Rethinking Cybersecurity: From Awareness to Empowerment with Kyla Guru, Founder & CEO of Bits N'​ Bytes Cybersecurity Education

In this episode, host Raghu Nandakumara sits down with Kyla Guru, a Stanford University student and passionate cybersecurity advocate. Kyla's journey started at the age of 14, leading her to found Bits N' Bytes Cybersecurity Education. She shares the importance of proactive cyber education, insights from her work with government and private sector organizations, and the role of AI in cybersecurity defense. Kyla also emphasizes integrating security into product development and the significance of grassroots community engagement in fostering cybersecurity awareness.

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“Even with artificial intelligence, we should just think about how our defense in depth, our security posture hasn't necessarily changed that much. It has changed in terms of improvement, but it's a cat-and-mouse game and the threat actors are also improving so we have to adapt. It's not just a one-and-done. ‘I've done my security. I'm done with it. I'm not going to think about it.’ It's more so, ‘Okay, can we revise this now that the threat actors are evolving? What can we do to just stay ahead of the needle?’ And I think as designers, that's a big thing to think about when you're designing a product is like, ‘Okay, if I build this, if I design this this way, how would attackers try and go around it and what is their next move?”

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Time Stamps 

(00:43) Kyla's background and journey into cybersecurity

(08:28) Proactive approaches to cyber education

(11:09) Ways to measure cybersecurity education impacts

(19:25) Incorporating the zero trust concept into education

(25:53) Importance of secure by design

(32:52) Significance of user experience in security

(35:29) Day-to-day in threat intelligence

(38:21) Addressing common and recurring vulnerabilities

(42:39) AI's impact on cybersecurity

(47:08) Future of cybersecurity and the human element

(49:20) Advice to cybersecurity professionals

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Sponsor

Assume breach, minimize impact, increase resilience ROI, and save millions in downtime costs — with Illumio, the Zero Trust Segmentation company. 

Learn more at illumio.com.

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Links

Connect with Kyla on LinkedIn

Check out Bits N' Bytes Cybersecurity Education

Learn more about GirlCon