Taree Reardon: A voice for women in cyber. [Career Notes] - CyberWire Daily

Summary5 min read

Podcast Summary: CyberWire Daily – Episode Featuring Terrie Reardon: A Voice for Women in Cyber

Release Date: March 2, 2025

Introduction

In this episode of CyberWire Daily, hosted by N2K Networks, Terrie Reardon, a senior threat analyst and shift lead at VMware Carbon Black, shares her inspiring journey in the cybersecurity field. Terrie provides valuable insights into her career path, the challenges she has faced as a woman in a male-dominated industry, and her commitment to fostering diversity and mentorship within the cybersecurity community.

Early Interests and Educational Background

Terrie begins by discussing her early fascination with hacking and forensics, both biological and digital. She elaborates on how these interests led her to pursue a degree in biology with a focus on genetics, highlighting the parallels between forensic biology and digital forensics.

Terrie Reardon [01:26]: "I was noticing some parallels with forensics on both a biological level and then also on a digital level. So that was something that really drew me in as well."

Transitioning to information technology, Terrie initially faced challenges that made her question her career choice. However, a pivotal cybersecurity class rekindled her passion and confirmed that she was on the right path.

Terrie Reardon [02:10]: "When I got into the courses, I was really challenged by some of it and was thinking that potentially I hadn't made the correct choice in terms of a career path. And then I was able to take my first cybersecurity class and I realized how excited I was and passionate I was about the learning material."

Navigating a Male-Dominated Industry

Terrie addresses the gender imbalance in cybersecurity, emphasizing the importance of representation. She recounts her experiences being one of the few women in her classes and the challenges of maintaining her femininity in a predominantly male environment.

Terrie Reardon [03:05]: "The majority of my classmates were all male. So that was certainly a challenge to try and figure out how to maintain my femininity in a male-dominated world."

Despite these challenges, Terrie highlights the support she received from VMware Carbon Black, which significantly impacted her ability to thrive in her role.

Terrie Reardon [04:00]: "I have the support here at VMware Carbon Black to really explore what I want to do and also be a voice for women in the industry as well."

Building a Supportive Community

Upon joining VMware Carbon Black, Terrie was drawn to the company's commitment to diversity and inclusion, notably through initiatives like the "Cigar Room" and a robust women's mentorship program. These programs provided her with invaluable mentorship and fostered a supportive environment.

Terrie Reardon [04:45]: "We were able to come together and from the very beginning have our space be a space that was safe for women."

Terrie also mentions the rarity of having a team composed of 50% women, which she believes creates a safe and collaborative space for female professionals.

Terrie Reardon [05:20]: "I was lucky enough to be on a team that had 50% women. That's unheard of."

Roles and Responsibilities

As a senior threat analyst and shift lead, Terrie's role encompasses managing active security incidents, spearheading security efficacy initiatives, and ensuring that her team stays ahead of evolving attack trends. She is deeply involved in mentorship, helping both team members and broader industry professionals achieve their career goals through guidance and training.

Terrie Reardon [05:55]: "I'm always really happy to discuss what goals people have and then how to achieve those goals and provide background and training, from my perspective, to help elevate their skill level as well."

Leadership Philosophy

Terrie describes her leadership style as supportive, prioritizing the success and growth of her team members. She acknowledges the vastness of the cybersecurity field and the diverse career paths it offers, striving to provide her team with the space and resources needed to navigate their professional journeys.

Terrie Reardon [06:30]: "My leadership style is supportive. I want to make sure that you have the space to be successful."

Advice for Aspiring Cybersecurity Professionals

Reflecting on her own experiences, Terrie offers heartfelt advice to those looking to enter the cybersecurity industry:

Trust and Believe in Yourself: Terrie emphasizes the importance of self-confidence, encouraging individuals to recognize their expertise and the unique skills they bring to the table.

Terrie Reardon [06:55]: "Trust yourself, believe in yourself and fight for yourself."
Passion is Essential: She warns that cybersecurity is more than just a job—it's a lifestyle that requires genuine passion to avoid burnout.

Terrie Reardon [07:05]: "It's a lifestyle. You need to be passionate about it or you're going to burn out pretty quickly."
Seek Mentorship and Persistence: Terrie advises finding mentors and persisting despite the industry's challenges, highlighting that breaking into cybersecurity can be exceptionally difficult yet rewarding.

Terrie Reardon [07:15]: "Find a mentor and don't give up."
Continuous Learning and Advocacy: She underscores the necessity of ongoing education and the importance of advocating for one's own talents and achievements.

Terrie Reardon [07:25]: "Do as much as you can to learn as much as you can and highlight it. Speak up about your talents. Don't be quiet about it."

Conclusion

Terrie Reardon's journey in cybersecurity exemplifies resilience, passion, and the critical role of support systems in fostering diversity within the industry. Her commitment to mentorship and creating a safe space for women serves as an inspiration for aspiring cybersecurity professionals seeking to make their mark in a challenging yet rewarding field.

Notable Quotes:

“Trust yourself, believe in yourself and fight for yourself.” — Terrie Reardon [06:55]
“It's a lifestyle. You need to be passionate about it or you're going to burn out pretty quickly.” — Terrie Reardon [07:05]
“Find a mentor and don't give up.” — Terrie Reardon [07:15]

This episode offers a comprehensive look into the experiences of women in cybersecurity, highlighting both the obstacles and the supportive measures that can lead to a successful and fulfilling career in the field.

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Transcript4 lines

[00:02]
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[00:13]
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[01:26]
A
My name is Terrie Reardon. I'm a senior threat analyst and shift lead on the VMware carbon black managed detection team. I was always fascinated with hacking. I am a big gamer. I've always been interested in things like forensics. That's one of the reasons why I was interested in getting a degree in biology with a focus on genetics. Looking at cybersecurity, I was noticing some parallels with forensics on both a biological level and then also on a digital level. So that was something that really drew me in as well. I started with my degree in information technology. When I got into the courses, I was really challenged by some of it and was thinking that potentially I hadn't made the correct choice in terms of a career path. And then I was able to take my first cybersecurity class and I realized how excited I was and passionate I was about the learning material. I started diving in more and thinking, well, maybe this could be the right path for me. I had a couple of female teachers who I was really excited to see. In those roles, representation is something that is really important. So it helped me to understand that yes, there are women in the industry, but really the majority of my classmates were all male. So that was certainly a challenge to try and figure out how to maintain my femininity in a male dominated world. And that's definitely something that I still struggle with to this day, but is wonderful because I have the Support here at VMware Carbon Black to really explore what I want to do and also be a voice for women in the industry as well. After completing my degree, I was targeting companies that I felt were really focused on diversity and inclusion. And Carbon Black had something called the cigar room at the time, which was a place for women to get together and talk. Also, they had a women's mentorship program. And so when I joined the team, I was able to actually get a mentor. Her name's Erica. She's brilliant and fantastic. And that helped me to feel really, really supported as I was coming into the role. I was lucky enough to be on a team that had 50% women. That's unheard of. I think it made a really big difference because we were able to come together and from the very beginning have our space be a space that was safe for women. And when I was learning everything in the role, it's kind of like drinking from a fire hose, having people that I knew I could go to and say, hey, I'm having a little bit of imposter syndrome here. They have other friends in the industry who haven't had the same experiences day to day. Insecurity is really up in the air. Every day is different and it's really exciting. It can also be really stressful, obviously, if there's an active security incident, that is something that we immediately jump on and help to stop any active threats. And then I also focus a lot on security efficacy initiatives, making sure that as we're seeing attack trends change, that we're on the ball with keeping up with detections and blocking of those types of tactics, and finally mentorship. So anyone who's on our team and even some folks that are just in the industry and not on our team, I'm always really happy to discuss what goals people have and then how to achieve those goals and provide background and training, from my perspective, to help elevate their skill level as well. My leadership style is supportive. I want to make sure that you have the space to be successful. This industry is huge. There's a lot of variation in the different types of things that you can do and the different career paths and just trying to navigate that. It's difficult, but it's really rewarding. The advice that I would give myself would probably be to just trust myself. It's really easy to come into a situation where I haven't been in a technical role before and just second guess, I would say challenge yourself to realize that maybe you are a subject matter expert. There's not a whole lot of people in this world that can do what you do. Understanding that the average person on the street probably has a password somewhere. That's password 1, 2, 3, which versus what you do to try and help stop criminals in the industry is pretty huge. So trust yourself, believe in yourself and fight for yourself. I think if you're looking to get into this industry, it's important to understand that it's not just an easy, quick paycheck really. It's a lifestyle. You need to be passionate about it or you're going to burn out pretty quickly. Find a mentor and don't give up. I think breaking into the industry is exceptionally hard, harder than it should be. Do as much as you can to learn as much as you can and highlight it. Speak up about your talents. Don't be quiet about it.
[07:38]
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