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Women's History Month
In Conversation with
LINA DABIT
A Techronicler interview with Lina Dabit, Executive Director, Field CISO at Optiv Canada.
Welcome to our Women’s History Month edition of Techronicler. Today, our guest is Lina Dabit, Executive Director and Field CISO at Optiv Canada. Before stepping into the corporate sector, Lina spent over two decades with the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP), ultimately serving as the commander of the Toronto Cybercrime Investigative Team. Her pivot into cyber was not driven by a love for code, but by a harrowing investigation involving a global predator—a moment that opened her eyes to how the digital landscape was fundamentally reshaping crime.
In this interview, Lina discusses why the industry needs to stop siloing threat actors, how she learned to own her power after being unfairly labeled as “aggressive,” and why she uses her executive platform to literally secure a seat at the table for the next generation of women in tech.
Techronicler: Thank you for joining us, Lina! A lot of careers look like straight lines on LinkedIn. How was yours different? Was there a pivotal moment or ‘happy accident’ that actually steered you toward your current role or niche?
Lina Dabit:
My career is the opposite of a straight line. I started as a front-line police officer in 1994, and as I moved across the spectrum of specialized operational roles (undercover operations, major crime, organized crime, protective operations, national security), younger me couldn’t have imagined the rapidly changing world we live in today and my future passion for cybersecurity.
I did not intersect with cybercrime directly until the 2010s when I was asked to lead the interviews of a 12-year victim who had been traumatized by a global serial predator a world away who had reached into lives of hundreds of children through their social media platforms.
That one investigation opened my eyes into how the digital landscape shaped crime, and I knew this was where I needed to be. When the opportunity to lead the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) Cybercrime team in Toronto opened up, I jumped at the chance and was privileged to lead that incredible team for nearly four years. Part of the draw for me was that no two days, or two files, were the same, and it often felt like we were building the plane while we were flying it, especially as the threat landscape around us evolved at break-neck speed. It was also an opportunity to surround myself with intelligent, innovative, and driven people focused on their roles as defenders.
From there, I made the move to Optiv.
Techronicler: Many women still find themselves as the “Only” (only woman, only WOC) in the room. When that happens now, how do you use that visibility to your advantage rather than letting it be a weight?
Lina Dabit:
I often use this as an opportunity to bring more women into the conversation and ensure they have a seat and a voice at the table. I am privileged to have a role that allows me the leeway to do this in a number of ways. For example, every public event I speak at, I request one or two passes that I can share to bring others into opportunities they may not have otherwise had.
Techronicler: Are women in leadership still penalized for being too direct or ‘sharp-elbowed’? Have you ever had to consciously unlearn the habit of being ‘too nice’ or ‘accommodating’ to get a project across the line?
Lina Dabit:
I was told on multiple occasions that I came off as “aggressive” and “emotional,” while at the same time, I saw my male peers being praised for their passion. I had to learn how to be the calm at the eye of the storm and to be direct in a firmer way. Truthfully this took me a long time to understand and an even longer time to feel comfortable in the power this gave me. I am often described as energetic, full-speed and passionate, but if my tone drops, and I suddenly start speaking slowly and enunciating like My Fair Lady….look out!
Techronicler: If you were given $10M to start a company today in a niche outside of your current field, what problem would you solve?
Lina Dabit:
I would start a company that supports adults with intellectual disabilities with training, coaching and opportunities for employment both within the company and externally. While the current employment market is especially challenging for many adults, for this community, finding meaningful full or part-time work is even more difficult. Many within this community want desperately to have a job, a purpose or to feel like a contributor. There are over 1 million adults with disabilities who could work but are unemployed in Canada alone. The lack of opportunities are something that we have the power to change.
Techronicler: What is the single best piece of advice you’ve ever received about negotiating—whether for salary, headcount, or project timelines?
Lina Dabit:
What are you willing to compromise on? Every negotiation involves a compromise of some sort, so you need to determine what your range is and then stick to it.
Techronicler: What is a piece of ‘common wisdom’ in the tech industry that you completely disagree with?
Lina Dabit:
How threat actors are identified in silos. Those lines have blurred. Chalking up an incident as a nation-state, organized cyber criminals or hacktivists may leave you inadvertently missing part of the picture. For example, nation-state actors often capitalize on how lucrative “traditional” cybercrime is and how it can be used to fund their activities. Or how organized crime groups will sometimes work hand-in-hand with nation-stat actors. Only thinking within these silos is akin to putting on blinders and hoping to see the big picture.
Techronicler: The “broken rung” (the first step up to manager) is a bigger obstacle than the glass ceiling. How are you personally helping junior women make that specific leap from individual contributor to lead?
Lina Dabit:
I mentor between nine and 11 mentees a year, and I love working with a range of experiences and levels. While focusing on entry-level mentees seems like the obvious starting point, I also make an effort to connect with high school and university students, as well as mentoring those who are currently at the manager and director levels as they work to move into senior leadership roles.
“I am often described as energetic, full-speed and passionate, but if my tone drops, and I suddenly start speaking slowly and enunciating like My Fair Lady….look out!”
Lina Dabit’s journey from a front-line police officer to a leading Field CISO is a masterclass in adaptability, resilience, and mission-driven leadership. Her ability to navigate the double standards placed on women in high-stakes environments—transforming labels of “emotional” into a formidable, calm authority—is a powerful playbook for any rising leader.
As we celebrate Women’s History Month, Lina’s dedication to protecting the vulnerable—both in her past life in law enforcement and in her vision for employing adults with intellectual disabilities—reminds us that the best technologists are, at their core, fierce defenders of human dignity.
Lina Dabit brings more than thirty years of operational and strategic leadership experience to her role at Optiv Canada. Dabit leverages her diverse security expertise to lead organizations toward a proactive approach to threat intelligence, third-party risk management and cross-functional security resilience. Dabit has led teams across multiple disciplines, including protective operations, emergency planning, threat intelligence and international, tactical operations.
Prior to her retirement from the Royal Canadian Mounted Police, Dabit was the commander of the Toronto Cybercrime Investigative Team, where she designed, implemented and directed strategic initiatives to optimize operations and establish efficient, scalable workflows while leading her team on several high-profile cybercrime investigations.