Cyber security evangelist Jane Frankland awarded MBE

With over 28 years of experience in the field, Frankland has been a pioneering figure in cyber security, championing diversity and inclusion, while contributing significantly to national and international security measures.

Frankland began her career journey by owning one of the world’s first cyber security companies, providing vulnerability disclosures to the UK’s National Infrastructure Security Co-ordination Centre and improving critical national cyber defences.

Indeed, Frankland has played a pivotal role in shaping the industry through her contributions to key standards and initiatives, including CREST (itself an international industry body representing the technical security industry) and the UK’s Cyber Essentials Scheme. Frankland also became a founding member of Women4Cyber, a European Commission-devised initiative addressing the growing demand for cyber security professionals in Europe.

A thought leader and role model, Frankland’s influence extends through her best-selling book entitled ‘IN Security: Why a Failure to Attract and Retain Women is Making Us All Less Safe’, which has inspired over 3,000 readers and garnered international acclaim for its actionable insights.

Through the ‘IN Security’ movement, Frankland has awarded over 440 scholarships to women across the globe, empowering them to build careers in cyber security, as well as creating a Code of Conduct designed to keep more women safe at events. Frankland also founded The Source platform, supporting women with skills development, training and mentorship, while in parallel helping businesses to improve their talent acquisition strategies.

Global impact

Frankland’s global impact is underscored by her research, writing and keynote speeches at prestigious events organised by the EU Commission, UN Women, the Cabinet Office, The Web Summit and SWIFT Innotribe. Her voice has shaped discussions at the highest levels, from the European Commission’s DigitalEU movement to the boards of SC Media (in the UK) and the Black Hat Executive Summit (EU).

Frankland continues to mentor professionals worldwide, contributing her expertise through judging panels, scholarships and university presentations. She remains a trailblazer, driving change internationally and inspiring a safer and more inclusive future for the cyber security industry.

“Advocating for greater representation of women in cyber security isn’t just a mission,” asserted Frankland. “It’s part of who I am. To receive such a prestigious honour for something so deeply ingrained in my values is truly humbling.”

Frankland continued: “Cyber security has long been a male-dominated industry, but diversity isn’t just a nice-to-have. It’s critical for our collective safety and innovation. By empowering women through scholarships, consulting with businesses to build inclusive environments and creating literature that inspires and educates, we can fundamentally change the face of this industry.”

Frankland added: “With the cyber security skills shortage remaining a pressing global challenge, I’m more determined than ever to help businesses prioritise their efforts to better support women and build pathways for their success.”

Improving diversity gaps

Rob Demain, CEO at e2e-assure, observed: “We couldn’t be more proud of Jane and her achievement. She’s worked tirelessly to improve diversity gaps within the industry, which is something that we take very seriously here at e2e-assure.”

On that note, Demain stated: “Diversity within cyber security teams is vital when it comes to problem solving, which is such a key part of our job as we fight ever-changing cyber security threats.”

In conclusion, Demain noted: “I knew this would make Jane a great asset to the business, where she has developed both our team and supported us in achieving our mission of providing businesses with greater access to faster, simpler and more cost-effective threat detection and response solutions.”