Congratulations to Hyma Pandyaram for winning the James R. Wade Service Award, awarded by the (ISC)² Board of Directors. This award acknowledges the involvement of those volunteers who merit special distinction for their sustained and valuable service to (ISC)². Hyma has been recognized for sharing her knowledge of cybersecurity and making an extensive effort to educate seniors, children and their parents, as well as small firms about safe internet practices.
Hyma is an Identity Management Specialist with us at Nulli, and an active member of the (ISC)² Alberta Chapter in the Edmonton community. We are so proud to have Hyma as a member of the Nulli Team!
We asked Hyma:
1) Why is the work you do at (ISC)² so important?
“The role of the (ISC)² “Safe and Secure Online” training program is to teach both children and their parents about various online threats and help them avoid or respond to those threats. As an Identity Management professional, I am passionate about recommending identity and security best practices to businesses and individuals. I took an active role in this volunteer-based program that reaches out to the community to educate seniors, children and their parents about safe internet practices. The thought that my efforts make the internet a bit safer for kids and families gives me immense satisfaction and pride both as a mom and as an IT professional.
We are all aware, to varying degrees, that the use of the internet poses threats to all users. With cyberbullying and identity theft increasingly on this rise, I always felt a great need to educate kids and seniors about cyber safety and feel that it is my duty as a Certified Information Systems Security Professional (CISSP) to provide this education so that they can have a safe online experience.
In my professional life, I see that security is taken seriously, I do not, however, always see a similar emphasis on security in personal lives. Scammers and hackers are increasingly targeting the seniors and children of our society. Children and seniors are having their identities stolen and are being blackmailed and bullied through the internet. Unfortunately, there are not many training programs, or committed volunteers, to educate seniors and children about various online threats.”
2) Is there a tie between the work you do at Nulli and the volunteer work you do at (ISC)²?
“As an Identity Management Specialist at Nulli, my key focus is to help our clients protect their customer’s identities through:
As a volunteer at (ISC)² Alberta, I have delivered many presentations to educate the audience about how to safeguard their individual identities, how to put restrictions on who can access their personal information online and how to identify legitimate sources of information for safe online transactions. Given the similarities in identity management of businesses and individuals, my work at Nulli enables me to maintain my robust knowledge about identity management methodologies and risks and this enhances my ability to understand and address the identity threats faced by individuals and communities.”
The Safe and Secure Online Program is a free resource. Please contact sso@isc2chapter-alberta.org if you are interested in having free presentations for Children, Parents or Seniors. For more information, visit their website.
To view the full list of honourees for the James R. Wade Service Award, visit the (ISC)² page here.
