At a recent Women of Color in Technology STEM Conference, Lt. Col. Maria Biank and Army Officer Felicia Jackson led a seminar. The two discussed the growing needs of the cybersecurity industry and offered some advice to women trying to find a role in it.

“Only 11% of the cybersecurity workforce is comprised of women,” says Biank, a 27-year veteran and the current Director of Operations for the U.S. Army Cyber Command. “Not only is this a growth area globally but it’s a growth area for women specifically.”

Diversity, she explains, propels innovation by bringing in new perspectives. “We know from other industries that the more diverse a workforce is, the better they perform,” she says. “It’s very important that we recognize that.”

As Jackson, a 24-year Air Force veteran and Senior IT Security Analyst for Raytheon points out, women are naturally predisposed to traits the industry needs. She cites flexibility, decisiveness, detail-orientation, and intuition among the qualities that make a strong security analyst.

“Even if you’re not a mother, you still have those intuitive qualities,” she says to the women in the audience. “We can feel threats. We can feel when things are wrong.”

It’s not difficult for women to get involved with cybersecurity either. After all, the majority of companies have data that needs protection, no matter which industry they’re in.

“There are a lot of threats out there. People don’t think about them because they have their own jobs to do,” Jackson says. “If you’re in engineering and you’re trying to get to the next contract, you’re focused on getting done. Sometimes you don’t stop to think about the risks.”

Biank points out that many of these risks are related to outdated technology. These technologies leave open holes for hackers to find their way through.

“Some corporations use old operating systems to build things because they don’t have the money to upgrade,” she says, spelling out the need for innovation. “How do you go about hardening those to make sure that they’re functional, usable, and secure without getting rid of it?”

With a bit of training, women can transition into security without even changing industries. Jackson suggests that women who are interested get certified and find a role in the field they already work in. That way, they’ll be able to bring what they already know about the industry to their security approach.

“Get familiarity with what’s going on in your area, whether it’s healthcare or something else,” Jackson suggests. “You touch cyber in every single workforce, so you’ll be able to fit in wherever you are.”

Biank adds that industry expertise makes for strong leaders, something the cybersecurity field is constantly in search of. “We need smart people on the leadership side who understand the big picture, what we call the ‘strategic environment’ in the Army,” she says. “We need people who understand that environment and can apply what they know to the company they’re supporting.”

Ultimately, cybersecurity presents a wide range of opportunities for women of all ages. “It’s a growing industry,” Col. Biank says. “Whatever your skillsets and aspirations are, you can’t go wrong in this area.”