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Cybersecurity & STEM
STEM Learning & Mentors
Special Thanks to eGirl Power Program Sponsors: Microsoft and Intel
eGirl Power Cybersecurity & STEM Program
How eGirl Power aligns with United Nations Sustainable Development Goals 4.4 and 5.b
Females are significantly underrepresented in Cybersecurity and STEM education and careers. Research shows that greater confidence in girls leads to greater interest in STEM and vice versa. eGirl Power's Cybersecurity & STEM program help girls explore cybersecurity career pathways and stay safe and secure online by learning best practices and cybersecurity basics.
SDG 4: Ensure inclusive and equitable quality education and promote lifelong learning opportunities for all.
4.4 By 2030, substantially increase the number of youth and adults who have relevant skills, including technical and vocational skills, for employment, decent jobs and entrepreneurship
SDG 5: Achieve gender equality and empower all women and girls.
5.b Enhance the use of enabling technology, in particular information and communications technology, to promote the empowerment of women
Cybersecurity Initiative for the Youth
Cybersecurity is a growing and imminent need in our nation and throughout the world, and there is a critical talent shortage. Our Cybersecurity Initiative helps the youth learn best practices for online safety, learn key concepts of cybersecurity basics, and explore career pathways in the cybersecurity field.
The Need
There is a projected global deficit of 3.5 million qualified cybersecurity professionals in the year 2021
(Source: Cybersecurity Ventures)
Females comprise approximately ¼ of the STEM workforce. In the future, 85% of jobs will have a STEM focus.
69% of women who have not pursued careers in IT
attribute their choice to not knowing what opportunities are availabke to them
(Source: CTIA)
Cyber Advice & Guidance
Diane M. Janosek, PhD, JD, CISSP
Janosek, an award-winning cybersecurity leader, author, and sought-after speaker, talks with eGirl Power about her role as Commandant at the NSA National Cryptologic School, and shares her advice and guidance to the youth on leadership and cybersecurity.
Cybersecurity Topics
Malek Ben Salem, PhD
Ben Salem is a fellow in New America’s Cybersecurity Initiative and leads a security research team at Accenture Labs. She speaks with eGirl Power about blockchain technology, how it's being used in cybersecurity—and to support human rights.
Advisory Board
Leading cybersecurity experts mentor the youth to provide advice and guidance for future success in the cybersecurity industry and more.
Malek Ben Salem 
Malek Ben Salem, PhD was a fellow in New America’s Cybersecurity Initiative. Ben Salem is a cybersecurity researcher based in Washington, D.C. She leads a security research team at Accenture Labs, where her research focuses on behavioral biometrics, IoT security, data protection, security analytics, Blockchain, and cloud and mobile security. She has been a co-principal investigator on several DARPA projects, including active authentication and the Integrated Cyber Analysis System (ICAS). Ben Salem’s research has been featured in DarkReading, NeoworkWorld, and the New York Times, among others. She currently helps clients from various industries (critical Infrastructure, resources, financial services, etc.) adopt innovative security technologies to achieve real cyber risk reduction and to proactively adhere to digital ethics principles in order to earn client’s digital trust—going beyond a compliance-driven security approach. She is also developing AI-based security offerings. Ben Salem is deeply skilled in security vision and leadership, c-suite collaboration, research and development, technology strategy, data science, and security innovation. She has authored several peer-reviewed publications and patents.
Lysa Myers
Lysa Myers began her tenure in malware research labs in the weeks before the Melissa virus outbreak in 1999. She watched as the Internet grew from small, local bulletin board systems to the World Wide Web, and computer security incidents evolved from virtual urban myth to daily reality. As the landscape has changed, she’s seen how both cybersecurity hiring and education efforts have not quite kept pace, and created a talent gap that continues to widen.
Since then, Myers has used her experiences to help spread awareness of what people can do to maintain an effective security culture. As a Security Researcher for ESET, Vice Chair of CompTIA’s IT Security Community Executive Council, and a frequent contributor to security magazines such as Dark Reading and CSOonline, she continues to advocate for improvements in the security industry.
Chris Kubecka
Chris CEO of HypaSec. Previously, Chris headed the Information Protection Group, NOC, SOC & joint-international intelligence team for the Aramco family. Helping to recover Aramco from a nation-state attack, implementing digital security and reconnecting international business operations. Responsible for all digital IT and ICS assets throughout the EMEA region (minus KSA) and Latin America. Subsequently, establishing and assisting global digital security teams, standards, security driven legal contracts for secure software development with third parties, the Aramco EU/UK Privacy group with internal and external council and computer emergency response teams. Chris has practical and strategic hands-on experience in several cyber warfare incidents. USAF Space Command, detecting and helping to halt the July 2009 Second Wave attacks from the DPKR against South Korea and helping to recover and re-establish international business operations after the world’s most devastating cyber warfare attack, Shamoon in 2012. Expert advisor and panellist for several governments and parliaments.
