Rider student earns scholarship to Women in Cybersecurity Conference

Ana Kolovani is making a name for herself in the field of cybersecurity. Kolovani, a student in Rider's online Master of Science in Cybersecurity program, was awarded a scholarship to attend the recent 2021 Women in Cybersecurity (WiCyS) Conference in Denver, Colo. In addition to attending the conference, she was also one of only 22 students selected to present her research.

Kolovani's research poster explored the psychology behind cyber crime, a topic she dove into during her first class in the graduate cybersecurity program. Her poster explored types of cyber crime, how to profile a cyber criminal, and methods to detect and prevent cyber crime.  

"It was a very interesting topic for me and made me realize I can do a lot of research in this field," she says.

The WiCyS conference is not only the flagship conference for women in cybersecurity but the largest cybersecurity conference with equal representation of professionals and students. Dr. Elizabeth Hawthorne, program director for Rider's online master's program in cybersecurity, is a founding advisory board member of the organization. She, along with Kolovani and two Rider juniors, cybersecurity major (and Ana's sister) Lilli Kolovani and computer science major and cybersecurity minor Marissa Neef, attended the conference from Sept. 8-10. Rider was also an academic sponsor for the conference. 

"I was so proud to see such a strong showing of Rider students at the conference," says Hawthorne. "WiCyS is dedicated to moving the needle on the number of women in the cybersecurity field. Since this organization began eight years ago, I'm proud to say that number has increased from 11% to 25% of women in cybersecurity. The conference exposed these young women to the wealth of opportunities in the field. I'm excited to see where their very promising careers take them."

The conference drew more than 1,300 attendees to participate in workshops, hear keynote speakers, attend a career fair and much more. Hawthorne moderated a panel presentation entitled, "A First Timer's Guide to the WiCyS Conference." 

"Being at the conference was a very exciting experience," Ana Kolovani says. "I got to hear lots of great keynote talks as well as hear what others in the cybersecurity field were researching."

Launched in 2019, Rider's undergraduate program in cybersecurity prepares graduates to design, implement and assess security measures to protect computer networks from cyberattacks. Following the success of the undergraduate program, an online master's program began in January 2021. The first student to be admitted to the program, Ana Kolovani, is a member of the first cohort of graduate students. The master's program prepares students to prevent attacks against companies' digital infrastructure and to investigate cyber crimes after they occur.