“Have the courage to become the first” - Women in cybersecurity

At just 21 years old, Lama is already working as a technical support intern at Kaspersky in Saudi Arabia, where are currently introduced more STEM academic programs for women thanks to a new Saudi government project. As a Kaspersky Cyber Generation program graduate, she's now gaining practical cybersecurity skills, with her sights set on becoming a team leader in the future.

This May, I joined Kaspersky and became an intern at the company’s Saudi Arabia offices. A major turning point in my journey was the implementation of the Vision 2030 program in Saudi Arabia. This ambitious plan aims to revamp the country’s economy and society, placing a strong emphasis on empowering women and unleashing their potential.

Although this program only started in 2016, it has already brought about significant results. Today, we have high enrollment rates for girls in primary and secondary school, matching almost those of boys. Universities across the country now welcome female students in a wide range of fields, including science, technology, and engineering. The number of female faculty members is also growing steadily, creating a more diverse academic environment.

At school, I dreamed of studying medicine to become a nurse. But when the Vision 2030 project was introduced, one of its key priorities was STEM education for girls, equipping them with necessary skills to succeed in the 21st-century economy.

My family immediately embraced this idea.

Lama Alshemali an intern at Kaspersky’s Saudi Arabia office

They consistently told me, Lama cybersecurity is the future of our world, you absolutely need to study this! So many opportunities will open up for you!

With my family’s support, I decided to give it a try, and soon realized that I had truly fallen in love with this field, especially encryption. The more challenging the task, the more interested I became. I enrolled in an all-girls technical college: seeing other girls like me pursuing IT and cybersecurity was incredibly inspiring, fueling my passion for learning.

One of the great things about Vision 2030 was that the government made it easier for women to access education and secure jobs. Now, women graduating from STEM programs in technical colleges are practically guaranteed employment. That’s how I got my first internship at the Insurance Authority, the official regulator for the insurance industry in Saudi Arabia. Just like in college, I was surrounded only by women.

As my internship wrapped up, I discovered Kaspersky’s Cyber Generation Program. This program, designed specifically for Saudi Arabian students, offered two tracks: Basic and Advanced. With my background in cybersecurity, I opted for the Advanced track, which caters to those who aspire to drive IT innovation, create cutting-edge solutions, and advance their careers in the field. The first step in this program involved online training that equipped me with practical skills, such as recognizing potential attacks disguised as ordinary PC incidents and gathering incident data for IT security teams.

Following this, I was given the opportunity to move to the next stage – attending offline lectures at Kaspersky’s offices in Saudi Arabia. I learned about their products, which are used by individuals and businesses alike. This was a completely new experience for me, which made it even more interesting.

The most challenging and demanding part of the program for me was the individual project. I had to develop an idea for a new product for Kaspersky and present it to the company’s experts. To my own surprise, I managed to successfully complete the product. I developed my idea: a product to protect the Internet of Things based on AI and ML technologies. This idea was very well received by the experts.

After that, I went through several rounds of interviews with Kaspersky HR and managers. It was quite nerve-wracking: I was afraid I wouldn’t know the answers to all the questions. However, I soon realized it was perfectly normal, because I came here to learn and gain practical experience. In the end, they asked me which department I wanted to work in: sales or technical support. I naturally responded with IT support.

As a result, I received an offer and became the first female intern at Kaspersky in Saudi Arabia.

Sometimes you need to have the courage and become the first to pave the path for others.

It’s been a few months since I joined the team, and I can say that every workday is an adventure filled with various challenges. Luckily, I have an amazing team who always supports me, and I’m grateful to each colleague for teaching me something new. Currently, I’m working on customer support and PC health checks, but I know there’s still a lot for me to learn. This is just the beginning of my journey, and I’m excited to continue learning and working hard to achieve my goals. In the future, I dream of delving deeper into reverse engineering and becoming a manager of my own team.

Soon Kaspersky will be launching a new Cyber Generation Program, and I believe it will be an incredible opportunity for more young women in Saudi Arabia to learn about cybersecurity, delve into this exciting field, and become interns at Kaspersky. Stay tuned!