2019 WiTWA Events & News

We organise events to facilitate communication, networking and conversation about women in technology, STEM and innovation.
Our events are open to everyone (all genders).

TechXChange: The art of manipulation

WITWA Diversity Champion marks IWD2019

WITWA_DIVERSITY_LOGO.png

What if we told you that hacking wasn't all about computers, dark rooms and black hoodies? That instead of infiltrating networks and stealing credentials, there was a way to hack humans instead? Welcome to the world of social engineering - a discipline that uses charm, manipulation and deceit to gain access to secure systems and sensitive information.

Our next TecXChange Networking event will be held on Wednesday 3 April and hosted by event partners Woodside Energy.

Cyber Security Risk Advisor and WiTWA 20in20 Award Winner Cairo Malet will take us through what a social engineer does, the tools and attacks they use to get into systems (and our heads!), and how an awareness of these techniques can be used to build better, more secure organisations. Cairo’s presentation will be followed by a lively panel discussion. Registration is now open and a limited number of free sponsored tickets are available thanks to the support of the Department of Industry, Innovation and Science.

To celebrate International Women’s Day 2019 we are thrilled to unveil our Diversity Champion Program.

Be listed on our Inspiring Role Models page as a supporter of diversity and equality to lighthouse your role in enabling positive change. You will also receive our Diversity Champion badge for use on your website and social media.

Our Diversity Champion Program is intended as another easy mechanism through which to enable our supporters and champions to demonstrate their commitment to the WITWA 2019 theme “If you can see her, you can be her”.

Click here to read more for further information about this initiative and to express your interest in submitting an application. Happy International Women’s Day 2019 #betterforbalance #strongertogether #witwa20in20

Join WITWA - it’s free!

Stay in touch and be the first to know what events and programs are coming up.
Subscribe for free by filling out this little form below. To find out what’s already being planned, check out our events page.

Name *
Name
We would love to know why you would like to join us
We are powered by volunteers. How would you like to get involved?

Follow us on Instagram @womeningtechwa

Rachel Brennan, CSM came to Woodside in 2015 after almost 15 years as an Intelligence Officer in the Australian Army, during which she deployed to Iraq and Afghanistan and also had two years at the National Security Agency in the US. 👩🏽‍💻 Rachel is currently the Manager of Cyber Capabilities and Threat Intelligence for Woodside Energy in Perth. She is responsible for raising the cyber skills and knowledge of the Woodside workforce in this rapidly changing environment. She also runs the data loss prevention efforts and a newly established red team to help ensure Woodside is able to defend against the many and varied cyber threats they face. She is passionate about demystifying the cyber security world and empowering people from all walks of life to get involved. Thank you again to Woodside Energy for hosting the event for us! 🎉 With a fantastic line up of speakers, this is not one to miss! There are a limited number of tickets left so secure yours now ➡https://lnkd.in/fFVFCj5 #cyber #threatintelligence #cybersecurity #cyberthreat #woodside #ifyoucanseeheryoucanbeher #witwaplus2019 #techplus #witwa #infosec #perth
Meet Emma! With degrees in both Mechanical Engineer and Naval Architecture, her 20 year career has seen her move from a Graduate to Senior Naval Architect to her current role as a Project Design Authority at Austal Ships. Emma seeks to adhere to values of “do the job right”, a high regard for personnel health and safety and maintaining a positive working environment. Emma’s experience has always involved working in a team, whether with design colleagues, production, management/ admin, suppliers, regulators, surveyors or clients. She provides ECU students with a female role model as she lectures in Ship Design and Production, with her ability to delve into complex technical problems and develop solutions. Emma is happy to share her knowledge by mentoring younger engineers. #engineering #womeninengineering #femaleengineer #naval #womeninstem #ifyoucanseeheryoucanbeher #witwa
Technology is developing at a rapid rate. New technology is regularly developed. But who has control over this new technology? Someone needs to understand how to control and regulate this technology especially with regard to machines. A Cybernetic Engineer is someone who understands and can control engineering, mechatronic, chemical and biological systems. This career is technical as a Cybernetic Engineer needs to control, understand and predict the behaviours of these systems and machines. Cybernetics is not a new discipline. Cybernetics is concerned with feedback systems for improvement. To become a Cybernetic Engineer requires a Bachelor Degree in Cybernetics Engineering. #cybernetics #engineering #chemical #biological #mechatronic #technology #girlswhocode #girlsintech #education #stem #girlsinstem #degree #technology
Meet Cairo Malet! 👩🏽‍💻 Cairo is a Cyber Security Risk Advisor, with experience consulting across numerous industries, including mining and resources, government, telecommunications, finance and health services. 📶💹👩🏽‍⚕️⛏ By day, she provides advice on how to securely implement new technical solutions and build processes that safeguard security and privacy. By night, you can usually find her on Twitter having opinions and immersing herself in the breadth and depth of knowledge the security field has to offer. She is currently the Perth Chapter Lead for the AWSN - Australian Women in Security Network, an organiser of WACTF (WA’s largest standalone cyber security capture the flag event) and last year was recognised as a #WiTWA20in20 Award Winner. As a social science graduate, Cairo is passionate about encouraging diverse perspectives in cybersecurity, breaking down the gate-keepers and encouraging non-traditional career paths into IT. We are very much looking forward to hearing you speak at our event Wednesday 3rd April 😁👏🏽🎤 Tickets available here https://lnkd.in/fFVFCj5 #cybersecurity #cyberrisk #cyberaware #infosecurity #infosec #womeninsecurity #infyoucanseeheryoucanbeher #witwa #inspiringwomen #empoweringwomen #cyber #perthbusiness
Are you a Uni student, a parent returning to work, new to the Perth tech scene or just generally nervous about attending networking events on your own? As the photos show our Mini Mentor scheme was such a success at our last event we will be running it again at our 3rd April event. 😁♥ You will be paired with a volunteer who will take the time to introduce themselves to you prior to the event, taking you under their wing and helping you network (or #kindwork as we like to call it, thank you Jemma Greene 👏🏼) If you are interested in volunteering as a mini-mentor, or would like to be mentored yourself, please find details on how to sign up here ➡ https://www.eventbrite.com.au/e/witwa-mini-mentor-mini-mentee-program-part-of-techxchange-the-art-of-manipulation-social-tickets-58573358492
Meet Natasha!😁 A marketing pro with a wealth of Perth tech industry experience, Natasha is a multi-tasker who finds serenity in to-do lists. 👩🏼‍💻She is passionate about cyber security and its role in providing businesses with continued success and operational stability - making it easier for users to do the right thing and/or harder for them to do the wrong thing! With so much F.U.D. (fear, uncertainly and doubt) surrounding cyber security, Tash is keen to see cyber security marketers take a more "positive security" approach (although she wishes more people would realise 'password123' is not a good password). A welcoming environment, new learning opportunities and meeting like-minded professionals is what Tash loves about WiTWA. She strongly supports WiTWA’s role in encouraging young people to consider technology as a stimulating and viable profession. She is especially keen to smash gender stereotypes amongst lower primary school kids, showing girls and boys that, no matter their gender, they can enjoy and succeed at tech too. 👏🏼 Tash volunteers on the events-subcommittee because she believes events are a powerful way to communicate, educate, inspire and entertain. This is especially true this year with the WiTWA theme of "If you can see her, you can be her". 👀🕵🏼‍♀️ A mum to two very energetic kids, Tash is also a keen hockey player, cricket tragic and Formula 1 enthusiast! 🏏 🏎 🏑 Connect with Natasha here https://www.linkedin.com/in/natasha-ferguson-270b3763/ #workingmum #witwa #ifyoucanseeheryoucanbeher #infosec #security #cybersecurity #womensupportingwomen #womenempoweringwomen #perth #tech #womenintech #womeninsecurity #womeninstem
Meet Divya Dayalamurthy! Divya was the only woman in her team when she started her career in Cybersecurity eight years ago at Dimension Data, Australia. As a skilled CyberSecurity Specialist her passion for the cyber industry encouraged her to work towards her PhD in Cybersecurity at ECU. Divya volunteers her time as a mentor/speaker through technology development programs and study experience at ECU. Being a member of the Tamil Association of Western Australia (TAWA), she has participated in many programs to help promote culture and language. She constantly seeks to gain further knowledge and exposure in her field with the hope of being able to give more back to society. #cybersecurity #security #infosec #ecu #dimensiondata #womenintech #womeninstem #ifyoucanseeheryoucanbeher
Are you a creative but also a techy? Technology needs a creative edge. It needs to be easy to use, but also have a creative, innovative and imaginative angle to it. Perhaps you are a Creative Technologist? Creative Technologists are creative thinkers, they brainstorm and are imaginative. Whilst they are creative, they have a knack for technology and thrive off the latest new shiny piece of tech. They use this prolific creativity to develop easy to use technology that is ‘cool, edgy and pretty,’ and most of all visually appealing. This technology includes simple websites, apps and prototypes that are all visually appealing. A Creative Technologist works in teams, thinks broadly and knows how to use the latest technology. If you designed the latest app, how would you make it easy to use but also cool and edgy? Currently, there is no specific degree required to become a Creative Technologist, but as this career requires both an understanding of technology and the ability to be creative it is important you develop both of these skills. #creativetechnologist #edgy #student #school #technology #girlswhocode #girlsintech #womenintech #girlsinstem #stem #education #careerpaths #creative #ifyoucanseeheryoucanbeher #witwa
Meet one of our panellists for our upcoming event on the 3rd April, Bex Hirdman! Bex first began assisting people with their cybersecurity problems well before she knew it was even a career option. In her mid-teens, with the help of her Mum, Bex was driven around to the homes of various friends and relatives to help fix their computers after they'd been infected with the infamous malicious software known as the Blaster Worm. Bex is now an Assistant Manager in BDO’s Forensic Services Division where she leads the digital forensic service offering for BDO in Australia. In this role, Bex collaborates with teams across the nation to undertake investigations into incidents of fraud, misconduct and cybersecurity breaches for clients in the public and private sector. With a strong interest in financially motivated cybercrime, Bex especially enjoys the fast-paced environment of incident response work and the complexities of high-value fraud investigations. Thank you Bex for taking the time to speak at our event! Tickets available - https://www.eventbrite.com.au/e/witwa-techxchange-event-the-art-of-manipulation-social-engineering-and-the-world-of-cyber-security-tickets-58653157172 #cybersecurity #cybercrime #infosec #witwa #ifyoucanseeheryoucanbeher #kindworking

Pssst: are you a potential WiTWA[+] sponsor? Check out our prospectus to become a partner in our inaugural one day conference on Thursday 24 October 2019 where we’ll bring to life our catch-cry: if you can see her, you can be her. It’s going to be even bigger and better than our ‘20 in 20’ Awards night!