Cybersecurity has largely been an area of expertise dominated by men, but in recent years, more women are making their mark on the field.
Gillian Morris jumped headfirst into cybersecurity at the coaxing of one of her high school teachers. She earned a bachelor’s degree in cyber operations and a master’s degree in cyber defense from Dakota State University. Now, she’s one of the Defense Department’s best and brightest, having been named to the inaugural U.S. Women’s Cyber Team.
Job Title:
IT Specialist
Hometown:
Estelline, S.D.
Stationed:
Keyport, Wash.
Unit:
Naval Undersea Warfare Center, Keyport Division
Right out of graduate school, Morris, 24, moved to Washington state to take a civilian position with the Naval Undersea Warfare Center, Keyport Division. As an information systems security engineer, she takes the DOD’s risk management framework and applies it to customer computer systems to make them secure.
Morris is one of 12 women selected to be part of the U.S. Women’s Cyber Team — a group of female ambassadors assembled to inspire women to pursue careers in the field.
