- As technology to expand, so does the need for cybersecurity and cybersecurity experts.

It's a field that's currently only 18% African-American, according to the US Bureau of Labor Statistics.

My next guest is a 25-year veteran of the cybersecurity industry, and she's written a book titled, "Breaking the Cyber Code: A Game Changer that Prepares our Workforce and Secures the Future."

I'd like to welcome Sakinah Tanzil to American Black Journal.

Congratulations on your book.

- Thank you.

- Yeah.

So let's start by just talking about cybersecurity, why it's so important, and really just kinda how that works.

I think a lot of people think about the passwords that we have on various apps and on accounts.

They think of duo and all of these kinds of secure protocols that we've developed.

But I'm not sure all of us really know what that is and what it means, how it all works.

- Okay.

Yes.

Well, cybersecurity is about protecting people and building trust.

It's about confidentiality, integrity, and availability of that data that businesses and individuals hold.

So you have to put yourself in the shoes of an individual that may lose some money, may lose their social security card, and it gets stolen.

So it's so important.

And the sooner that you know about the safeguards, you can protect yourself and others.

- Yeah, I kinda think of this field as living in two different spaces.

One space is the space that we know about and have interaction with, later what I was talking about with passwords and things like that.

The other is in terms of the data, as you point out, that we all now put out there that we don't have control of, that we don't keep secure, that the people we give that data to have to give real security too.

And that's the part that I feel like we have more to lose, I think on that side of things.

- Yeah, I spend a lot of time in the healthcare industry, and that's the most sensitive data that you can have.

So third parties are vetted before they even get access to medical data, just to make sure that they have their safeguards in place.

And I was responsible for doing assessments to make sure that they're valid vendors.

Because if it was even my information, I look at it if it's mine, I would want that protected too.

So healthcare data, financial data, the grid, the infrastructure, all that is important data that if hackers get a hold of it, they can do malicious things.

- Yeah, let's talk about your career, 25 years in the cyber security industry.

Tell me how you got interested in it and about your path there.

- Yeah, when I was a teenager, I was at home watching the television news, and it was the late-1990s, and they were talking about the Y2K issue coming the year 2000.

The year was gonna turn to 2000 from 1999.

And computers only were set up for two digit years.

So they had to go back and extend it to a four-digit year so it wouldn't crash.

- So it wouldn't think it was 1900, right?

- Exactly.

Exactly.

So when I saw that, I was like, "Wow, it seems like this is a call of duty for me.

Maybe I should enroll myself into college and go into the industry."

So that's exactly what I did.

I enrolled in Henry Ford College and went into their associate program Computer Information Systems.

And I found out about Bill Gates and his software.

I did a presentation and read his book, and I was like, "Wow, I'm in the right industry."

It helps software, helps with space exploration, healthcare, all that.

So I'm in the right place.

So it inspired me to keep going and persevere.

- Yeah, and when you started, talk about how present African-Americans were in the field and how much more present they are now, and then I guess how much more we still have to do.

- Yes, when I enrolled in college back in the late 1990s, I was one of two African-Americans that I seen in the program.

And that was kind of devastating because I was looking for friends that I can be around to help with studying and support groups and all that.

So I did hook up with the other person and we stuck together, we studied together, and we had each other's back, but it was kinda devastating and I was like, "Wow, am I doing the right thing or what?"

So it kinda had me question what I was doing.

But as a Detroiter, we persevere.

We're underdogs and all that, so I learned to just stick it out and I knew I was doing the right thing.

- Yeah, in the time that you've worked in the industry, that presence has changed.

I mean, the 18%, roughly the percentage of African-Americans that exist in the country, or maybe a little more.

- Yes, and that's part of what I've been doing.

I've been mentoring, I've been coaching, I've been advocating, training young people, because you should start as early as kindergarten.

You know, K through 12, because I got exposure in college.

But the earlier you start and you see people like you, then you're inspired and you see the possibilities.

So that's what I'm doing now, is trying to build a legacy and invest in the young people to fill that gap.

Because right now, there's a shortage.

There's 4.8 million cybersecurity professionals needed globally and 265,000 just in the US.

So we need to fill that gap because these are high-skill, high-paying jobs, and they can change the trajectory of your life.

- Yeah, let's talk about your book and what readers will learn about cybersecurity and its importance from the book.

- Yes, well, it's a memoir slash guidebook.

So I walk you through all the challenges that I went through.

Things like how to negotiate your salary or unconscious bias or being resilient.

And then I talk about the 52 careers in cybersecurity, and I talk about the skills and the knowledge that you need to have.

So you look at it and you say, "Where do I fit?

What do I wanna go after?"

I talk about scholarships that you can get to help pay for college, and I just coach you through things that you probably need help with it.

And no one probably is there to help you with, and I'm here as a labor of love writing this book to be the person I needed when I was younger.

- Yeah, for young people, I mean, so much of their lives revolve around and are affected by tech.

But they're natives to this in a way that like I wasn't, and maybe you weren't.

In other words, when we were much younger, we didn't have these things and we had to adapt.

We had to kinda learn.

Do they have an advantage because of that now?

Is it easier to sort of, I guess, engage in an academic way with this kind of material?

Because you've spent your whole life swiping on your phone or on your iPad and everything is about passwords and access.

Their home in this space is much more familiar, I feel like.

And so maybe that is an opportunity to get more people involved.

- Yes, when my daughter was two years old, she's 20 now, as soon as she can sit up, I got her involved in technology because I wanted her to have access.

And they have this innate sense to already know how to use it.

So that's an advantage, you know?

But I don't just want you to be a consumer of tech.

I want you to understand the basics, the foundation, the principles, all that, and how to protect yourself.

I think every K through 12 student needs to know about cyber education and how to protect themselves because there's bad actors out there.

And in social media, you have to protect yourself and protect your kids.

So parents need to be involved.

They need to know the safeguards are in place because people are out there and they're trying to get our young people in their minds.

So, you have to protect them.

- Is cybersecurity making us more secure over time?

Or are the people, these bad actors you're talking about, moving faster than cybersecurity is?

And are we more at risk because, you know, it seems like with each passing day, we are more involved in a tech way with each other and our data.

- Yeah, well, the bad guys are one step ahead.

- Are they?

- They're reading the books.

They're thinking in a bad way.

We're using it for fun and work and all that and they're looking at ways of how to take advantage-- - To get our money.

- Yeah, yeah.

So they're one step ahead.

So if you're not careful, you can be taken advantage of.

So technology is a tool, and if you use it right, it can improve your life.

But it also has bad sides, too.

So you have to know both sides of it to protect yourself.

So I wouldn't say that we're more at risk, but with Deepfakes and misinformation and disinformation, you have to go to vetted sources.

And if you're going to the wrong chat room or social media platform, then you might get influenced by that.

And so you have to be careful.

- Yeah, I would be remiss if I didn't ask you about AI and its effect on this part of technology.

It's really moving very fast in terms of what's possible, what people may be capable of because of AI.

There's a good side of that.

And then of course, there's a threat.

From your chair though, what do you see in terms of the changes that AI is kind of forcing on cybersecurity in particular?

- Yeah, I was a little hesitant at first when I was working for organizations and them bringing on AI because there's certain things that you have to know upfront, and you have to do a risk assessment and know what data you have and what data you wanna use.

So I do appreciate AI, but you have to be really careful.

There's a lot of risk involved and there's a standard on risk assessments that the government has provided to kinda help people.

But it's a tool.

But like the internet and like social media, if you don't use it right, there's risk involved, so you need to know that.

So I am a promoter of AI, but I think it's moving too fast and there's not enough controls in place.

So you need to implement it slowly and in phases before you fully implement it and give it control.

Because you're still gonna need human intelligence, critical thinking skills, so don't let that go to the wayside.

- Yeah, okay.

Sakinah, it was really great to have you here, and congratulations again on your book.

- Thank you.

- Yeah.