Maril Vernon: 0:00

Welcome back to another episode of The Cyber Queens Live! We are joined today by someone very special. I am super excited for this interview because, when we first started Cyber Queens and I spun up all of our social accounts, I did not think Instagram would be our biggest platform, but apparently it is. And one day, a few weeks into the launch, Christa Weik came to us, in the DMs of Instagram, just saying that she was inspired by the things we were saying, felt stuck, wanted to come to us for a bit of help, kind of reinventing herself and her career. So, Christa came to us and I've been working with her ever since then one-on-one as a mentee. So, without further adieu, Christa, please tell us about yourself, what you do, your background.

Christa Weik: 0:02

Thank you all so much for having me. I am Christa Weik. I'm in the Midwest. I operate now as a Senior Data Privacy Analyst for a life science company. When I came to Cyber Queens, I had actually followed Amber for a long time on Instagram. Got started with all those little TikToks and getting cybersecurity. It was just like there's just not a lot of us. I felt like a couple years ago, it seems like it's really grown so much. And I was really struggling in my role and figuring out where I fit in because I've kind of always been involved in data privacy to some degree or some form of legal aspect, and I always knew I wanted to do something. I just didn't know how to get there. And, I know y'all pentest, ethical hacking is not for me. Not my cup of tea.

Christa: 0:04

My first role in IT was a Business Analyst. I feel like that's such a great segue too for people that maybe don't do coding. Because a lot of it is just understanding requirements, understanding, like I want to do framework. I try, Lord help, I try to do coding and it is such a… I don't know what it is. There's this little door I can't unlock in my brain to get coding down. But, yeah, I think that came a lot from doing litigation and having to write a lot of formal documentation. So that was a very transferable skill into business analytics and doing sort of that environment. Yeah, so whenever I graduated in 2018, GDPR was a thing and my company was preparing for it and I said, “Hey, I'd love to be involved in this.” So, I did a lot of database management with GDPR. Yeah, I would say, data privacy falls into like the third triage of GRC and under compliance, what do you comply with and when in terms of data privacy. I think we all hear things like what Meta's doing Facebook, consent modules, things like that. A lot of what I do is just making sure that our website, it's a global e-commerce site, is complying with all regulations, not just things that are stateside. So, we look a lot like the European market, Canadian, Latin America, things all across the globe that weigh heavily on what we do as an e-commerce site. And part of that was kind of doing a risk assessment of what does our front end look like to the average consumer? If they come to our website, what does it look like? Are we complying, are we doing the basic things like privacy notices, cookie consent, do we have wall banners in place if someone said like, I don't want to do any tracking? We had an instance where you couldn't even access the website. And I'm like, well, we can't do that, guys. We gotta evaluate that. But that's one of those things is that people… these larger companies are starting to realize they don't have data privacy analysts. They don't have a data privacy team. So, they're really missing those assessments and sort of that gap analysis.

Maril: 0:08

What aspect of data protection, data privacy, what aspect of that would you say organizations generally suck at? Because we know y’all do. Okay. So, Christa, you're out there, you're doing the GRC and privacy thing. You're blowing the minds of people like us daily. Because like I said in my description, none of you really understand what data privacy is or how to do it. That's why we all need people like Christa. I need people like Christa. But what brought you to the Cyber Queens? What was it that made you DM us that first day? What was going on?

Christa: 0:14

Yeah, I think it was, the environment, it just seemed much more welcoming and warm and something that you could talk to on a much more personal basis. It wasn't just so technical, so professional. I could say if I wanted to curse or say I had a shit day today. It was things like that that kind of mattered to me. I wanted to talk to someone I could on a real-life basis and not just be like I did this at work and I'm doing this and sometimes it's just too stagnant.

Amber: 0:16

Yeah. And there's always that path. And we preach this so much on here, but network, network, network, right? No matter where, no matter which platform, even in real life, IRL guys, make sure that you're making those connections because that is so huge. I felt the same and I know I've preached this a million times, but even when I met Erika, it was right after I started attending the women in security chapter meeting things here, and I felt so out of place. I was like, oh my gosh. I got there and I was like, oh, even though this place is full of just women, I feel like everybody's smarter than me. Everybody knows more than me. I'm just going to like to sit down and be quiet. And then you realize like, those are really places to, yeah, sometimes you can talk shop and talk about tech and everything else but a lot of times it's really just kind of like, almost like a gal's gripe session a little bit if you will. Yeah. Like, hey, here's what we're all struggling with. And then you're like, oh, it's safe here. Like I can totally talk sh-- whenever I want. It's wonderful and you've come to the right place for that. Okay. Christa, you've come to the right place.

Maril: 0:18

Yeah. I feel like we catch so much flack, because we do a lot of women-only meetups and like women's happy hours. At DEFCON and BlackHat, there were so many like women's only events, like women's empowerment breakfasts and stuff like that. And everyone's like you're separating yourselves and like you're calling attention to it by not just hacking it with us. And it's like, no, you don't understand because everyone thinks human beings are thinking beings that feel but human beings are feeling beings that think actually. We are emotionally driven first by nature as a species. Not everybody. There are anomalies. Don't come at me. But women, especially with the chemical and hormone makeup that we have, we are more emotional and like sometimes it's like you come to your people and like you do just want to cry about something or you want to talk about something like, I had a really hard week at work two weeks ago and all my male colleagues, which I love them so much, they're so supportive, but they're all coming out to me. They're all, how are you doing? Do you want to talk da, da, da? And I'm like, honestly, you guys, I'm having a rough time with it. I'm going to cry. And they went that's okay! You can cry to us. And I'm like, thank you.

Christa: 0:20

Yeah, I think after listening to probably like the second podcast too, and just like the brief conversations we had had going on through Instagram DMs, it was one of those things where I'm like, I really do kind of need this. I need someone I can speak to who's also in the industry and who is so much more outspoken than I am. Because I mean, you know how I am, Maril. I'm very mousey, I'm very reserved and I kind of keep to myself. And so, it really meant a lot for me to have that sort of environment where I could come to someone and say, I need this mentor. I need someone to help kind of hold my hand a little bit and walk through this and tell me it's going to be okay. There's a spot for you here.

Maril: 0:22

I just want to say that when the Cyber Queens say at the end of each episode, we're open to you, our DMs are open, please hit us up if you need help. We don't say that just to say it. I take every single one personally. We're here for you if you guys just want to complain. You want to ask a question? There is no question too small. I'm so grateful that Christa had the gall to reach out. Like she could have just kept suffering and been unhappy and not sure where to go or who to turn to Yeah. But I'm really glad she came to us and thought we were relatable enough that we wouldn't bite our head off and we didn't. If you just need someone to listen, sometimes I need that, like I just want to say, we don't just say that we really mean it. You can reach out to us at any time and we're here for you. Even you men, like you men want to come and bitch and cry about something. We got you. We're here for that.

Erika: 0:24

Don't start with an I'm sorry. I always tell people, because Amber, her and I always go back and forth with this like, well you start with a, I'm sorry too or I apologize. Don't start with that because right there you're giving up and I don't want to say you're in a power struggle, but you're giving them power over what you're feeling asking and how the conversation's going to go. Just be direct. Amber's done a very good job. You know, we met back in 2019. She was my pre-sales SE at Force Point and I can't tell you how much she has grown just as an individual but professionally. And she's starting to become like I'm so proud of a little mini me because you can never apologize upfront. And even if you're reaching out to somebody, don't say, I'm sorry for reaching out because I have people coming to me all the time. Would you like for me to do your SEO? Hey, I'm hiring. Do you want to hire? Or are you hiring for a top A sales player? And I tell them, the industry is toxic and I'm not hiring those toxic A players under me at Teach Kids Tech to be salespeople.

Maril: 0:26

Yeah. I have never gotten to a point in my career and I probably never will, where I no longer need help or guidance. I'm still reaching out to people, like now that I'm here, the expectations are different. I need help navigating this. And everything that you're navigating is new. So, like, I don't care if you have a 30-year career, like the comment below or three-year career, like I've got. Like you will probably always need guidance and you should never be ashamed to ask for help. In fact, my New Year's resolution, I started working on this last year actually, is to stop saying I'm sorry, instead of saying thank you. So instead of saying, sorry I'm late. I say thank you so much for waiting. I appreciate it. Yeah. it's like because if I could do one thing for womankind, it would be to take, “I'm sorry” out of our freaking vocabulary. You just can't say it anymore. Those words are gone. like you look up at the table. No. But it's true, it's true. Everyone needs help at some point. I know CEOs and COOs who get mentoring from other CEOs, like pretty much everybody needs guidance at some point so never be afraid to ask about it. So, let's just open it up generally. So, have you guys also ever had a mentor in your cyber career? Amber, Erika. Yeah. I'm someone who has a lot of confidence boiling over, so, I've never been afraid to like, be the stupid person or ask stupid questions. I have friends that are like, I want to ask a stupid question but I'm afraid, I got it. I have a stupid question. Stupid question, but help me out. I'll take that bullet for you. But not everybody can do that. And it's not always a strength, sometimes it's a detriment. So, I have to find the buddies at my organization where I'm like, hey, I'm working on not doing this. I'm working on not over speaking. And stepping on toes and da, da, da, can you be my ally in this meeting to like give me a signal when I'm doing it so I know in the moment how to train myself and dial it back? So, just because I'm very outspoken doesn't mean I don't have things that I work on and I seek interpersonal and soft skill mentors even if I don't need help with technical stuff. So, you can have a mentor in any area. So, what qualities do you guys value in mentors? How do you go about finding one?

Erika: 0:30

Personally, for me, because most of my mentors are entrepreneurs or some sort of C-level executive that has run sales and marketing being on the sales side. But I have different types of mentors, so I have mentors for growing my sales career, growing just everything, making me a well-rounded salesperson and somebody who is mentoring to be the CRO that I need to be for Teach Kids Tech. So that's one side. I look for qualities based off of my full-time job and where I'm going with everything else that's going on Cyber Queens Teach Kids Tech. But not only that, I have a mentor that also helps just build my people skills just on a personal level. How I can grow my mindset because a growth mindset is really, really important for me. And I don't necessarily use that for my career per se, but I use that for my personal basis because I know I need to grow my mind because I stop myself a lot of the time. So, we are our own worst enemies in a sense that we will tell ourselves we can't do something and then we won't do it because we keep telling ourselves. So, I have a mentor for me personally and professionally, and what I look for is the success of those people. Do they have the qualities that I'm looking for to grow my career? my business? Do they have the qualities that I need to grow on a personal level? So, I just look for the similar things that I'm looking for. That's why you chose me to be in charge of revenue for your company.

Christa: 0:34

Now I'm pushing myself to do it. I interact a lot more in chats. It's gotten me a lot more exposure to different companies who have reached out and been like, hey, I've got a job for you. And like I'll entertain it. I don't know if I'm in a position to where I feel like I would leave my current role, but I'm always open to hear more opportunities. And it's really nice to see people reaching out as opposed to if I were in need with a job where I have to send out a hundred applications. Yeah. I think at this point in my career, what I'd be looking more towards is what is the culture like, what are their thoughts on where they see their privacy team going? Because I mean, 10 years ago, I would've been like who's paying me the most? Where's the money going? And I mean, still that's a factor, but it's not like the top tier factor. What is the management style? Like, what are previous employees saying on Reddit or fish fold. Things like that. Those are the things that I'm more intrigued by as far as looking for opportunities. And so also too, how aggressive are they in like the DM. Like some people who come off very aggressive.

Erika: 0:38

No, I was just going to add that, something about them being aggressive. I have this person coming at me about our SEO for Teach Kids Tech, and they're like, I noticed that you do this and you do that. And I told him very nicely a couple times, I have a team. I'm good. Thank you for reaching out. And he's like, well, you need to introduce me to your team that's handling all that stuff with SEO and like with Teach Kids Tech overall. And I told him twice. I said I'm going to tell you this again, I am not introducing you to my team who handles this. We are good where we're at. I appreciate you reaching out. Thank you. I will consider you if I ever need you in the future. Well, it's just an introduction. And I said we're done. Don’t message me again. Here we go. Thank you. Yeah. But yeah. WTF did I just read and a CISO, Chris Roberts, he's amazing and Dani Woolf, they go into how horrible sales pitches are, what you did wrong and what you could do better, and why it makes people mad. But then they also do good things. They say when somebody reaches out…

Amber: 0:42

I'll go first because everyone always takes mine. So, I would just say, do not be afraid. No, I'm serious. Do not be afraid to ask. Unapologetically, go forward, ask the questions, ask for help. Join us. Join whatever local chapter you're in. Everybody's there to help you. And I don't know, I just think you have faith in yourself. Honestly, at the end of. Like, stop doubting ourselves so much. And if you need to know why, there’s my new podcast and I'll just talk about my life all day and we'll just do that.

Maril: 0:44

Love those. Mine in true Capricorn fashion's going to come in three parts. Part one, If you are going to pick a mentor, kind of do what Amber said. Identify someone who is where you want to be? And look at how they got there. Look at multiple people and see how they got there. Are there different avenues? How did they finagle? And don't just look at where they got to. Look at how does the way that that person develops their career align with your values? Like, or in sitting down with a conversation with them, did they do things that are just out of your comfort zone? Things that you don't want to do, things that make you feel disingenuine to yourself. Find someone who did what you do the way you want to do it, and get guidance from that person. Because the main purpose of a mentor is to benefit from our experiences so you don't have to repeat the same mistakes. Second, just realize that there is… like Amber said, again, there's a lesson to be learned everywhere. Not everyone is my official mentor. I have a lot of informal mentors. I'll just ask a question here or there. There's always a learning I can take away from somebody, even if it's just like one little nugget of brilliance, I'm like that will stick with me for years. So, there's something to be learned from pretty much anyone you talk to, even in sitting down and having a conversation. We can all agree. Stop saying, I'm sorry. If the Cyber Queens asked you anything today, it's that. Stop saying it, please. Stop slapping people. Okay.