Unnita Sonake, the Practice Lead for Data Analytics, at SpireData, says that the stereotype that STEM is better suited to men seems to still persist in many countries

Tell us about yourself and your current job role.
I lead the Practice for Big Data and Data Analytics at SpireData, where we work on Cybersecurity Analytics, Risk Analytics, and Security Data Lake projects.

Tell us about your journey into the security industry. Was the security industry your first choice?
Analytics is my first choice but analytics has many applications within the cybersecurity landscape. So I deal with Cybersecurity Analytics and primarily Security Data Lake projects. A security data lake (SDL) is a security-focused data management tool that provides the ability to ingest data from many diverse security tools and then utilise this data for cybersecurity analytics.

During your tenure in the security industry have you experienced major changes the industry has gone through?
Yes, of course! The industry is getting mature and has undergone changes from reactive action to proactive action to predictive attacks to now developing data Lake to identify, prevent security threats, and analyse attacks.

Are there any challenges you face on a day-to-day basis working in this industry?
The major challenges are real-time analytics and data infrastructure required to implement the real-time analytics, fast and easy implementation, and end-point monitoring.

What sort of future do you foresee for the security industry as a whole?
The cybersecurity market was valued at $156.24 billion in 2020, and it is expected to reach $352.25 billion by 2026, registering a CAGR of 14.5% during 2021-2026 with increasing investments going into AI, Machine Learning, and IoT application in the security industry.

What more needs to be done to welcome more and more women into the security industry?
It’s not just for the security industry but the stereotype that STEM is better suited to men seems to still persist in many countries. Women being underpaid compared to men and the lack of enlightened generation of hiring managers and C-Suite officers is needed to welcome more and more women.