What is the GISWS? Since its first release in 2004, the biennial (ISC)²® Global Information Security Workforce Study (GISWS) has been gauging the opinions of information security professionals; and in turn, providing detailed insights into the important trends and opportunities within this increasingly crucial profession. This year, the study conducted its largest-ever global survey of cybersecurity professionals, with over 19,000 individuals taking part (3,694 of which hailing from Europe), further allowing it to ascertain an even clearer and progressively more complete profile of the information security workforce; with stronger understandings of areas and issues such as pay scales, skills gaps, training requirements, corporate hiring practices, security budgets and career progression. Additionally, the study explored corporate attitudes towards information security; presenting

Name: Aoba Mari Title: Security AnalystEmployer: LAC / JSOC (Japan Security Operation Center) Location: Tokyo, JapanDegree: Bachelor’s Degree in International PolicyYears in IT: 5 yearsYears in information security: 5 yearsCybersecurity certifications: SSCP   How did you decide upon a career in cybersecurity? Among the various fields in the IT industry, information security is the fastest growing and at the same time, I think there is a high demand for rare technical skills. For me, more than anything, that’s the biggest reason why I think it’s a very interesting field. I was involved in forensic analysis, and after that I have been working as a security analyst. Why did you get your SSCP®? I’ve always wanted to acquire a professional certification

Name: Samana HaiderTitle: Manager, Forcepoint Security LabsEmployer: ForcepointLocation: Dublin, IrelandEducation: MSc Computer ScienceYears in IT: 15Years in cybersecurity: 7Cybersecurity certifications: CISSP   How did you decide upon a career in cybersecurity? I started my career in IT in the education sector where I was a lecturer at a university back home in Pakistan. I started working in HP managing SAP administration. I got the opportunity to work with one of the leading Irish banks where I was responsible for implementing security controls for SAP administration and ensuring SOX compliance. The security aspect of that job was always fascinating and exciting for me which lead me to work in a security operations role with the bank’s fraud department. I was eager

What are the EMEA ISLAs? After eleven consecutive years of success in the Americas and Asia-Pacific, the Information Security Leadership Awards (ISLA) program is finally coming to EMEA! The (ISC)² EMEA ISLAs are a unique opportunity for you to nominate fellow information security and management professionals who go the extra mile to enhance security throughout the private and public sectors across Europe, the Middle East and Africa. There are four nomination categories: Senior Information Security Professional, Information Security Practitioner, Up-and-Coming Information Security and Woman Information Security Professional. It’s not long now until the nominations will be open (between the 12th June and 12th July), and you will be able to make your submission via the (ISC)² Global Awards Program nomination

Name: Frederico HakamineTitle: Principal Curriculum DeveloperEmployer: Okta Inc.Location: San Francisco, CA, U.S.A.Degree: Bachelor in System AnalysisYears in IT: 10 yearsYears in cybersecurity: 9 yearsCybersecurity certifications: CISSP, CCSP, ISFS, ITIL, CobIT, Oracle Certified Architecture Specialist, Okta Certified Professional   How did you decide upon a career in cybersecurity? I started working for Oracle as consultant 10 years ago, with a challenge: develop a portal with independent web applications, that should require a single login and display restricted information depending on where you were located (intranet or internet). Developing the application was a straightforward task. The real challenge was how to address the security requirements without punishing the end-user experience. I had a blast when I figured out that the network segmentation