Cyber security is an exciting and vast landscape which rewards people who notice patterns others miss, and those with novel ways of thinking, who light up and find a strong passion for their everyday work. Canberra’s cyber ecosystem has a place for everyone, and everyone has a part they can play in ensuring the security of our nation.
We interviewed Emily Holyoake from Not A Standard on this topic. Not A Standard is Emily’s startup, which works to consult businesses to build and understanding of the motivations and psychological implications behind cyber-attacks and cyber-crime.
“It’s about – how much does this light you up?”: Emily Holyoake from Not A Standard on belonging in cyber:
“Whenever I get asked about whether someone should get into security, or they say, 'oh, what job should I do?' I go ‘I have no idea but what makes you excited about doing this every day?’
“I get so excited about the why - why do [cybercriminals] do this? What was motivating them? Like, come on, let's deep dive down … you know, [for me], it's holistic.
“Some people may have a very particular niche interest, and I have friends who are very much like that - they have one teeny tiny cyber interest.
“And that's the thing - if you want to be successful in this industry, it's not so much what particular skills you have, because like I tell everybody, I don't know how computers work.”
For Emily, it’s all about “how people work.”
Emily’s work and perspectives from her time working in the industry and working in Not A Standard, perfectly highlights the beauty of the cyber sector. Cyber security ranges from understanding and studying the psychology of cyber-crime, to understanding quantum physics and post-quantum cryptography, to the more traditional coding and encryption tasks, to networking and loving to talk to people. It’s anything but a secluded sector.
“Most of my friends all work in cyber security now, and we are outgoing, and funny, and silly, and we love going out, and we love talking to people.”
At the end of the day, “this is a [career where you] really immerse yourself in it.”
What’s the advice for aspiring individuals? As Emily put it:
“For every 1 'yes,' you're going to get 100 'no's. So you've got to give yourself as many opportunities … the more chances you give yourself for good luck, the more you'll get it. And that involves going and speaking to as many people as possible.”
“You know, it's about that passion. And if you're neurodivergent and you've got that passion, you'll be able to get in - you'll find a way.”
Why is diversity important? Turns out that there is also empirical and objectively scientifically sound evidence to the fact that neurodivergent talents thrive in cyber:
- Studies suggest professionals with autism and ADHD excel in pattern recognition, detail orientation, and systems thinking, which is all prized in threat hunting, incident response and secure engineering. Hiring people with complementary skills can significantly improve the aspirations and capabilities of a workforce (Forbes, 2023; CSO, 2024).
- Strengths based programs (e.g., DXC’s Dandelion Program) have demonstrated strong productivity and retention when teams are built around individuals’ strengths, including in cyber and data roles.
- Public sector communities of practice are maturing, providing guidance and peer support for inclusive hiring and adjustments.
There are a multitude of Canberra pathways that already work
- APS & Defence-adjacent programs (e.g., Dandelion pathways into AFP data/cyber roles) show what’s possible when recruitment and support are designed for neurodivergent talent.
- Community & conferences (CSides, BSides) create low barrier stages to present, learn and belong; many cyber professionals start by volunteering or joining a Capture the Flag team.
Ultimately, the goal of any workplace should be to hire individuals with complementary skills, and for individuals – it’s to give yourself as much of an opportunity to succeed as possible. You likely know your passions, so go out and explore and connect with people whose passions follow yours. And even if you don’t know your passions – don’t fret! The advanced tech sector always has a place for you, as we see with the CyberCX Academy for instance, organisations care less about your concrete certifications, and care more for your skills and aspirations. It’s guaranteed that in Canberra’s cyber sector, you’ll never get bored.
