Lisa Ventura

Founder – Cyber Security Unity

Lisa Ventura is nothing if not ambitious. Her goal, she says, is to “build a global community in cybersecurity consisting of all the key membership organisations, government bodies and community groups, collaborating to help combat the growing cyber threat.”

And she has already created a vehicle to realise that goal: Cyber Security Unity, a metamorphosis from an organisation she formed earlier: The UK Cyber Security Organisation, which she set up after spotting a gap in the UK market for a cybersecurity trade organisation.

Ventura says she created Cyber Security Unity to “bring all the great work being done in the industry together under one roof and to foster greater collaboration in the industry which has traditionally been missing to date.”

According to its website Cyber Security Unity is “a new global community … to help unite the industry and combat the growing cyber threat.” It promises to “hold regular networking meetings and events where the cyber security industry can come together to talk about the latest threats, key trends and topics that every cyber security professional should know about.”

Ventura got into cybersecurity in 2009 when she joined Titania, a cybersecurity software development company founded by her then husband. It was a big transition from her previous role in the entertainment industry: working with the host of a TV program: Who Wants to be a Millionaire.

“I have always had a strong interest in psychology and how the minds of cyber criminals work, ie what drives them to do what they do and to hack into systems,” Ventura explains. “My ex-husband was a pen tester who undertook work for the likes of the Ministry of Defence and the UK Government, but he couldn’t tell me much about what he did as he was bound by the Official Secrets Act. His work always fascinated me. So when I had the opportunity in 2009 to join the cybersecurity software development company he founded, Titania Ltd, I jumped at the chance to do so, and I never looked back.”

A VERY PUBLIC CYBERSECURITY PROFESSIONAL

Forming Cyber Security Unity is only one of Ventura’s very public cybersecurity achievements. She is also the author of three books focussed on the experience of working in cybersecurity.

“In 2020 I had an idea to compile a book called The Rise of the Cyber Women which featured lived experiences of women who had transitioned into cybersecurity from completely different industries and roles. I wanted to inspire the next generation to consider a career in cybersecurity.”

She says the book was so successful she released a second volume in 2021 and followed that with The Varied Origins of the Cyber Men in 2022. “Reading the various accounts from those like me was incredibly inspiring and showed me that anyone can move into cyber security whatever their background.”

Ventura posts regularly on the Cyber Security Unity website and social media channels “to raise as much awareness as possible about the growing cyber threat and the importance of staying safe online, particularly for small businesses and SMEs who don’t think they have to have cybersecurity on their radar until they are breached, and by then it is often too late.”

Given these various initiatives it is hardly surprising that Ventura describes herself as “an awareness raiser, campaigner and community builder through and through,” and participates in multiple industry organisations. “I am a member of SASIG, and Cyber Security Unity works closely with many other industry bodies including CIISEC, the Cyber Scheme and CREST to name but a few,” she says.

However Ventura also continues to build her cybersecurity skills and has recently signed up to complete the (ISC)² Certified in Cybersecurity certification. Its online self-paced training and exams are being offered free to the first million people entering cybersecurity for the first time under (ISC)²’s global initiative, One Million Certified in Cybersecurity.

Underpinning her achievements, Ventura cites James Bore, head of cybersecurity training company Bores Consultancy, as one of her most significant influences. “He has been a huge help to me. He acts almost as an unofficial mentor to help me achieve my goals in the industry and is very supportive of the work I do.”

www.linkedin.com/in/lisasventura

twitter.com/cybergeekgirl

www.csu.org.uk

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