Hi, I'm Rosie!
Also known as the Magical Genie person at th4ts3cur1ty.company, I have an ever-so-slight addiction to problem-solving and bringing people together.
Just a couple of weeks ago, I co-hosted Manchester 2600 – a hacker networking group that meets the first Friday of the month. 2600 groups meet globally, always on the same day and time. Everyone is welcome, with the idea being to build a community in Manchester.
Saskia and I (left centre and right centre of the above photo respectively!) restarted a 2600 in Manchester and asked Nick (far left) and Tom (far right) to join us as organisers. As well as having penetration testers and research engineers attending, this month we had software engineers, students, and an accountant, and we even befriended a lady who had 2 hours to kill before her train.
So why do I give up my Fridays for the cyber community?
It’s a question I get asked a lot (including from my husband!). Well, I spent 20 years bringing people together in recruitment and love helping people with their career aspirations, as well as helping businesses hire great talent that they can develop further.
I also spend some of my personal time on community events like BSides Lancashire, BSides Leeds, Capslock and, more recently, Cheshire Cyber Cats.
Why a cyber community?
It’s not only the cyber security industry that has always fascinated me; it’s also the interesting and incredibly talented people who solve these complex challenges. I feel like I have found my tribe, and I love working in this industry!
However, we need more skilled people in the industry and more awareness of cyber security. This is not just to allow people to be more secure in their personal life, but also to inspire more people to cross-train into the industry, as well as to enable them to bring their diverse backgrounds and diversity of thought to help solve an ever-growing list of threats.
We also have an industry that tends to work remotely and is keen to attend social events with like-minded people to build a cyber community. BSides Lancashire is a great event, and Lancashire is an important part of the Cyber Corridor in the North West, while BSides Leeds needed a team to take over bringing the conference back. Both of these are annual events which are great fun to organise and attend, and an important part of the community scene. However, these only happen once a year, and we still need regular meet ups to build communities in different cities and locations.
I also don’t live in either Lancashire or Leeds, so it made sense to kick start a monthly social in Manchester and Cheshire. The idea with both of these events is no talks, no agenda – just a community of like-minded people coming together; either in the pub on the first Friday in Manchester for M2600, or every 6-ish weeks for lunch on a Thursday in Cheshire for Cheshire Cyber Cats.
What do we discuss?
Key takeaways
One of the things I tell all of the career re-trainers, and anyone starting this journey, is to get out into your communities and find networks to join. If they’re in Manchester or Cheshire, they can come to events I organise. If they’re in London or Glasgow or Leeds, there’s also loads of networks I can point them to.
If you’re serious about getting a role in this industry, you need to network to find out about opportunities that don’t always get advertised. You also learn so much from your peers ; if you’re stuck on a technical challenge, or want some advice as to self-learning resources and home labs to practise on, having peers in the industry is always a good thing!
In conclusion
So that’s a little bit about me, and my addiction to networking. If you ever want to attend any of the events I’m involved in, just reach out on LinkedIn! 🧚🏻♀️
