan