Mischel Kwon

Mischel Kwon analyzed vulnerabilities in federal networks and cyber-threats as both a director for the U.S. Computer Emergency Readiness Team and as the deputy director for IT Security Staff at the Justice Department. She is currently president and CEO of security consulting firm Mischel Kwon and Associates, specializing in technical defensive security, security operations and information assurance.

There aren’t many C-level women executives at technology companies, and even fewer among security firms, making Val Rahmani, CEO of Damballa, a rarity. Prior to Damballa, Rahmani headed up IBM’s Internet Security Systems division after leading IBM’s effort to acquire ISS for $1.3 billion in 2006.

A senior security researcher for Cisco Security, Mary Landesman specializes in malware research, prevention and detection techniques. Landesman has also written about antivirus software for About.com for the last 12 years. She was named a Microsoft MVP for her work in consumer security in 2009, 2010 and 2011.

Katie Moussouris, senior security strategist lead for the Microsoft Security Response Center, leads the security community outreach and strategy team at Microsoft. She also runs Microsoft Vulnerability Research, a group she founded that researches and reports vulnerabilities in third-party software. Before landing at Microsoft, Moussouris worked as a senior security architect for @stake. After the company’s acquisition by Symantec, she founded and ran Symantec Vulnerability Research.

Privacy is an important part of security, and nowhere more so than at social networking site Facebook. Last September, CEO Mark Zuckerberg appointed privacy expert Erin Egan as the new chief privacy officer of policy. Egan is responsible for making sure feedback from regulators, legislators, and experts is incorporated into Facebook. She works alongside Michael Richter, chief privacy officer of products.

The chief security officer (CSO) of the United Collections Bureau, Erin Jacobs is better known in security circles by her Twitter handle, @SecBarbie, and from her blog (www.secsocial.com/blog). She digs into various security and privacy issues, exploring how they relate to social media tools.

Justine Aitel is the CEO of Immunity, a company that specializes in penetration testing, vulnerability analysis and security assessments. Immunity created the CANVAS penetration-testing tool, used to search for weaknesses in the network.

As the vice president of information technology risk for IBM, Kristin Lovejoy is responsible for managing, monitoring and testing IBM’s corporate security and resiliency functions. Before taking on corporate security, she was vice president of security strategy for IBM Security Solutions. She was CTO and CIO of Consul prior to its acquisition by IBM in 2007.

A network security engineer and consultant with Carolina Advanced Digital, Jennifer Jabbusch Minella specializes in infrastructure security, including network access control, 802.1X and wireless security technologies. She runs the Security Uncorked blog and is a faculty member at the Institute of Applied Network Security.

Stacy Thayer is the driving force behind the SOURCE conference network—SOURCEBoston, SOURCEBarcelona and SOURCESeattle. SOURCE is intended to bridge the gap between business and security professionals and give them the tools and skills needed to improve decision making within an organization.