Innovating the future  

How do you explain your job to friends and family?

At its most basic level, Cyber is an enabling function for businesses to grow sustainably in line with their appetite for risk. As consultants we help clients to solve their cyber problems so they can achieve their business objectives. I am constantly learning by working across industries to understand the unique challenges that businesses, government and society face when existing in the digital sphere.

Tell us about your progression

In terms of career progression, you can steer your own ship at Deloitte. This all happens within a very supportive performance structure, including a people leader and a coach to soundboard your ideas and maintain regular feedback on your performance. You learn on-the job by working with clients, but alongside that there is an endless resource of industry-recognised training, qualifications, and and volunteering so you can tailor your learning to your interests.

How would you describe what you do in Cyber?

I think that people assume ‘Cyber’ only relates to hacking and the implementation of security solutions, but it’s so much more than that. We help our clients with strategy, risk management, governance and assessment of their overall security position. We are involved with everything relating to information security and that’s what I find so interesting - I’m always learning.

Tell us about your most interesting project

I really enjoy working on Cyber Target Operating Models. We look at a client’s information security situation including strategy, operations, organisation design and processes. We then assess that against industry standards, competitor activity and regulatory requirements: all to find the most effective way for them to manage and grow their teams. I’ve worked with all sorts of clients from global financial services firms to large transport and logistics companies. I love getting to see inside their businesses to understand their culture and the issues they face. Applying my experience to help resolve their challenges is so rewarding.

Has anything surprised you about working here?

The culture and warmth I feel from the team and the whole Cyber practice surprised me when I joined. I had a view of an extremely competitive environment with long work hours and intense deadlines, but this is far from reality. Everyone at Deloitte builds relationships with their peers and puts in effort to get to know one another, making the work more enjoyable.

How do you explain your job to friends and family?

When I tell my friends and family I work in Cyber Security, they somehow assume that means I hack people for a living. This is far from what Cyber is! I now tell people I work in Risk Management and Data Privacy within Cyber, helping clients with their cyber and data privacy strategies, as well as identifying risks. Our team then proposes mitigation measures for these risks and develops frameworks, tools and technologies that ensure clients are in compliance with risk management, cyber security, as well as data privacy laws and regulations, such as the GDPR. Cyber has become top of the agenda for many companies and clients. Moving to a digital era has brought about this renewed focus on Cyber and it is exciting to work in an industry that is growing so fast.