With the upcoming GISEC Global 2025 event in May, two female cybersecurity leaders have highlighted the importance of diversity in the industry and attracting more women leaders to handle cybersecurity challenges.
The largest cybersecurity event in the Middle East and Africa hosts its 14th edition from 6th to 8th May at Dubai World Trade Centre, focussing on the key role of women in the worldwide cybersecurity industry. UAE Cybersecurity Council will be the host, and Dubai Electronic Security Centre, Ministry of Interior and Dubai Police will support the event.
According to a recent report, women only account for 24 per cent of security teams worldwide. To improve this situation, GISEC’s Inspire Programme returns, focussing on female leaders who can shape the future of cybersecurity. The program includes keynote speeches, panel discussions and interactive sessions led by distinguished female leaders and changemakers, featuring a series of sessions highlighting the achievements and insights of female cyber security professionals.
The agenda for cybersecurity super-connectors includes dedicated panel discussions and workshops focusing on women, and the event is set to welcome hundreds of experts from around the world. The event’s distinguished list of eight female speakers includes: H.E. Tigist Hamid Mohammed, Director General at Information Network Security Administration (INSA); Dr. Bushra AlBlooshi, Director of Cybersecurity Governance Risk Management Department at DESC; Francel Margareth Padilla, Female Cybersecurity Leader & Evangelist at Armed Forces of the Philippines, and Pei Ling LEE, Head of Cyber Strategy and Capabilities Development at INTERPOL and others.
Aarti Borkar, Corporate Vice President of Customer Success and Incident Response for Microsoft’s Security business, will take the stage.
As a passionate supporter of women pursuing a career in technology, she believes it is important that women get opportunities to leverage their expertise, given the ever-more sophisticated evolution of cyber threats.
She said: “The need for cognitive diversity in cybersecurity is foundational as it’s the only way we can see a situation in a full 360-degree view. It allows us to build more comprehensive programmes. We tend to describe cybersecurity in terms of warfare and attack scenarios, whereas security going forward is about analytics, predictive models and proactive protection.
“Organisations need to continue to highlight the importance of diverse and cohesive teams to improve the outcomes we need in the cyber security space and highlight the amazing women that are doing truly innovative work so other females are inspired to follow them. Every action counts towards building a more cognitively diverse workforce.”
Danni Brooke, the co-owner and co-founder of OSINT Group will be the other speaker. She brings her expertise in covert operations, intelligence, and cybercrime into the digital world, having spent over a decade undercover, infiltrating some of the UK’s most dangerous criminal organisations.
She said: “One of the biggest risks in the future of cybersecurity is the increasing sophistication of social engineering attacks. As technology evolves, so do the tactics used by cybercriminals, who are now leveraging AI, deepfakes, and behavioural analysis to manipulate individuals into unwittingly compromising their own security.
“AI and ML (machine learning) will be crucial in detecting and responding to cyber threats in real time, using behavioural analysis to identify anomalies, prevent attacks, and automate defences.
“I strongly believe that a human is essential in any threat intelligence operation. While automation plays a critical role in speeding up detection and response, humans are absolutely needed to help plot and piece the data jigsaw together. The ability to interpret patterns, understand context, intuition and make informed decisions is something that machines alone cannot replicate.”
She added: “One of the biggest barriers to diversity in cybersecurity is the misconception that it is purely a technical field. Many people are unaware that cybersecurity encompasses a wide range of roles, including threat intelligence, risk management, policy development, governance and human behaviour analysis. Organisations should focus on outreach and education, highlighting these opportunities to attract a more diverse talent pool.”
The three-day GISEC Global 2025 at Dubai World Trade Centre is set to attract over 750 global cybersecurity brands as well as over 25,000 professionals from more than 160 countries. The event will include inspiring debates and engaging discussions and also the new OT Security and a National Security Programme.
