The Accidental Cybersecurity Leader
G๐ถ๐ช๐ฅ๐ฆ๐ฅ ๐ฃ๐บ ๐ข ๐ค๐ฐ๐ฎ๐ฑ๐ข๐ด๐ด, ๐ฏ๐ฐ๐ต ๐ข ๐ฎ๐ข๐ฑ. I never set out to become a cybersecurity leader โ my career began in development and evolved through application leadership and low-code platforms. But when offered the chance to lead our cyber roadmap, I leaned in โ not as a specialist, but as someone who understood how systems, people, and business goals connect. Years spent bridging gaps in delivery, support, and governance gave me the mindset to navigate complexity and risk. Cybersecurity leadership, Iโve learned, is less about controls and more about culture, clarity, and alignment. Sometimes, the best paths arenโt mapped โ theyโre guided by a compass.
Dawn Thiart
7/27/20251 min read
I didnโt plan to work in cybersecurity.
My early career started as a developer โ head down, solving problems, building systems. Over time, I shifted into senior developer roles mostly working within the ๐ฃ๐ผ๐๐ฒ๐ฟ ๐ฃ๐น๐ฎ๐๐ณ๐ผ๐ฟ๐บ, and then later into leadership roles. I charted a path in ๐ฎ๐ฝ๐ฝ๐น๐ถ๐ฐ๐ฎ๐๐ถ๐ผ๐ป ๐ฑ๐ฒ๐๐ถ๐ด๐ป, ๐ฏ๐๐ถ๐น๐ฑ, ๐๐๐ฝ๐ฝ๐ผ๐ฟ๐, ๐๐ฟ๐ฎ๐ป๐๐ถ๐๐ถ๐ผ๐ป๐ถ๐ป๐ด ๐ฎ๐ฝ๐ฝ๐น๐ถ๐ฐ๐ฎ๐๐ถ๐ผ๐ป๐ ๐ณ๐ฟ๐ผ๐บ ๐ฝ๐ฟ๐ผ๐ท๐ฒ๐ฐ๐๐ ๐๐ผ ๐๐๐ฝ๐ฝ๐ผ๐ฟ๐ ๐๐ฒ๐ฎ๐บ๐. That was the ๐ฎ๐ข๐ฑ (IT applications) I had in my hands โ and I was following it.
I thought Iโd stay in that lane.
But roles evolve โ especially when youโre open to stepping into unfamiliar spaces. So when I was asked to lead our ๐ฐ๐๐ฏ๐ฒ๐ฟ๐๐ฒ๐ฐ๐๐ฟ๐ถ๐๐ ๐ฟ๐ผ๐ฎ๐ฑ๐บ๐ฎ๐ฝ, I said yes โ not because I had deep expertise in cyber, but because my world in IT applications had already prepared me. I understood how systems were designed, how they were supported, and how they connected to business processes and people. That end-to-end view โ from architecture to adoption โ gave me the clarity and context to drive cybersecurity forward, even in unfamiliar territory.
That was the moment the ๐ค๐ฐ๐ฎ๐ฑ๐ข๐ด๐ด ๐ต๐ฐ๐ฐ๐ฌ ๐ฐ๐ท๐ฆ๐ณ.
I didnโt come up through traditional cybersecurity channels. But years spent in ๐ฎ๐ฝ๐ฝ๐น๐ถ๐ฐ๐ฎ๐๐ถ๐ผ๐ป ๐ฑ๐ฒ๐น๐ถ๐๐ฒ๐ฟ๐, ๐น๐ถ๐ณ๐ฒ๐ฐ๐๐ฐ๐น๐ฒ ๐๐ฟ๐ฎ๐ป๐๐ถ๐๐ถ๐ผ๐ป๐, ๐น๐ฒ๐ฎ๐ฑ๐ฒ๐ฟ๐๐ต๐ถ๐ฝ gave me something else: ๐ต๐ฉ๐ฆ ๐ฎ๐ช๐ฏ๐ฅ๐ด๐ฆ๐ต ๐ต๐ฐ ๐ต๐ฉ๐ช๐ฏ๐ฌ ๐ฃ๐ณ๐ฐ๐ข๐ฅ๐ญ๐บ, ๐ค๐ฐ๐ฏ๐ฏ๐ฆ๐ค๐ต ๐ณ๐ช๐ด๐ฌ๐ด ๐ต๐ฐ ๐ณ๐ฆ๐ข๐ญ๐ช๐ต๐ช๐ฆ๐ด, ๐ข๐ฏ๐ฅ ๐ข๐ด๐ฌ ๐ต๐ฉ๐ฆ ๐ณ๐ช๐จ๐ฉ๐ต ๐ฒ๐ถ๐ฆ๐ด๐ต๐ช๐ฐ๐ฏ๐ด.
Cybersecurity, Iโve learned, is more than just firewalls and frameworks โ itโs about people, processes, and priorities. Itโs about embedding security into the way an organisation thinks and operates. It requires translating technical risks into business language, influencing behaviours, and making decisions that balance protection with progress. And thatโs exactly where my journey in IT applications gave me the edge.
๐๐ฒ๐ฎ๐ฑ๐ฒ๐ฟ๐๐ต๐ถ๐ฝ ๐ฑ๐ผ๐ฒ๐๐ปโ๐ ๐ฎ๐น๐๐ฎ๐๐ ๐ฏ๐ฒ๐ด๐ถ๐ป ๐๐ถ๐๐ต ๐ฎ ๐๐ถ๐๐น๐ฒ โ ๐๐ผ๐บ๐ฒ๐๐ถ๐บ๐ฒ๐ ๐ถ๐ ๐๐๐ฎ๐ฟ๐๐ ๐๐ถ๐๐ต ๐ฎ ๐ด๐ฎ๐ฝ. A gap no one owns, but one you understand well enough to step into. Thatโs how it happened for me.
If youโve found yourself stepping outside your original skillset โ into cybersecurity, into leadership, into strategy, into uncertainty โ youโre not lost.
You might just be an ๐ฎ๐ฐ๐ฐ๐ถ๐ฑ๐ฒ๐ป๐๐ฎ๐น ๐ฐ๐๐ฏ๐ฒ๐ฟ ๐น๐ฒ๐ฎ๐ฑ.
And thatโs not a detour. Thatโs the path.