Albertina Cardiel Chavez,
IT Governance, Risk and Compliance Director and CyberSec Evangelist,
Softtek Integration Systems
Betty Cardiel is the IT Digitized Governance Risk and Compliance Director for Softtek, the largest IT service provider in Latin America. Softtek helps media and entertainment companies build strategic solutions to create revenue opportunities by leveraging their content investments. Softtek services accelerate the implementation of new digital sales channels, integrate connected-life digital solutions, unlock legacy system innovations, and revitalize the customer experience. Softtek helps transform and integrate M&E company’s operations by bringing together the right skills, processes, applications, and technology that powers personalization. Softtek’s U.S. headquarters is in Addison (Dallas), Texas from where Albertina (Betty) Cardiel leads Softtek’s global IT Governance Risk and Compliance practice. Betty implemented and has led the Global Diversity and Inclusion program at Softtek since 2017. Betty recently relocated from Mexico to the USA in 2016, and she frequently travels around the globe.
With over 25 years in Information Security, Betty has participated in helping clients increase their cybersecurity knowledge and preparedness. Betty is passionate about security and has successfully managed her career by combining her expertise in technology with her love for training, empowering women into STEM and leadership positions, and supporting the community. She believes by focusing on instilling confidence in clients and the new generation of tech users, she can improve their technical knowledge, skills, and capabilities.
While Betty is recognized as an Information Security Leader working for the largest private IT vendor in Latin America, she admits she got her start in the information technology business purely by accident. After receiving a scholarship to a university in Spain, the Mexico native studied abroad and graduated with a degree in Computer Science. Returning home to Mexico, Betty entered the technology space in the 1990’s where she worked on developing the IT curriculum for local schools. She later used her prodigal programming skills on system upgrades and commerce projects in the midst of the Y2K scare. A year later because of the tragic events of September 11th, 2001, Betty sought out to improve cybersecurity in Mexico. “September 11th made the whole world more conscious about cybersecurity.” Betty l began investing in herself and created business propositions to develop cybersecurity curriculums. Mexico was full of talented programmers and entrepreneurs but there were not many people with experience in information security.
Betty not only needed assistance from the universities and government during her transition to cybersecurity, but she also had to help herself by changing her whole mindset. She says going from programming to cybersecurity was like learning a new language and just as she had devoted her youth to computer programming, she had to pivot and dedicate herself to learn the ins and outs of cybersecurity. This ability to reteach herself and evolve with the ever-changing technology landscapes has helped Betty become a top cybersecurity trainer.
In 2012 Betty Cardiel began studying the legislation in place for cybersecurity to help companies stay in compliance. She believes that the more she educates her clients about cyber laws, the less time and money her clients need to spend to maintain compliance with best practices. “If you are spending 75% of your IT budget meeting regulations and making your business more efficient something is wrong.” She believes much more of that money could be going towards cybersecurity awareness and user training.
Now at the forefront of cybersecurity, Betty believes time spent on awareness campaigns for not only businesses but our youth is the most valued. “The innovative destruction is never-ending,” she says. “The platforms are made for young people to get hooked. Just because tech is become more accessible and makes our lives easier, doesn’t mean that it is safer.” Betty invites young children, especially females, and introduces them to cybersecurity. The response she gets from middle school and high school students has been very promising. Betty believes that the natural curiosity of the Latino community, especially the kids, will help lead to new ways of combating cyber-attacks. In 2011 Betty began a non-profit program that trained Latino youth on cyber safety practices, including abstinence from “sexting”. “It’s creativity that leads to the workarounds we need.” In 2019 Betty coordinated a “Girls in Science Day event” where she persuaded the Local School District, Municipal Government, and Softtek to host “Achieve … Girl”. Having this level of influence and showing the capacity to be inclusive with the private sector, public sector, and education, demonstrates one of Betty’s qualities… getting the helix rolling always moving forward, and making things happen to inspire young girls into pursuing technology careers. As a TEDx speaker, Betty evangelized the importance of cybersecurity to Mexican students and succeeded in formalizing a model of Ethical Hacking Academies in Mexico as a foundation to create the first Global Cybersecurity Operation Center of Excellence (COE) by partnering with universities and high schools in the region.
As part of Softtek’s Global Diversity and Inclusion council), Betty has led several workshops empowering women in STEM to take leadership roles thereby impacting the lives of at least 400+ women and girls globally; as leader of the gender committee in Softtek during the pandemic, a successful program named “PowerUp” was launched to promote inclusiveness by empowering women leadership, unconscious bias acknowledgement and wellness, this initiative is still growing up across the company with successful testimonials of each participant. Her most recent program is directed to young girls from 7 to 12 years old world-wide to begin their adventures in the programming world. More than 200 program participants are be trained and assigned a technical challenge. Those who succeed will have the opportunity to be CEO of Softtek for a day.
When asked about cybersecurity differences between businesses in the U.S. and Mexico, Betty wants to make one thing clear: technology has no borders. “A terrible mistake that legislators make is that they think that technology has borders, and that’s the same with cybersecurity,” Cardiel said. “What is different is the purpose. … But at the end of the day, our risks, our incidents, our security or cybercrime is there; it’s the same for all the world.”
To demonstrate this philosophy, Betty has led programs in both US and Mexican communities, recently participating actively with AEM DFW (Asociación de Empresarios Mexicanos in DFW) as part of a board leading the IT arm; with Colaborativo IT DFW leading the Women in Technology program supporting different events and panels such as the recent one held at Texas Instruments with the SHPE Organization https://www.shpedfw.org/ to encourage the Hispanic community to pursue STEM careers; and finally, working with the Mexican Consulate at DFW to organize the first Women Event on March 2020.
As a conscientious parent, Betty is aware that kids are exposed to cybersecurity threats. Therefore, to protect our children, Betty collaborated and coordinated talents with Universities and a Master’s thesis volunteer to create the “Star on the Fly” community program. This program aims to educate parents on how to protect their children as they use technology instead of trying to alienate children from technology. Her stance is that “we need to be aware and ready to ensure cyber security in our lives”
On 2021, Betty became part of the “Rosa es Rojo” board, a non-profit organization that makes wellness and prevention accessible for the high-risk cancer population of Hispanic women in North Texas, this year she was appointed as the board chair of directors, she is empowering women and the foundation leaders to the best use of digital media as one of the tools for this cause to improve and enable their quality of life.
Betty has received several recognitions in her career: She was nominated by the E|C-Council to be elected the Chief Information Security Officer in 2013 as part of the Grand Parenting program. She was one of the first Latinas who obtained the program’s CIO certification. Betty has received the “Leave a Mark” award, one of the most prestigious recognitions in Softtek that starts with an internal nomination due to their impact on demonstrating the core values of the organization. Betty has also received the Women in Technology award provided by” El Periodico La Sala”, a regional magazine from the center of Mexico and the Women in Technology award provided by the Dallas Business Journal in Texas on 2018.
Betty’s goals do not stop here, her vision and goals towards the future are inspired by continuing connecting new generations of women entrepreneurship, girls talent while helping them to create their new world; making available for them digital enablers to promote the gender opportunities for Latin girls and young woman by developing their beliefs and talent. With that spirit, Betty Cardiel is an official mentor of StartUp Mexico, Unreasonable Mexico and AT&T innovators, the common of these organizations is to serve as the media to support development and entrepreneurship through innovation and technology.
Some references of these mentions and Betty’s publications are found at:
• “Woman in Technology”, center of Mexico: https://www.lasala.mx/vidasocialags/premios-la-sala-2019/ • “Woman in Technology Dallas Business Journal: Meet the 2021 Women in Technology Award honorees – Bizwomen (bizjournals.com)
• Softtek Facebook Girls Event: (2) Facebook, https://www.facebook.com/216173775069988/videos/3181475041869810 • Rosa es Rojo: BOARD | Rosaesrojo
• Latino Leadership: Wired to Learn — Latino Leaders Magazine https://www.latinoleadersmagazine.com/janfeb20/2020/3/25/wired-to2021 • Learn Future of Outsourcing: A Spoonful of Digital Helps the Governance Go Down | Future of Sourcing A Spoonful of Digital Helps the Governance Go Down | Future of Sourcing
• 3 Cybersecurity Mistakes To Avoid (softtek.com): 3 Cybersecurity Mistakes To Avoid (softtek.com)
• IT Risk and Compliance: Interview with IT Risk and Data Expert, IT Risk and Compliance: Interview with IT Risk and Data Expert (softtek.com)
• Measure what matters: Measure What Matters: Linking IT Metrics to Business Value | Future of Sourcing
• TEDx talk: Albertina Cardiel: Abraza la seguridad informática desde la conciencia | TED Talk
