How Fortress found her way into cybersecurity without a clear roadmap

There is a particular kind of loneliness that comes with trying to build a career nobody around you fully understands.

It is the kind where you spend nights watching courses on a dim laptop screen while your friends get mentored through clearer and more traditional paths. The kind where curiosity becomes your only compass because there is no proven map ahead of you. 

Long before Fortress Abioye became a Cybersecurity Analyst at Trend Micro, she was simply a university student at Covenant University and an intern at KPMG, trying to understand why an entire department inside KPMG looked so mysterious and important.

Her first encounter with cybersecurity was almost accidental. In her 300 level, she heard her level adviser briefly mention the field. It sounded interesting, but distant, like one of those careers people talk about without fully explaining what the work actually involves. 

While aiming for a bachelor’s degree in Information and Communications Engineering, Fortress got a three-month internship at KPMG in a Technology Advisory role. Inside the company, there was a separate cybersecurity department in its own enclosed office. 

“While I was there, I realised there was a separate technical department for cybersecurity. They had a separate and enclosed office, and I was so curious about what they did,” Fortress said.

The separation fascinated her. She remembers being drawn less by the technical jargon and more by the aura around the people doing the work. They seemed to possess knowledge hidden from everyone else. 

She started asking questions. How do you get into cybersecurity? What exactly do you learn? What skills do you need? The answers she received were vague, sometimes confusing, but the curiosity stayed with her long after the internship ended.

How Fortress’ journey into Cybersecurity started

Back in school, Fortress began teaching herself cybersecurity outside her normal coursework. While many students treated holidays as a break from academic stress, she used hers to take online cybersecurity courses on Coursera, one after another, often deep into the night. 

“I took almost 10 courses over the semester, and the holiday that followed it too. The good thing was that these courses came with certifications, and this helped me because I could share them, and so people knew that I was interested in this field and I was actively working towards it,” Fortress said.

Certifications became her way of telling the world, and perhaps herself too, that this path was real. But ambition, especially in Nigeria’s growing tech ecosystem, often collides with financial reality. 

At one point, Fortress wanted to take the CompTIA Security+ certification exam, one of the most recognised entry-level cybersecurity certifications globally. She could afford the course preparation, but not the exam itself. So she learnt quietly without the validation of the certificate attached to it. 

“At the end of the day, I couldn’t really share that I had taken the course because I didn’t write the exam, but I can’t forget how much it advanced my knowledge,” Fortress said.

By the time Fortress reached 500 level, she still did not fully know whether she belonged in cybersecurity. That uncertainty followed her quietly despite all the courses, all the late nights, all the growing knowledge. Then a friend sent her an application for a cybersecurity internship programme. She ignored it at first. 

The fear was immediate and familiar: What if I am not good enough? What if other applicants are more qualified? It is the kind of private self-doubt that rarely appears on LinkedIn success stories but shapes many careers behind the scenes.

Fortunately, her friend insisted. He reminded her to apply again and encouraged her not to disqualify herself before trying. 

“I was too scared and unsure if I was good enough, so I abandoned it. He was kind enough to remind me again and encourage me to apply. I did. They got back to me, and after a series of interviews, I was in. I got to know later that I was one in 16 people chosen from more than 2000 people from various countries in Africa,” Fortress said.

The programme was the CPITS initiative by Trend Micro, and it became the defining turning point in her career. At the end of the programme, she ranked first among the seven participants who were retained and offered jobs.

Fortress is becoming the guide she once needed

In many ways, Fortress Abioye’s career has become a full-circle story. The young woman who once searched endlessly for direction is now helping others navigate the same uncertainty she faced years ago. And perhaps that is the quiet pattern underneath many meaningful careers in Africa’s tech ecosystem.

“Looking back, the decision that really had a positive impact on my career was to stick with what I didn’t really know about, but I had a burning passion for. Learning, asking questions, more learning and going out of my comfort zone. I still do that today and that’s what pushes my growth,” Fortress said.

Today, Fortress has turned that once-isolated journey into a mission larger than herself. Beyond her technical role, she teaches, mentors, writes articles on Medium, speaks publicly, and serves as an AWS Community Builder. 

She is especially passionate about helping more women enter cybersecurity because she understands firsthand how intimidating the field can appear from the outside.

Through her work, she actively challenges the assumption that women cannot handle deeply technical responsibilities by advising organisations around the world on security systems and infrastructure.

When asked what advice she would give to young African women hoping to follow a similar path, her answer carries the weight of lived experience rather than motivational cliché. 

“Seek out someone who can be a mentor or provide guidance for you. They don't have to be popular, just someone who knows what they are doing. Also, have passion for what you do. If there's no passion, it's easy to give up when the road gets rough, and it surely always does. Money is good, but passion is better. It keeps you for a long time,” she said.

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