Lightning round with... Alexandra, Cyber Risk

Alexandra is a Senior Consultant in our Cyber team in Risk Advisory. She shared some insight with us about her day-to-day role, promoting gender diversity in Cyber, and how the industry is constantly evolving. 

What my day-to-day looks like

My day-to-day role varies depending on the type of project or client that I am working on. My work includes web application security assessments, network infrastructure penetration testing, mobile and IoT penetration testing, and conducting physical and social penetration assessments. Other days I could be doing vulnerability research, reverse engineering, software development or learning about new technologies.

Championing women in the Cyber industry

I am a member of the Women in Cyber (WiC) initiative, which promotes gender diversity in the cyber security industry by initiating dialogue, creating awareness and fostering a community that inspires female talent to pursue a career in cyber. WiC has published a series of portraits with female security leaders across industry and academia, which reveals unique perspectives and lessons learned from their professional journeys.

The Deloitte Ireland WiC team has undertaken several initiatives in our local community - for example, organising HackLab, an initiative aimed for transition year students, engaging with local schools promoting security awareness and potential career paths, as well as a Women in Cyber video series aimed towards highlighting the opportunities in the field of Cyber security and how people from different academic areas can still start a career in Cyber.

Making the decision to join Deloitte

Before joining, I met with a couple of people who worked for Deloitte. They spoke in a very positive way about the firm, the culture, the colleagues, and the work they were involved in. During the interview process, I was also very impressed with the culture of inclusion and the corporate responsibility practices. The people I met during the interview process really seemed like a team I wanted to be a part of. 

What to expect when joining

On the very first day in the office, the new joiner will meet their designated buddy and new teammates. There are many activities on the new joiner’s list, but your buddy will make sure that everything is accomplished. The new joiner will usually spend the first two weeks learning about the firm, the goals, the brand, the team and doing e-learnings. The team and assigned mentor will make sure that the new joiner will get all the support, help and advice needed.