Despite progress, women continue to be an underrepresented group in cyber and offensive security. Glass Firewall is a free event designed to inspire, educate, and empower women interested in security research and cybersecurity. By creating an accessible, inclusive space, the Glass Firewall Conference is helping to lower barriers and build a more substantial pipeline of women in cybersecurity.
How We Started
The idea for Glass Firewall took root during conversations between women leaders at GitHub, Capital One, HackerOne, and Salesforce, realizing the lack of women security researchers and engineers in security programs.
There is a perceived high barrier to entry into the ethical hacking community, and with so many accomplished and public security researchers, it can seem inaccessible and daunting. We aim to show women that anyone with any background can learn to hack, and by providing them with the foundations, we’re empowering them to get started.
- Kathryn Torelli, Co-Founder
Many of us involved in live hacking events don’t see many women participating. We broke down the communications and general participation in our bug bounty programs and realized that women are underrepresented in the pool of researchers. We changed the conversation to, “How do we fix that?”
As women in this space, we realized the following to be true:
- There’s a perceived high barrier to entry, leaving women to feel they need to be an expert to participate or be taken seriously.
- Many women won’t apply for a job if they don’t believe they’re 100% qualified.
- The industry doesn’t take as much time as it should to make the community more inviting.
We spent the summer of 2023 planning content and inviting speakers to create a program that could break down some of these barriers. Our goals for the Glass Firewall Conference are to:
- Create an inviting and safe space
- Focus on new and different career options in cybersecurity
- Provide content that can serve as a person’s first walk-through or as a refresher
- Share industry experience from various levels
- Lead an activity to put the skills to use
What We do
We at Glass Firewall aim to provide an inclusive, welcoming environment where women can explore ethical hacking without fear of judgment or intimidation.
Our events offer a dynamic lineup of workshops, panel discussions, and hands-on challenges to make ethical hacking and cybersecurity more accessible. The goal? To equip women with the skills, knowledge, and confidence to explore opportunities in offensive security and beyond.
Whether you’re looking to sharpen your technical skills, learn from experienced security professionals, or build meaningful connections, Glass Firewall is your chance to be part of a movement that’s reshaping the future of security through inclusion and innovation. Look to our previous years or blog posts to learn more, or look out for notifications for our next event!