08 July 2021

Gemma Moore, director and founder of Cyberis

What was your big career break?
Getting into cyber security was a bit of a revelation, but that happened very early on in my career! I did my degree in Computing at Imperial College, and even by the time I had graduated, I really wasn’t sure where to go with it. Development, architecture, systems administration, networking - I thought about lots of possibilities but none of them felt quite right for me. Specialism in cyber security wasn’t on my radar until I saw a job advertisement for a trainee penetration tester. It sounded like great fun, so I applied and was lucky enough to get the job. I’ve never looked back - I absolutely love working in this field, and penetration testing gave me exposure across all the disciplines I’d been interested in. It’s fast-paced, ever changing, and I never get bored.

Looking back, I don’t think there was a single ‘big break’ which pushed my career forward once I was in the field, but what I have benefitted from throughout is the supportive and collaborative atmosphere in the teams I’ve worked in.

Who was your hero when you were growing up?
This is a tricky one to answer, but I think it would have to be Terry Pratchett. I was a bookworm growing up, and still am, but there was never an author who felt more like a friend to me than Terry Pratchett. I devoured his Discworld novels, and they were full of his razor-sharp wit, empathy and wisdom.

His books tackled thorny subjects like structural injustices, corruption, prejudice, racism and superstition with a warmth and humanity that I’ve rarely felt from another author. There was so much of himself in his novels that jumping into a Discworld book felt like catching up with a friend - and still does.

What’s the best piece of advice you’ve been given?
My nan was full of good advice, but her favourite piece of advice for everybody was “JFDI” - Just F*****g Do It. “JFDI” gets you quite a long way when you’re the type of person who can spend too long thinking about things rather than doing them. Procrastinating? JFDI. Imposter syndrome? JFDI. Fear of failure? JFDI.
Lots of people, women particularly, worry too much about how others perceive them, or what might happen

if they make a mistake, or how they will be judged and that worry can paralyse you. Sometimes, you need to acknowledge your feelings, shove them out of the way and just get things done anyway.

What’s the strangest question you’ve been asked?
Probably the one about whether I’d rather fight one horse-sized duck or a hundred duck-sized horses. I’d take the horse-sized duck every time.

What would you do with £1m?
I’m not sure I’d know until it happened! As a lump sum, that type of money could be transformative. I think living mortgage-free would be quite liberating, money doesn’t make you happy, but it does give you freedom and choices and using those wisely can make you very happy indeed.

If you could live anywhere, where would you choose?
I love living in the UK, but I’m very much a country mouse. I like peace and quiet, birdsong, open skies and the ability to walk my dog for miles from my front door. Preferably with super-fast broadband! I currently live surrounded by woodland which suits me perfectly. If I were to be persuaded to move from where I am now, it would probably be towards the Lake District or to the coastlines of Cornwall or Pembrokeshire. There’s such a variety of landscapes, I’d find it difficult to pick a favourite, so if money were no object, perhaps I’d have boltholes all over the country!

The Beatles or the Rolling Stones?
The Beatles.

If you had to work in a different industry, which one would you choose?
I absolutely adore dogs, possibly in training or in behavioural consultancy is what I would want to do.

What’s the one thing you must do before it’s too late?
There’s a lot of travelling I would like to do that I’ve never managed to fit into life. I’ve never seen a rainforest for example, and it’s something I really want to experience at some point. The biodiversity, the wildlife, the bugs, the noise, the smells, the rain!