Building Secure Software with Tanya Janca: From Coding to Cybersecurity Advocacy

In this episode of Cybersecurity Today, host Jim Love interviews Tanya Janca, also known as She Hacks Purple, a renowned Canadian application security expert and author. Tanya shares her journey from a software developer and musician to becoming a penetration tester and cybersecurity advocate. She discusses her work in training developers on secure coding practices and application security, emphasizing the need for integrated security training in academic programs and the software development lifecycle. Tanya also talks about the challenges women face in the cybersecurity field and her efforts to empower underrepresented groups through initiatives like WOsec and We Hack Purple. Sponsored by Meter, this episode dives deep into the importance of building security into software development and the potential role of AI in improving code security.

00:00 Introduction and Sponsor Message 00:18 Meet Tanya Janca: The Journey Begins 01:05 From Developer to Pen Tester 03:14 Empowering Women in Cybersecurity 13:11 Challenges in Academia and Training 19:18 The Need for Secure Coding 21:22 Challenges in Medical Device Security 22:18 The Economics of Open Source 24:43 Building Security into Development 26:14 Training and Cultural Shifts 32:33 AI and Secure Coding 39:03 Incident Response and Preparedness 39:54 Final Thoughts and Future Directions