A Ghanaian cybersecurity expert is turning her unusual mix of skills into a campaign to help women stay safe online, drawing on a life shaped by discipline, travel and years of professional training.
Xornam, who grew up in Accra, is launching “Glow Safe”, a project that blends beauty advice with lessons in digital security. The aim is to make online safety simple and relatable, especially for women.
Born to a Wala mother, Humu Yakubu, and a father from the Volta Region, Stephen Ababioo Dzidzornu, Xornamwas raised in Abossey Okai and Ablekuma. She is the eldest of four siblings and describes her upbringing as strict but formative.
“Things were not easy, but it made me who I am,” she says.
Her education took her from Mawuli School in Ho to HoPolytechnic, where she studied Accounting and hosted a radio programme on Volta Premier FM. She later moved to the United States and earned a degree in Cybersecurity from the University of Maryland Global Campus, graduating with a 3.83 GPA.
“I grew up knowing that beauty and discipline go hand in hand,” she explains. “My mother and my Auntie Jemila taught me that. Cybersecurity just gave me a language for it.”
Over the past two decades, she has built a career in the field, gaining several international certifications including CISSP, CISA, CGRC, CEH, ISO IEC 27001 Senior Lead Auditor, PMP and CMMC CCP. She is also the founder of Forever Solutions Group, a US based cybersecurity firm.
Xornam says she has mentored more than 50 people into cybersecurity careers, with a focus on supporting women.
Her new campaign seeks to connect everyday habits with online safety. “Your primer is your password.
Your skincare routine is your digital hygiene,” she says, describing how familiar concepts can help people understand cyber risks.
Away from work, she is a mother of three aged 16, 14 and 4. She enjoys fitness, vintage cars, home decoration and music, and has travelled to more than 100 cities worldwide. She speaks English, Ga, Twi and Ewe.
Now, she says, she wants to give back by sharing what she has learned.
Ghana has no shortage of beauty influencers and the world has many cybersecurity professionals. But Xornam’s attempt to combine both fields into a single message marks a different approach, one she believes can help more women protect themselves in an increasingly digital world.
Source: Kysfmonline