No Password Required

No Password Required Podcast Episode 50 — Tanya Janca

Episode Summary

Tanya Janca — Education lead at Semgrep and an infosec parody song enthusiast Tanya Janca, also known as SheHacksPurple, is the Head of Community and Education at Semgrep and the best-selling author of "Alice and Bob Learn Application Security." With over twenty-five years of experience in coding, application security, and IT, Tanya has dedicated herself to "securing all the things.” Tanya's career journey began in the Canadian government, where she initially served as a software developer before transitioning to elections security, eventually becoming the IT Security Coordinator (CISO equivalent) of the 42nd General Election in Canada. Her time in the public sector led her to a pivotal career hack. Tanya refused to let her agency's limited travel budget hinder her cybersecurity education, so she seized countless speaking opportunities at cyber conferences in exchange for the free ticket. These conferences ignited her passion for educating future cybersecurity professionals. Today, having pivoted to the private sector, all of Tanya’s educational materials are freely available at Semgrep Academy, fulfilling a dream of hers. To kick off the show, Jack Clabby from Carlton Fields, P.A., and Kayley Melton from KnowBe4 discuss the potential extradition of Julian Assange to the United States. Assange faces an 18-count indictment, including allegations of conspiracy to commit computer crimes and violations of the Espionage Act. The discussion also delves into the negotiation surrounding Assange's extradition, particularly concerning the worlds’ view of the U.S. prison system. You can follow Tanya Janca on LinkedIn here: https://www.linkedin.com/in/tanya-janca/ You can follow Tanya Janca on Twitter here: @shehackspurple You can learn more about Semgrep Academy here: https://academy.semgrep.dev/

Episode Notes

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