Izzy - Random and Unplanned: From Annuities to ISO!

Getting Into Infosec

Ismaelle Vixsama (aka Izzy) has a knack for finding strategic flaws and speaking up about them. Doing so helped her get her first full-time job as well as have repercussions for defensive egos. Her whole career is a war story.

BIO:

Izzy is an ISMS manager with 7 years of experience. She has worked in FinTech, Government, and Security R&D. Her work has allowed her to work on several mainstream products and services with some of the most well-recognized brands.

Notes:

• Creates a security program around a company's information systems
• Played the CISO role initially, very CISO like role
• First role in security was in Risk
• Izzy comes from a very traditional Haitian back
• Izzy came up with benefits at her job for an opportunity to learn something new and be in a non-toxic environment
• First heard/learned about hacking at 15 from an AOL chat with a "hacker"
• At 23, she decided to speak up in a meeting to provide feedback, which led to her being hired full-time

Quotes:

• "[By] the time I was 22 years old, the pay wasn't that great but for me. It was amazing because I was doing something I hated. I had benefits at my previous job, but this company was giving me an opportunity to learn something new. To me, that was so exciting."
• "He looked at my resume and he said, 'I realize you have no cybersecurity experience.' By starting the conversation like that, it took some pressure off of my shoulders." [10:00]
• "I was so nervous that he was going to drill into me about all these topics I had no clue about."
• "I didn't even [know] I had sisters."
• "Everyone just kinda wrote me off." [16:20]
• "Who is the audience, what do we want to say here?" [21:13]
• Worst comment ever: "We have to really train you on your critical thinking skills." [22:45]
• "A good idea is a good idea, regardless of who it came from."
• "My whole career is a war story." [32:05]

Links

• Izzy on Twitter: https://twitter.com/Is_Vix
• Her story is on Twitter: https://twitter.com/Is_Vix/status/1079218656138149889
• Izzy's Business, VixCyber: https://vixcyber.co/
• NIST Cybersecurity Framework: https://www.nist.gov/cyberframework
• Intro Music: Cascadia by Trash80 - https://trash80.com/#/content/133/weeklybeats-2012-week5 (Released under Creative Commons)
• Outro Music: "Feather Duster" by Geographer: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCcB_tnqYHwPzADwUdeppIIQ

Getting Into Infosec:

• Twitter: https://twitter.com/coffeewithayman
• YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCg6gV_gdfc188HZdN8LUx4A
• Book: https://t.co/DDXxfVwpD7

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