Winning the cybersecurity race
Summary
From a class of over 150 university students, Phillips was 1 of 45 girls, she thought that 20 years on she would be seeing far more women within the workplace, in computer science and cybersecurity type roles. James stated: “This creates a massive barrier because it means that we don’t have a level of flexibility, we can’t be agile, we can’t let it [the curriculum] change to fit the needs of the military, or what the cyber industry might need. James reflected on her own experience as a child, explaining how she was fascinated by a computer system at her dad’s work which sparked her interest in technology. “We have seen more clubs appearing in schools, and we now have a curriculum built around some computer science elements, training teachers and exposing pupils at an earlier age to that kind of environment,” continued James. He challenged the perception that the military must follow certain rules in terms of what it is allowed to discuss publicly, but he said it can talk about the skills, level of training and entry qualifications required.