By Byron V. Acohido

When Tennisha Martin, a veteran software quality assurance analyst, sought to move over to a security team a few years ago, the doors should have been wide open, given the much-ballyhooed cybersecurity skills shortage.

Related: Modernizing security training

Instead, she ran into a rigid wall of shortsightedness. So, Martin taught herself ethical hacking skills and then founded  Black Girls Hack to guide others down the trail she blazed.

As Black Hat USA 2024 rolls into high gear next week, BGH is thriving. The non-profit boasts 2,500 members globally (all genders and races) and has lined up top-tier corporate backers, led by Microsoft and Google, to back its programs.

What’s more, it is putting on a content-rich conference, SquadCon 2024, in parallel with Black Hat, at The Industrial Event Space in Vegas mid next week.

I had the chance to visit with Martin and BGH group leaders Tammy Hinkle and Rebekah Skeete; we discussed how BGH fosters a confidence-building community. Members get access to resources such as training vouchers and tools like RangeForce. And the only requirement is to “not be a jerk,” Martin says. For a full drill down, give a listen to the accompanying podcast.

BGH’s emphasis on diversity has the potential to be a game changer. In a hyper-interconnected operating environment, grasping the context of legit vs. malicious connections, on the fly, is vital.

So how much might a diverse security team contribute to staying on top of context in such a highly dynamic environment?  I’ll keep watch and keep reporting.

Acohido

Pulitzer Prize-winning business journalist Byron V. Acohido is dedicated to fostering public awareness about how to make the Internet as private and secure as it ought to be.

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August 3rd, 2024