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Evie is a Cyber Security Engineer at CommBank. Growing up in the rural town of Mudgee, four-hours northwest of Sydney, she never really considered cyber security until she was offered a scholarship to study computer science at UNSW Sydney.  

After taking a cyber security course at uni, she absolutely fell in love with it and decided to pursue it as her major. Evie graduated in 2020 after three years of study, with a Bachelor of Science (Computer Science majoring in Security with a minor in Psychology). She is now working as a good hacker, ensuring that our data stays safe and educates people on how they can protect themselves online.  

What were you like at school? 

I never really liked technology or science subjects at school and focused more on HSIE and math. During Year 8, Google came to my school for a coding session and one of the Googlers approached me and said that I had a knack for it! I clung to this conversation and was very fortunate to receive a Faculty of Engineering Rural Scholarship to study a Bachelor of Science (Computer Science).  

What is cyber security?  

Cyber security is the act of protecting systems, networks and programs from cyber-attacks. There are so many teams responsible for this such as physical security, security architects, detection engineers and less technical roles such as identity and access management and outreach initiatives. As we become a more digitally dependent world, cyber security is becoming more important than ever. Every aspect of our identities is stored digitally and those who work in cyber are responsible for protecting it. 

What does a job in cyber security look like? 

There are so many different roles and teams within cyber security. I have previously worked as a detection engineer where I assisted in automating and developing secure systems and an incident response analyst where I was responsible for triaging and investigating suspicious activity.  

Currently I am responsible for educating colleagues, customers and communities about cyber security. It is very rewarding because cyber security comes down to a combination of technology, process and people and I get to utilise my psychology minor to focus on the people aspect. 

Why do you like cyber security and working for CommBank? 

I am constantly learning. Since taking my first course, I have never stopped learning.  

CommBank has a massive focus on development, weekly I am engaging in multiple activities and meetings directly targeted at my personal and professional development. There are also so many opportunities, we have a really established cyber security department so you can try every team you want - red, blue, technical, non-technical the possibilities are endless. The people within the team are amazing, I feel 100% supported knowing that they are invested in my future. 

What skills other than coding makes you a good fit for a job in cyber security? 

Hands down the most important skill is passion. Technical skills can be taught but if you are passionate about learning and problem solving you can achieve anything. Being able to communicate ideas, verbally and written are also really important in managing stakeholders. 

What is the best advice you received in high school that led to you pursuing engineering? 

Everything you do in life is a chance to learn, encourage yourself to try hard and fail quickly. Do not strive for perfection because it is unachievable.