No Password Required Podcast Episode 50 — Tanya Janca

Summary

The conversation discusses the extradition case of Julian Assange and the role of the US prison system in the decision. It also explores Tanya Janca's role at Semgrep and her passion for affordable cybersecurity education. Additionally, it touches on Tanya's experience in election security and the importance of transparency in the process. Tanya discusses her volunteer work with the Canadian government, where she helps educate students about cybersecurity. She talks about the importance of teaching young people about privacy, protecting digital devices, and understanding cyber threats. Tanya also mentions her involvement in the Cyber Titan competition and her efforts to promote cybersecurity as a career. She shares her experience writing the book 'Alice and Bob Learn Application Security' and her unique approach to making technical concepts accessible through stories and different learning styles. Tanya also talks about the importance of mentoring and how she has benefited from mentors throughout her career.

Keywords

Julian Assange, extradition, US prison system, cybersecurity education, Semgrep, election security, transparency, volunteer work, Canadian government, cybersecurity education, privacy, digital devices, cyber threats, Cyber Titan, promoting cybersecurity, career, Alice and Bob Learn Application Security, technical concepts, stories, learning styles, mentoring

Takeaways

• The extradition case of Julian Assange highlights the differences in prison systems between the US and other Western democracies.
• Tanya Janca's role at Semgrep involves community management and education in the field of cybersecurity.
• Affordable cybersecurity education is crucial for organizations to effectively use security tools and integrate them into their programs.
• Election security requires centralization, knowledge sharing, and transparency to ensure public trust in the process. Volunteer work with the Canadian government focuses on educating students about cybersecurity, including topics like privacy and protecting digital devices.
• Promoting cybersecurity as a career is important, and initiatives like the Cyber Titan competition help engage high school students in learning about cybersecurity.
• Tanya's book 'Alice and Bob Learn Application Security' uses stories and different learning styles to make technical concepts accessible.
• Mentoring is valuable for personal and professional growth, and Tanya has both benefited from mentors and become a mentor herself.

Titles

• The Importance of Transparency in Election Security
• Cybersecurity as a Career: The Cyber Titan Competition
• The Value of Mentoring: Tanya's Experience as a Mentor and Mentee

Sound Bites

• "I am head of community and education, which is a role they made up just for me."
• "They decided, I think in 2017, we need to make a task force to make sure they know cyber."
• "Defenders need to understand attacks or they can't be good at defending, right? Like we're teaching them ethics as we teach them how to hack."
• "Alice and Bob are going to learn secure coding this time."

Chapters

00:00 The Extradition Case of Julian Assange

08:18 Affordable Cybersecurity Education at Semgrep

30:40 Tanya's Volunteer Work with the Canadian Government

31:35 Promoting Cybersecurity as a Career

34:02 Making Technical Concepts Accessible: 'Alice and Bob Learn Application Security'

39:45 The Value of Mentoring