Jennifer Villarreal on how she upped her hacking game

09/19/24 • 30 min

Jen, a former military professional turned hacker, shares her journey into cybersecurity and her experiences with the Synack Red Team in the latest episode of WE’RE IN! She transitioned from fixing security issues to actively seeking vulnerabilities, inspired by her brother and motivated by her experiences at the storied hacker conference, DEF CON. Jen emphasizes the importance of skill development and preparation for women entering the male-dominated cybersecurity field, and discusses her preferred hacking tools and techniques.

In this episode of WE’RE IN!, Jennifer gives her take on AI in penetration testing, suggesting it should be used as a tool for initial reconnaissance but not for exploiting vulnerabilities.

Listen to hear more about:

Why all of Jennifer’s smart home devices’ warranties are voided
How anyone can be a hacker by following the Open Source Intelligence methodology to find vulnerabilities
The importance of producing high-quality work and going above and beyond to gain trust in the pentesting industry

In this episode of WE’RE IN!, Jennifer gives her take on AI in penetration testing, suggesting it should be used as a tool for initial reconnaissance but not for exploiting vulnerabilities.

Listen to hear more about:

Why all of Jennifer’s smart home devices’ warranties are voided
How anyone can be a hacker by following the Open Source Intelligence methodology to find vulnerabilities
The importance of producing high-quality work and going above and beyond to gain trust in the pentesting industry

Previous Episode

Sara Mosley on best practices for Zero Trust

Sara Mosley, technical director for the Bureau of Diplomatic Security's Cybersecurity and Technology Services, works with the U.S. State Department to help identify threats and potential compromises. In her role, she advocates for a Zero Trust approach that focuses on protecting critical data rather than trying to secure everything equally. She recommends balancing security measures with mission needs to prevent users from circumventing security protocols.

In this episode of WE’RE IN!, Sara underlines the importance of collaboration between IT and security teams to adequately protect data and address relevant threats in anticipation of the September deadline for federal Zero Trust compliance.

Listen to hear more about:

The role of the private sector in adopting Zero Trust frameworks and providing security tools
Preparing for emerging technologies like quantum computing and their accelerated development due to AI advancements
Why Sara believes hackers will initially benefit more from AI advancements than defenders

Next Episode

Bill Dunnion on the push for transparency in security breaches

Bill Dunnion, chief information security officer at global telecommunications company Mitel, is well-versed in the critical nature of telecom infrastructure and the devices that support it. He’s also keenly aware of how his role as CISO is under increasing scrutiny from regulators around the world and in Canada, where Mitel is based.

In this episode of WE’RE IN!, Bill expresses skepticism about AI, preferring the term "machine learning" for most current applications, but he acknowledges its potential benefits, such as improving threat detection.

Listen to hear more about:

How Bill's diverse background in telecom, IT, and security has provided him with a well-rounded perspective to approach his CISO role
Why the integration of voice, data, and collaboration tools in enterprise communications presents new cybersecurity challenges
Why security awareness is crucial for both professional and personal life