29/07/2026
Why did I become interested in cybersecurity?
Because I learned the hard way how easy it is to become a victim of a cyber attack.
One morning, from 7 am, my phone started ringing. My inbox was full of new emails, and I had no idea what was going on.
I checked my sent emails and my heart sank.
Thousands of messages had been sent from our company email account to different businesses, asking them to pay an invoice.
But we didn’t send them.
Someone had gained access to our account.
At that time, I was running my own small business in the Netherlands. After having a baby, I was dealing with “baby brain” (which, honestly, was very easy to blame for everything 😉). I was tired, had a lot on my mind and sometimes struggled to remember things.
And I made a mistake.
I chose a password that today I would never use.
Simple. Short. Easy to remember.
At the same time, I had opened an office in Almere and was sharing this news publicly. Looking back, it is easy to see how someone could connect a few simple pieces of information and try to access my data.
The stress I felt that day was something I had never experienced before. It was one of the worst days of my life.
Seeing your business, your data and your reputation at risk is a horrible feeling.
At that time, I thought:
“We are a small business. Who would want to attack us?”
And that is exactly where many businesses make a mistake.
Cyber attacks do not only happen to large companies. They can happen to anyone: individuals, small businesses and organisations of any size.
Is your password your date of birth? Your child’s name? Your company name and the year it was founded?
Think about how easy it is to find this information online.
After my email account was hacked, I discovered the world of cybersecurity and started learning more about it.
Since then, I've realised how low cyber awareness still is and how many people believe cyber attacks only happen to others.
In today's digital world, cyber awareness is something we all need.
That's why I believe sharing cybersecurity knowledge is so important.