No barriers, just firewalls

Growing up in West Virginia, Jared Husson felt like he was always in trouble for not paying attention in school. In addition to having ADHD, Husson is deaf. Communication in the classroom was a constant challenge. But Husson knew he was smart, even if his teachers sometimes didn’t acknowledge it.

“I’ve always had a knack for learning and problem-solving,” he says. “I love finding solutions.”

The same threads — a facility for solving complex problems complicated by communication barriers — have woven together throughout his career. Overseeing inventory at an aerospace company, he discovered that he loved working on computers. The company encouraged his colleagues to learn sign language, which made collaboration much easier; in previous jobs, he had communicated with co-workers by writing on a notepad.

But years later, after changing jobs a few times, Husson found himself at a crossroads when the recycling business he worked for went under. One night, as he watched TV and pondered his next move, he happened upon a discussion on C-SPAN about the urgent need for more cybersecurity workers. 

“It was like a lightbulb turned on — I should become a cyber warrior,” he says. 

He’s now studying for a bachelor’s degree in Computing and Information Technologies at the Rochester Institute of Technology in upstate New York, and an associate’s in Applied Computer Technology at the National Technical Institute for the Deaf, a college within RIT. When he graduates, he’ll enter a job market hungry for talent, as 67% of organizations around the world report a moderate to critical shortfall in cybersecurity skills. 

To bridge this gap, Mastercard has partnered with DEAFCYBERCON, a nonprofit that helps deaf people launch and excel in cybersecurity careers, and SANS Institute, a leading cybersecurity training institute, to provide job training for deaf students like Husson — who are eager to learn but benefit from support to surmount communication obstacles. The training does not guarantee jobs but can help them open doors while giving employers a wider range of talented prospects to hire. 

“These students represent an untapped labor force that could really be invaluable as we continue to reinforce our digital defenses,” says Rebecca Ledingham, global vice president of cyber innovation and product management at Mastercard, who led the initiative. “We want them to know that there can be a place for them.”

Unlocking cyber talent in an underemployed community

Trying to keep pace with a surge in cybercrime — the global cost of which is set to soar to more than $15.6 trillion by 2029 — the global cybersecurity workforce has grown, 4.4 million in 2021 to 7.1 million in 2024. Yet another 2.8 million positions remain unfilled.

As owner of a cybersecurity consulting firm, Angela Dingle understands that empowering underrepresented groups could help solve the industry’s staffing crisis. So in 2021, she began developing an initiative to help women of color overcome hiring discrimination in the field. But when she mentioned the idea to a colleague at Washington, D.C.’s Gallaudet University, founded for deaf students, she learned that deaf students struggle even more to find work. Dingle has two sisters who are deaf, so the comment struck close to home.

“It made me so angry that I decided to change my program’s focus,” Dingle says. “I renamed it DEAFCYBERCON.”

She quickly learned that, out of the 11 million people in the U.S. who are deaf or very hard of hearing, only 54% are employed. Deaf applicants confront formidable pitfalls in job interviews — glitchy closed captions, sign language interpreters who aren’t well-versed enough in computer terminology to translate accurately, interviewers who assume the resulting awkwardness means the candidate doesn’t understand the topic.

To break down these barriers, DEAFCYBERCON offers a LinkedIn-like online community, with webinars, job postings, interview coaching and insider advice. But Dingle’s team devotes equal time to industry outreach, educating corporations on the labor pool that could help solve their cybersecurity challenges, and partnering to provide the training and education needed to excel in cybersecurity.  

“We’re doing what we can to break down these barriers to entry for deaf people,” Dingle says. “You see, cybersecurity is a people problem, not just a technical one. It’s a person that steals your identity, hacks into your computer or launches a ransomware attack. And we need real people with a variety of skills to solve the problem. Just because you're deaf doesn't mean that you can't do this work.” 

Tailored support 

After participating in a DEAFCYBERCON event at Mastercard in 2023, Ledingham spearheaded an initiative to fund training at the SANS Institute for 25 DEAFCYBERCON community members. A decade ago, as the alarms started sounding about the cybersecurity talent gap, SANS’ founder Alan Paller made it his mission to create more pathways to cybersecurity careers to address the dearth of talent in the field. Paller  understood that reaching beyond conventional recruitment avenues and actively engaging under-resourced career changers of all backgrounds that had not typically been targeted was essential.

“The industry is not reaching untapped talent pools enough,” says Max Shuftan, who leads these programs and partnerships at SANS. “You need to engage all communities because myriad career changers and students might not see cybersecurity as a career for them, when in fact it could be.”

The deaf students had four months to complete 30 hours of online coursework with SANS, including virtual instruction, labs and simulations, the same as students without hearing loss, and the course culminated in a cybersecurity certification exam. Unfortunately, only four passed. Some students were also coping with autism or ADD, while others simply lacked enough background in the field to master the advanced material in time. 

Recognizing the need for additional support, Ledingham worked closely with SANS to reset the course timelines and develop an introductory-level curriculum while she and Dingle arranged one-on-one tutorial sessions. Later this year, students will also receive mentors at Mastercard for ongoing career assistance. 

“We’ve seen an enormous impact in their confidence,” Ledingham says.

Meanwhile, Ledingham’s team has selected students for the next round of SANS training. Husson is one of them. He says the course is already sharpening his skills and helping him clarify his career goals. 

“Ultimately, I dream of starting my own cybersecurity business,” he says. “The guidance and encouragement from Angela, Rebecca, and my other mentors has inspired me to keep pushing forward. I’m determined to show that deaf people can achieve great things.”