The IT Security Guru’s Most Inspiring Women in Cyber Awards aims to shed a light on the remarkable women in our industry. The following is a feature on just one of the many phenomenal women put forward for the 2021 awards. Presented in a Q&A format, the nominee’s answers are written in their own words with minor edits made by the editor for readability.

This year, the awards are sponsored by KPMG and Beazley.

Sophia McCall, Security Consultant, NCC Group

What does your job role entail?

Penetration testing and general cyber security consultancy.

How did you get into the cybersecurity industry?

I originally wanted to be a programmer, but after two years of building things – I found that breaking things was a lot more fun! With the encouragement of my college lecturers, I took a leap of faith and applied to do a BSc Cyber Security Management degree at Bournemouth University. Alongside my managerial degree, which mainly focused on strategical cyber security, I also completed CTFs and labs on the side – which sparked my interest in technical cyber security. From the first competition, I was hooked and knew that the technical path was the way for me. Following a placement year as a pen-testing intern, I was offered a graduate role off the back of that – and gladly accepted which paved the start of my post-graduate career in cyber security. 

What is one of the biggest challenges you have faced as a woman in the tech/cyber industry and how did you overcome it?

On my university course, there was a huge imbalance of male to female ratio of course a ..

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