Cybercrime victim becomes cybersecurity pro, creates platform to make resources accessible to everyone

By Dominque West

My journey into the world of cybersecurity began with my own cybercrime experience. While in college, my mother and I had someone attempt credit card fraud against us to buy $800 worth of Babies-R-Us merchandise. We both knew we didn’t make such a purchase, and even more baffling was the fact that we had two different credit card vendors but the purchase was at the same time and for the same amount. Being the Carmen Sandiego sleuth that I am, this incident led me down a rabbit hole to find out how this could happen (so that it doesn’t happen again) and led me to the world of hacking. 

I had heard of the term “hacker” before (which usually conjured up the now-defunct imagery of a person in a hoodie, in a dark basement doing bad, bad things) but never in a way that led me to believe there was an entire field in which I could learn, study, and be part of this community. After doing some research and realizing this was a viable career path, my journey into cybersecurity began. 

At first, I had no idea what I wanted to do. Cybersecurity encompasses so many roles and avenues that deciding right away what I would do for the rest of my career seemed overwhelming.

Dominique West

So I did what I normally do when I am left with several options, I tried a bit of everything.

Over the next nine years, I worked for a variety of technology companies across multiple industries as an analyst, an engineer, a consultant, and now as a Team Lead.  Was it scary? Absolutely. Especially since I constantly was, and in some cases still am, one of a few women on a male-dominated team, let alone the only Black woman. But I knew I wanted the opportunity to make my own decisions about the kind of career I wanted, and what that would look like.

This career journey has led me to so many opportunities - from traveling to joining and leading women in cybersecurity non-profits (shout-out to Women’s Society of Cyberjutsu!), to even starting my own company called Security in Color. I know how hard getting into cybersecurity can be. The resources and support groups we see today were not around much when I first started, so to see where we are now is amazing. 

With Security in Color, I wanted to take it a step further by creating a platform that makes cybersecurity accessible to everyone. I started my journey having no clue about what was happening to me and my mother regarding a hacking attempt; I know there are many others out there who also feel the same. I want to break down the complexity barriers and make everyone a cybersecurity champion.

Story Changes Culture is partnering with Security in Color to amplify its work and increase diverse contributions to the field of cybersecurity.