WOMEN IN SECURITY
Melonie Cole: Placing people at the centre of security Melonie Cole, owner and consultant at Mindshift, a Women in Security Awards Aotearoa finalist and speaker at the recent ASIS NZ Women in Security event, contributes an article of two parts to NZSM. The common thread? People.
Melonie is an experienced cyber awareness specialist, strongly focussed on building relationships that stand the test of time. She loves working with people to develop stand-out awareness campaigns and programmes.
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NZSM
We have one thing in common and that’s people Whether we’re talking about information, physical, or personnel security, there’s one thing in common, and that’s people. When we started Mindshift, our mission was to make a positive difference to the online safety of New Zealanders and we came up with the definition “cyber awareness is the information we give people to help them make good cyber decisions”. After talking at a recent ASIS Women in Security event about my baptism into the world of security, I pondered whether the addition of the word ‘cyber’ to that definition has led me to silo our business into one that focused purely on our online world but should be taking a broader approach. When it comes to awareness, people are at the heart. It’s not just the information we give people to make good online decisions, it’s the information we give people to ensure they act in secure ways – whether it be handling information or with people directly. I clearly remember the day I bravely asked a colleague “what exactly is information security’? I’ll never forget the withering look I was given, as if this was common knowledge. For most New Zealanders, ‘online safety’ may be a term more easily understood, and that includes by me too.
How many others in our wider industry would love to understand the terms we assume to be understood? And, who would enjoy learning about what people in different fields within security do? There may be opportunities, both professionally and personally that are lurking, just waiting to be discovered. Being brave enough to ask questions is something I talk a lot about. This becomes more challenging I’ve found as I’ve become more ‘seasoned’ (aka older and wiser!) and there’s an expectation that ‘seasoned’ means you are the fount of knowledge! Accepting that questioning and listening are vital life skills is critical for us all, especially those working in security where nothing seems to stay the same for long. Asking and listening is also how we connect with people, I love the saying “speak in such a way that others love to listen to you; listen in such a way that others love to speak to you.” It goes without saying there’s a place for formal training in any industry. In fact, for many working in information security it seems neverending and no-one ever starts out being an expert in anything. But surely nothing tops the richness of knowledge we absorb when we learn from our peers, friends, and people we respect in our industry. What opportunities are there to share experiences across our industry as a whole, especially
April/May 2021
