Ursula Cowan - Cultivating the Investigative Mindset: Improving critical thinking skills

The cybersecurity field is booming, with demand of cybersecurity professionals far outpacing supply. This talent shortage has created an industry where pay is high and the options for job seekers are plentiful. However, while job opportunities abound employers have set a high bar for applicants. In this ever-changing world of cybersecurity where the threat actors and threat vectors are constantly changing, as are the threats themselves - the ability to look at each event objectively and not just ask ‘how’ but understand the ‘why’ will get to the root of the cause – this is the game changing skill for cybersecurity experts. Ursula Cowan, Senior Threat Research Analyst at Verodin (a FireEye Company) will explore the concept of an investigative mindset and explain why this is the key factor in starting and growing a career in cybersecurity. Ursula's background as a cybersecurity professional, former police detective investigating cybercrime, child death, and online exploitation; coupled with a degree in Applied Psychology, and a Master's degree in Digital Forensics, gives her a unique perspective into the science of how the brain works. Ursula used this insight to develop practical and actionable uses to increase critical thinking that apply specifically for cybersecurity careers. In this session, attendees will learn how to exercise their brains just like they would a muscle to grow and improve their efficacy in a career in cybersecurity. Additionally, attendees will walk away with specific techniques to train their brain to think critically and outside the box and to use these critical thinking skills to further their capability to solve increasingly more complex problems in the world of cybersecurity.