Cybersecurity Today
Latino Leaders approached Dr. Pablo Garcia Molina, an expert in cybersecurity to learn more about his vision on the topic.
What are the most pressing issues when it comes to the Security of Digital Information in all sides of the formula; Consumers, Financial Institutions, Government-Regulators, Companies that provide their services and products, hackers?
We are fighting a difficult information security war, winning some of the battles yet losing others. Ransomware attacks, scams, and intellectual property theft grow worldwide. Yet, we successfully thwart the vast majority of the attacks. I believe that information security translates into economic prosperity. Those of us who work in information security protect the people, the information, and the systems under our purview. We join our board members, executives, staff, and vendors in fulfilling the mission of our organizations. We manage risks: business risks and other risks. We ensure that our constituents and regulators trust our organizations.
Latino participation in Cybersecurity roles?
I look right and I look left when I attend cybersecurity meetings. I seldom see women and minorities. According to one of the leading cybersecurity accreditation organizations, ISC2, “in the U.S. cybersecurity industry, 9% of workers self-identified as African American or Black, 4% as Hispanic, 8% as Asian, 1% as American Indian or Alaskan Native and Native Hawaiian/Pacific Islander, and 4% self-identifying as “Other.” The International Consortium of Minority Cybersecurity Professionals provides another sobering statistic: “Hispanics comprised only 7% of the STEM workforce while making up 15% of the US workforce.” I believe that the conclusion is clear: we need more minority employees and executives in cybersecurity.
How can Latinos get more opportunities?
I encourage minorities and women to enter into the cybersecurity field by giving lectures, sharing information about scholarships, and mentoring up and coming professionals. I purposefully recruit a diverse workforce and I ask my colleagues and vendors to do the same. About half of my department ́s positions are filled by promising students who work full-time while pursuing their degrees. I am an active supporter of the Philadelphia Women in Cybersecurity group and I helped create the Women in IT group at Drexel University.
I was one of the first members and board members of the Hispanic information Technology Executive Council, focusing on creating a more diverse pipeline of talent. For years I have been, and I still am, a mentor in their Emerging Executive Program, pulling up and pushing up other Hispanics into technology leadership roles. As a faculty member of the Master ́s in Technology Management at Georgetown University, I have educated hundreds of graduate students - many of them Hispanic - who are now technology executives. I have done the same at the Universidad Rey Juan Carlos in Spain, INFOTEC in Mexico, and CEABAD in Central America. Mentorship programs are both critical and successful to increase diversity in information technology and security.