Her Story
About Kathryn
Kathryn Garrett is a cybersecurity professional and graduate student based in Las Vegas, Nevada, whose career reflects a unique transition from law and investigation into the rapidly evolving field of cybersecurity. After building a 10-year career as a paralegal within the U.S. judicial system, she began exploring cybersecurity in 2023, drawing on her longstanding strengths in research, evidence analysis, critical thinking, and investigative work. She continued developing her technical expertise through cybersecurity education and earned her CompTIA Security+ certification while pursuing graduate studies in cybersecurity at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas. Kathryn has since expanded her experience across cyber threat intelligence, threat hunting, digital forensics, and OSINT investigations. During an internship with U.S. Customs and Border Protection, she supported cybersecurity operations through multi-source intelligence analysis, threat hunting, IOC identification, TTP mapping using the MITRE ATT&CK framework, and the development of actionable intelligence reports and executive briefings. She has also gained hands-on experience through cybersecurity labs and training involving digital evidence, network traffic analysis, and web application penetration testing. Beyond her technical development, Kathryn is passionate about continuous learning, professional reinvention, and encouraging women to pursue opportunities in cybersecurity. She views her previous legal and investigative experience as a valuable foundation for her future rather than a separate chapter, particularly because cybersecurity increasingly requires strong analytical, investigative, and problem-solving abilities. Mentorship, persistence, and a willingness to step outside her comfort zone have shaped her journey, while her dedication to endurance running and ultramarathons reflects the discipline and resilience she brings to her professional life. As she continues her cybersecurity education, Kathryn is focused on building a career where her legal, investigative, analytical, and emerging technical expertise can contribute to threat intelligence, threat hunting, digital forensics, and cyber investigations.
Her Interview
Ten minutes with Kathryn
01What’s the best career advice you’ve ever received?
I received some very direct advice from one of my instructors: be prepared for rejection. That really helped me go in with a perspective to not take rejection personally. Recently, my internship supervisor told me to have more grace for myself. I set my standards very high and need to be kinder on myself and not expect perfection so much. I now try to view mistakes as learning opportunities instead of failures.
02What advice would you give to young women entering your industry?
Don't be intimidated. It's easy to be, especially in a historically male-dominated field, but just take the risk and it'll work out. Stay strong, don't give up, and don't let imposter syndrome get to you. It gets us all.
03What are the biggest challenges or opportunities in your field right now?
One of the challenges was translating my legal experience and investigative experience to apply to cybersecurity roles. Not everyone sees the connection, but now with more experience it's easier to relate back to analytical skills, research skills, and investigative nature from the legal field. The technical side was the challenge, which is why I returned to school.
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