In international relations, cyber conflict is a very important component. To feel like we’re able to help secure the information for a federal agency is very meaningful to the efforts across government agencies.
Mischa began her career in academia, teaching political science at the collegiate level. She shifted to cybersecurity as a second career path and now runs a team of more than 50 cybersecurity engineers and analysts supporting a federal agency.
Supporting international relations through cybersecurity. My team owns it.
I started my career as a student of political science and international relations. Although my background was not in cybersecurity, my friend encouraged me to apply for a role in cyber because the company was looking for good researchers and analysts. This move ended up being a really good change for me.
Cybersecurity is on the leading edge of international relations. It’s often the first place that conflict takes place. My team works with cyber threats and performs highly technical analysis for our clients. We are engaged in a national security mission of helping to protect and defend the federal agency that we support.
Our work supporting the federal government has extended to their partners, including international agencies and organizations that support democratic values and human rights. We have guided them on best practices around cybersecurity and how to protect themselves. This is crucial work because all of the information that U.S. government agencies process is available online, and it is becoming more important to secure as we move toward the future.
A culture of growth
My manager encouraged me to get my CISSP certification and I only had 90 days to complete it. I was a little overwhelmed, but knowing that someone more experienced than me believed in me, made me believe that I would be able to do it. And I did!
My supervisor and program manager have always helped identify opportunities that might have been a bit of a stretch for me, but felt that it would help me grow my career.
I spent a lot of time in a school environment, and I am glad to work in a profession where I can continue to learn every day as part of a rapidly changing industry. We foster learning within our program by doing weekly training across teams. We recognize the diverse skill sets and backgrounds that our employees bring with them, and we have a lot to learn from each other.