Women in CyberSecurity WA

📣 WiCyS Western Washington is excited to announce our rebranding to WiCyS Washington, aiming to be inclusive of the entire state! We encourage interested WiCyS members to consider running for a board position in our newly branded affiliate. Come be part of our exceptional leadership team! We are pleased to announce that Caroline Song, currently serving as our Secretary, has been appointed as Interim President during this transition. 🚨The elections and onboarding process is being managed directly by WiCyS National. 🗓 Here is the election timeline: 1. Application period: July 1 - 12 An email containing the application from WiCyS Global has been sent out. 2.  Voting period: July 15 - 26 WiCyS Global will email you a ballot to cast your votes. 3.  Leadership transition: August 1 New board members will begin onboarding. *Please note: Only those with active WiCyS Global memberships are eligible to apply for board positions within the affiliate. However, anyone subscribed to the WiCyS Western Washington mailing list is eligible to vote. #wicys #womeninsecurity #womenincyber #womenempowerment #leadership #diversityandinclusion

Great news!!! We've been able to secure more sponsors, and we have re-opened registration! Don't miss the opportunity to connect with local security professionals and enjoy an amazing venue, all for free. #owasp #owaspseattle #security #social

Celebrating Basma Basem (MSc cybersecurity, CCSP). for her nomination for the prestigious cybersecurity women of the world Edition 2024.

Exciting news! Eva Benn CISSP, CEH, CCSP, Security Plus, GIAC x5, whom I nominated for the People’s Choice Award in cybersecurity, has been selected as a finalist! I am certain that anyone that knows Eva would agree with me that she is deserving of this award. She truly pours her heart out to help women find their voice, and her commitment to the field of cybersecurity is inspiring. The final winner is determined by public vote. Voting takes 1 minute. Just use this link (https://lnkd.in/gSkmdqVv), scroll down to Item #10, and select Eva Benn. Eva has a way of making everyone feel special, and she pours her heart into everything she does. And this goes way beyond security! She has a lesser-known talent for hosting the most fabulous brunches. Here are a few pictures from a fun brunch she hosted. She just has a way of building a community around her and creating a sense of belonging that everyone feels. Join me in recognizing Eva and ensuring she gets the recognition she deserves and vote for her. #cybersecuritywomanoftheyear #teameva #wicys #isaca #issapugetsound #owasp #womeninsecurity #womenincyber #cybersecurity #cyber

Join us and Alex Olsen for a two-hour practical workshop on web application penetration testing, proudly delivered to you by TCM Security, OWASP Seattle Chapter and Women in CyberSecurity (WiCyS)- Western Washington. The workshop will focus on the basics of web app pentesting, exploring the #OWASP Top 10 vulnerabilities, and diving into specific issues like injection flaws, logic problems, and access control weaknesses. We'll also discuss where to go next in your learning journey, including career paths in #AppSec and resources for skill development. Huge shoutout to TCM Security and Heath Adams for giving back to the community by offering this amazing workshop completely FREE. And shoutout to our local #OWASP and #WiCyS teams that worked tirelessly to put this together: Eva Benn, Michael H., Arjun G., Keri Kusznir, Clara Andress, Zabrina McIntyre, CISSP, PMP. You don't want to miss this. Register here: https://lnkd.in/gNPff4_D

Ok…coming out of a tough day and seeing this. Am I allowed to cry? Because I don’t think I can hold my tears right now. 😭 I am beyond grateful and honored to be recognized as a finalist for People’s Choice Cybersecurity Woman of the Year Award 2024. I honestly have no words right now. Every single woman that was nominated is truly amazing and deserve this just as much. The judges definitely had a tough job. I truly don’t look at this as a personal achievement but rather as an collective celebration of all of us women who have dedicated our lives to make a difference in the security community. This mission is much greater than each of us individually and I am so thankful for Carmen Marsh and the United Cybersecurity Alliance for providing us the opportunity to celebrate our contributions to the security community and for inspiring us to continue to make a difference. Knowing I have positively impacted so many people’s careers is the biggest reward I could ask for. And I am only getting started. Thanks again, Vanessa Ross and Marivell Alicea-Gamlin for nominating me. I still can’t believe this is actually happening! The final winner for each category will be chosen by vote and announced at the formal gala in Las Vegas on August 5th. If you can and choose to, you can vote for me here: https://lnkd.in/gMkBK4yQ #cybersecuritywomanoftheyear #womeninsecurity #diversityandinclusion

Meet the Board "LJ Johnson" I started in Information Security more than 30 years ago (before it was called “cyber”) and have had many different roles throughout my career. I’ve worked primarily in the Financial and Consumer Products sectors, holding senior security leadership positions including as global information security officer, enterprise operations director, eCommerce director, security architect and attack surface management senior director. Beyond Security, I also have direct business experience in eCommerce, business operations, organizational change management, global supply chain and application development.I’m proud to be the founding president of the ISSA Chapter in Portland, Oregon as well as VP of the WiCyS Oregon Affiliate. I’m currently on the WiCyS Western Washington leadership board focused primarily on Membership. Now that I’m (semi) retired, I have devoted more of my time to tech consulting and my true passion for mentoring folks who are interested in a Security career.I currently live in Anacortes, WA (the gateway to the San Juan Islands) with my wife and 2 pups. I love the Pacific Northwest and enjoy volunteering for local community organizations as well as playing in the beautiful outdoors.

Let's meet Basma Basem (MSc cybersecurity, CCSP)., our VP of WiCyS Western Washington. Basma is a cybersecurity expert with more than 16 years of experience in the field. She has a degree in computer engineering, a diploma in cybersecurity, and a master's degree in cybersecurity. She also received an excellent award for her research paper. Basma joined Microsoft in 2016 as a cloud solution architect for security and compliance and won the diamond technology award in 2019. In 2020, she became a security program manager in Microsoft Security, Digital security resilience. Basma is passionate about mentoring and empowering women in cybersecurity. She joined WiCyS during the pandemic and became our VP in early 2023. Since then, she has been instrumental in making our affiliate live, active community organizing events, panels, and creating affiliate roadmaps. She also helped create new board roles that enabled us to connect with student chapters and collaborate with Microsoft Blue hat 2023. Basma's impact on our community is remarkable and inspiring. 

Black hoodie training at Recon 2024 in Montreal. free ticket to the conference as well as some invaluable training! https://lnkd.in/gKhqhUsi

Last week our Affiliate had the pleasure of gathering for networking at TopGolf in Renton. It was wonderful to mix, mingle, and meet so many new faces who came out to join our affiliate for the first time! We are excited to continue to grow our Women in CyberSecurity (WiCyS) Affiliate to serve our community. Many thanks to GuidePoint Security for being such gracious hosts and for sharing the resources of GPS University with our community! We look forward to partnering again soon. With thanks for our Affiliate leaders Basma Basem (MSc cybersecurity, CCSP) Caroline Song, Zabrina McIntyre, Eva Benn, CISSP, CEH, CCSP, Security Plus, GIAC x5 Bella P. C. LJ Johnson Renae Martin Lea Snyder @Dea