Tribe of Hackers

23Kimber Dowsett

“There’s no one-size-fits-all in security, especially when it comes to securing government systems. Policy and funding are still years behind the private sector, but we’re doing our best to catch up.”

Twitter: @mzbat • Website: www.twitch.tv/rallysecurity

Kimber Dowsett is currently serving in the federal government, securing cloud infrastructure architecture and leading response efforts during critical security incidents. She is passionate about privacy, encryption, and building user-driven technology for the public. Named one of the 2017 Top Women in Cybersecurity by CyberScoop, Kimber has a background in information security, incident response, security policy, and penetration testing. She is an avid admirer of Chiroptera and is a connoisseur of comic books and video games.

If there is one myth that you could debunk in cybersecurity, what would it be?

Throwing money at problems doesn’t make them go away, but it certainly helps. Security requires an investment in people, resources, hardware, software, and research. In the federal space, cybersecurity spans well beyond a hooded hacker trying to phish Google logins; we’re looking at entire infrastructures in desperate need of funding before we can even begin conversations about hardening our networks and systems. There’s no one-size-fits-all in security, especially when it comes to securing government systems. ...