Tribe of Hackers

67Georgia Weidman

“I’d like to put to rest the idea that preventative security alone can solve all your security problems.”

Twitter: @georgiaweidman • Website: www.georgiaweidman.com

Georgia Weidman is a serial entrepreneur, penetration tester, security researcher, speaker, trainer, and author. Her work in the field of smartphone exploitation has been featured internationally in print and on television. Georgia has presented or conducted training around the world, including venues such as the NSA, West Point, and Black Hat. She was awarded a DARPA Cyber Fast Track grant to continue her work in mobile device security and is a Cybersecurity Policy Fellow at New America. Georgia is also the author of Penetration Testing: A Hands-On Introduction to Hacking from No Starch Press.

If there is one myth that you could debunk in cybersecurity, what would it be?

I’d like to put to rest the idea that preventative security alone can solve all your security problems. This may sound strange since that’s how most preventative security products are marketed. “Buy our panacea solution and you will never have to worry about security again!” And yet, all these enterprises with their giant security budgets are still getting breached. What’s missing? Penetration testing, vulnerability assessment, impact analysis, call it what you want; the missing piece is simply confirming that your security ...