See Yourself in Cyber With Janhavi Deshpande
Published on 25th October 2022
Here at SureCloud, we’re marking Cybersecurity Awareness Month by sharing a series of special interviews with members of our team. Former professional footballer turned cybersecurity consultant, Ciaren Jones, was our first interviewee. In case you missed it, you can read his blog here.
Cybersecurity Awareness Month is an initiative led by the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) and the National Cybersecurity Alliance (NCA). The theme of this year’s campaign is ‘See Yourself in Cyber’ and focuses on the people aspect of the industry, celebrating the growth of the sector and the diverse professionals working within it.
For the second installment of this series, we speak to Janhavi Deshpande about her career so far and how studying for a Masters inspired a move into cybersecurity and eventually a position developing governance, risk, and compliance management software at SureCloud.
Please could you give a brief overview of your role at SureCloud?
My current role is Product Manager. I’m responsible for leading the product team in building and maintaining SureCloud’s suite of GRC applications.
Our main focus is helping our customers solve any issues that relate to compliance management, risk, or data privacy.
What was your path to working in the cybersecurity sector?
I first went to university to study for a degree in IT engineering, and after completing my course, I decided I wanted to do a Masters. It was while I was studying for an MSc in Managing IT at Salford University that my interest in cybersecurity started to develop. I was doing some coursework and became intrigued by how information security impacts our daily lives.
It was clearly a world that would continue to develop, and it seemed like a career in cybersecurity would be exciting, so I decided it was a good fit for me. After I completed my Masters, I started out as a cybersecurity consultant at Deloitte and, from there, moved into my current role at SureCloud.
What’s the best thing about working in cybersecurity?
It’s such a varied industry that continues to surprise you, regardless of your experience. You’re constantly learning, too.
A new technology enabler or cyberattack will appear and completely change the way you think.
I like the way emerging trends challenge us as professionals. It means there’s always something happening, and we constantly have problems to solve or new solutions to develop.
What’s your best piece of advice or insight to share for Cybersecurity Awareness Month?
I think it’s really important to keep up with developments within the industry. That may sound simple, but cybersecurity is a space that’s constantly evolving, so you need to be on your toes and be willing to adapt. SureCloud’s podcast can help with this.
I’d also say try not to view cybersecurity as just technology. It’s a world driven by processes, and, more often than not, behind those processes is a human being.
That’s why I think it’s vital we try to develop our understanding of human behavior, as it could be the key to stopping a potentially disastrous cyberattack. After all, social engineering is currently viewed as one of the biggest threats in cybersecurity, and that’s driven by nothing but human behavior.
Tell us an interesting fact about yourself that people may not know.
This may sound cliché, but cybersecurity is how I met my husband. We were studying at the same university and discovered a shared interest in the subject.
If this year’s Cybersecurity Awareness Month has sparked your interest in a cybersecurity career at SureCloud, look at our career openings.
