Q&A with Laura Kankaala, Security Consultant @ WithSecure

Firstly, please introduce yourself

I’m Laura Kankaala and I’m a security professional, podcaster and columnist from WithSecure.

What are you looking forward to at Women of Silicon Roundabout?

I’m looking forward to meeting new people and sharing interesting ideas among women working in tech.

What advice would you give to someone looking to step up their career in tech?

It’s okay not to know everything. Working in tech is about constant personal and professional growth, and at least personally I’ve worked on not comparing myself to others

What do you see as the biggest challenge currently facing women in technology?

Stereotypes. They strongly steer how we view and interact with the world. Tech is seen as something that’s for men in suits or hoodies, when in reality we are solving challenges of technology that affect all of us. We need diversity to solve diverse problems.

The theme of the event is Resilience; what does resilience mean to you?

It means to endure hardships in whatever form they may come. For cyber security specifically, it means preparing people, systems and processes for cyber attacks – both by preventing them and making sure we can recover from security incidents.

Finally, what can attendees expect from your session at Women of Silicon Roundabout?

I will be talking about how important it is not to think about security as a problem to solve, but rather as an interesting journey to travel.

Join Laura Kankaala for her session “Culture Eats Security For Breakfast” at Women of Silicon Roundabout on 22-23rd November.