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Women in science and tech.
Each partner of the CONSOLE Project actively promotes gender balance and equal opportunities for women in science and technology. This is why each issue of the CONSOLE Newsletter will include a section on Women in science and tech. Our next guest is Eftychia LAKKA.
What inspired you to pursue a career in cybersecurity and software development, and please name one significant challenge you have faced as a woman in this field?
My journey into cybersecurity and software development began during my computer science studies, but it truly crystallised when I started working on European research projects at FORTH. What fascinated me was the intersection of cutting-edge technology with real-world security challenges, particularly how we can protect vulnerable systems, such as healthcare infrastructures, while maintaining innovation and accessibility.
One challenge I've encountered as a woman in this domain is that the technical fields are still predominantly male-dominated. Sometimes this meant working extra hard to demonstrate my expertise and build confidence in my technical contributions. Rather than being discouraged, this experience motivated me to actively seek leadership opportunities and mentor other women entering the field. It has been rewarding to see the tech community become increasingly inclusive over the years, and I'm proud to contribute to this positive change through my work on multiple EU projects.
Eftychia works as a Postdoctoral Reasearcher at Foundation for Research and Technology - Hellas (FORTH).
EU-funded projects like CONSOLE aim to drive innovation in cybersecurity. From your experience, what’s one key area where greater inclusion of women could make a tangible impact in strengthening Europe’s digital resilience?
Based on my experience working on various EU cybersecurity projects, I believe that women's inclusion could significantly impact user-centred security design and interdisciplinary collaboration. Women often bring different perspectives on how security technologies affect varied user communities and real-world applications.
In cybersecurity, we often focus heavily on the technical aspects – encryption algorithms, network protocols, and threat detection systems. However, the human element is frequently the weakest link in any security chain. Women tend to approach problems with a more holistic view, considering not only whether a security solution works technically, but also whether it's practical and accessible for end users across various use cases.
If you could choose one book to recommend to our readers, what would that book be and why?
I would recommend "The Design of Everyday Things" by Don Norman. This book was actually recommended to me by colleagues. While I haven't read it yet, the core concepts they've shared with me have really sparked my interest in human-centred design for cybersecurity.
Norman's principle that user mistakes are usually design flaws, not user faults, directly applies to cybersecurity. Many security incidents occur because security measures are too complex or counteract natural human behaviour. Throughout my experience, I have observed that technically sound solutions often fail when they overlook the human element.
This book teaches us to design security that makes secure behaviour the easy choice rather than an obstacle – a crucial principle for creating truly effective and user-friendly security systems.
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