2024-08-07 –, Florentine B
Sometimes, hobbies can overlap into work life in ways that are never expected, but help to shape careers, understanding and focus. From understanding the purpose of policies, documentation and processes, to seeing how advancements in technology can reshape an entire industry, how to educate and inspire, and how to see the little details that make all the difference are bits of my experiences in living history, quilt history, and quilt appraisal that have helped make me a better cybersecurity professional. Join me as I tell stories of adventures in portraying individuals from different time periods, studying textiles and quilting of different eras, and how those all cross pollenate to my career as a cybersecurity professional.
One of the things I've realized through mentorship and through my own career path is that many of the things we've participated in throughout our lives and throughout our careers can be applied to cybersecurity, and we tend to downplay them and not use them to our benefit. One of these things for me has been the extensive research and dedication to my hobbies. Showing the combination of the two is something I love to do; and I love telling stories that are compelling and engaging to others, so this really helps others I've found to see the areas in cyber where they may not have originally thought they have skillsets that could fit.
The basic outline of the presentation:
1-Introduction
2-How sometimes hobbies overlap to work life
3- Rule number one of history - if it isn't primary source, its crap
- In cyber = trust but verify. Having direct evidence is imperative
4- Folklore and urban legends can inform decisions
-toothbrushes causing DDoS, pop culture leading to bad cyber understanding
-a good story can make or break success in business and in history
5- You have to understand the bigger picture to make the right decisions
-Why was this quilt made, where, who, what can we infer from the fabrics or the manufacturing
6- There's always more than meets the eye
- looking deeper into a story to understand the why, or looking deeper into an environment to see the problems
7-Everything old is new again
-revived medical techniques versus end of life systems and resilience
8- There's always more to learn
9-Questions
Mea Clift is a distinguished cybersecurity leader with a remarkable multi-decade career defined by her commitment, innovation, and mission-driven cybersecurity practices. She represents the excellence in cybersecurity leadership, demonstrated through her professional accomplishments, contributions to thought leadership, and investment in developing the next generation of Cybersecurity practitioners. With Liberty Mutual as Principal Advisor, Cyber Risk Engineering she provides guidance to commercial underwriters evaluating the cyber risks of organizations, and advisory services to insureds, educating on trends and opportunities for maturity. In previous roles, Mea led cyber efforts at a top water and wastewater consultancy firm, highlighting the increased risk of cyber threats in this Critical Infrastructure arena. She is also a respected mentor and advocate for belonging in the cybersecurity field, having built a stellar reputation for credibility with executive management, key clients, and employees. Notably, Mea was the recipient of the Cyversity Mentor of the Year Award in 2023, a testament to her outstanding contributions to the field. As an educator, Mea participates mentorship programs with Cyversity and ISACA and teaches a Fundamentals of GRC class regularly for Cyversity members. She lives in St. Paul, Minnesota with 4 greyhounds and is a quilter and living historian.