Samantha Cowan - From National Parks Service To Head Of Compliance
Today we're joined by Samantha Cowan. Sam is currently the Head of Compliance at HackerOne. She's the former Director of Compliance at OneLogin and former Security Engineer at CoverHound, Cyber Policy, and Zenefits. Sam initially perceived Infosec as an "unhappy job", but later found herself taking her MBA and paving her way into the security industry. Despite having her master's degree, she was not an exemption to facing rejections when applying for cybersecurity. Her episode is mind-blowing as she shares how you can break into boundaries by being confident in yourself and by not compromising to being seen as a token hire.
LINKS
Linkedin:Â https://www.linkedin.com/in/samanthacowan/Intro Music:Â https://trash80.com/#/content/133/weeklybeats-2012-week5Security and Privacy Framework:Â iapp.org
- Why compliance is often seen as a bad wrap, and what does working in compliance look like
- How to address vendors that are not meeting security standards without bringing unnecessary risk to the company
- The step-by-step career path to getting into compliance
- The difference between working in a security compliance company and a non-security compliance company
- Samantha's journey from having to perceive infotech as an "unhappy job" to paving her way into the security industry
- How Samantha handled rejections when applying for cybersecurity jobs
- How having the right mentor/s can help you find the right direction in your career, and how to best meet your goals
- Samantha's incredible advice on how you can be confident with your qualifications and not compromise to being seen as token hires.
- "Some boundaries need to be taken down. We don't wanna be seen as a token hires. We have skills no matter what our gender identity and ethnicity".
- "You are hired because of your merits. We're just as confident as anybody else".
- "Mentors can help you with finding the right career path and having clarity on how to best meet your goals".
- "Learn from other people's mistakes. make that mental note so that you don't make the same mistakes".
- "Make sure you're not that person that's interfering with people's work. Make sure that people know you're still getting your work done. So that your position in the company is not in question".
- "If I'm not 100% sure, I'm gonna make sure the right answers are found, and not pushing my answer is the right answer because it's my answer".
Breaking IN: A Practical Guide to Starting a Career in Information Security
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