Four years ago, she entered Datacom’s Transform programme which gives Datacom staff the chance to retrain in emerging markets and new service offerings.
Petro who had deep and wide experience working in presales admits that she found the learning curve in cybersecurity steep.
"Cybersecurity, to me, felt like speaking a foreign language.” Despite the challenges, she persevered, going on to confirm her place in the field through continuous certification.
She completed the Transform programme, passed her CompTIA Security+ certification, and became a full-time cybersecurity consultant. Since then, she has earned her CISSP, CISM, CCSP and most recently her CRISC. Petro has also completed the Cyber Leadership, and the Cyber Strategy and Transformation programmes run by the Cyber Leadership Institute (CLI), both times finishing in the top three of her cohort.
Petro partly puts her confidence to succeed down to her background as a migrant from South Africa to Australia. The experience taught her resilience and the importance of self-belief.
"I believe that you are the master of your own destiny.” Her career began in South Africa as a software programmer and engineer in the 1990s before managing a support centre. In 2013, she migrated with her family to Melbourne where she had to learn the Aussie culture and build new networks to re-establish her career.
She worked her way across a breadth of roles from technical specialist to senior consultant and solution architect, before joining Datacom as a pre-sales consultant and manager of presales and architecture.
After three years in those roles, Petro felt ready for a change.
“I was attracted to cybersecurity as a field that welcomes individuals from diverse backgrounds, offering opportunities even for those without a strong technical foundation.
“Cybersecurity offers a variety in career paths and the opportunity for continuous learning, because as technology advances, so does the complexity of cyber threats. You have to stay updated on emerging trends such as artificial intelligence and quantum computing, so from a growth perspective, it looked like a great place to be.”
One of Petro's key motivations in cybersecurity is the impact of her work on the community. She takes pride in strengthening the cybersecurity posture of organisations, ensuring they can deliver services safely and securely.
"It's about helping organisations build their resilience and cybersecurity posture to deliver services to our communities in a safe and secure way," she says.
This sense of purpose drives her commitment to her role. While the fast-paced and evolving nature of cybersecurity is a huge attraction, it’s a challenge too. The Datacom State of Cybersecurity Index has found that almost two thirds of 200 cybersecurity leaders across Australia and New Zealand, are seeing increasing cyber burnout within their teams.
Petro emphasises the importance of being intentional about well-being to manage the pressures of her role. She finds it important to set boundaries, maintain physical health with regular times for exercise and plan meals to avoid relying on unhealthy food during busy periods.
"Being intentional about your well-being is essential to avoid burnout," she says.
Apart from continuous learning Petro is passionate about supporting women. Over the length of her career, she has observed the gender imbalance in IT which led her to take an active role in the Microsoft Women Rising programme.
This has been instrumental in highlighting the gender disparity - the current gender balance in cybersecurity is estimated to be as low as 13% compared to circa 33% in the wider tech sector - and inspiring Petro to advocate for more women in cybersecurity. She has taken on mentoring roles, guiding colleagues from the service desk into cybersecurity roles.
Petro's mentoring approach is to allow others to grow independently while providing the necessary support and direction. She fosters a culture of continuous learning within her team to ensure that everyone stays relevant in the ever-changing cybersecurity landscape.
"You have to keep on learning to stay ahead of evolving threats and to have the skills required to adapt as the landscape changes," she says.
