The University of Arkansas at Little Rock’s Emerging Analytics Center is teaming up with Girls of Promise and the Museum of Discovery to host a Women in Cybersecurity virtual event from 2-4 p.m. Sunday, Oct. 11, to celebrate Cybersecurity Awareness Month and International Day of the Girl.

The event will give girls a chance to learn what it’s like to choose a career in cybersecurity. The event, recommended for girls in sixth grade and older, will feature a panel of female mentors working in cybersecurity as well as a mobile forensics workout via UA Little Rock’s Cyber Gym.

The panelists include Becky Passmore, senior digital forensic examiner and computer forensics instructor with the federal government; Valerie Moring, healthcare and cybersecurity lead at Edafio Technology Partners; Lora McIntosh, chief information security officer at Simmons Bank; and Beth-Anne Bygum, chief security and compliance officer at Acxiom.

Representatives from Arvest Bank, Simmons Bank, Forge Institute, Virtual Arkansas, the Women’s Foundation, and the Museum of Discovery will facilitate the Cyber Gym workout.

“With the ongoing growing need for cybersecurity professionals,” said Sandra Leiterman, managing director of UA Little Rock’s Cyber Gym. “It’s important to encourage girls to get interested in it and any kind of science at an early age. Traditionally, women are underrepresented in the computer sciences. The panelists will talk about their road to cybersecurity, what they do in their careers, and their schooling and training. During the second hour of the event, we will lead them through a real-life mobile forensics workout. We really want to show these girls how exciting a career in cybersecurity can be.”