👩🏻‍💻My journey into ethical hacking began at 13, when I taught myself to code. This early passion led me to freelance web development throughout high school and college, where I built websites for small businesses and educational institutions. Recognizing the need to secure my clients' sites, I delved into application security, self-teaching everything I could about cybersecurity. This eventually led to an internship at a penetration testing firm, where my years of web development proved invaluable in web hacking.

🎓 After earning a degree in Computer Science, I pursued a Master's in Cybersecurity at Georgia Tech and completed numerous certifications through an NSA grant. I went on to specialize in application security penetration testing, with a focus on web, cloud, and AI hacking. In my current role as an Application Penetration Tester at OnDefend, I search for vulnerabilities and covert channels in web and mobile applications.

🚀 Beyond my technical pursuits, I am deeply committed to mentoring underrepresented groups in cybersecurity. For the past eight years, I have been a technical mentor in the Technovation Challenge, an international coding competition where girls build apps and AI models to address community issues. Two of my teams reached the international semifinals, and I was honored to speak at the 2024 Technovation Global Celebration.

📢 I'm also an active member of Women in Cybersecurity (WiCyS), Women in Security and Privacy (WISP), and Rewriting the Code (RTC). Through these organizations, I’ve hosted talks, organized local meetups, and volunteered at conferences to promote greater diversity in cybersecurity. My advocacy has been recognized with awards and scholarships from (ISC)², FS-ISAC, the NSA, the Infosec Institute, ESET, WISP, WiCyS, and more.

🦸🏻‍♀️To me, hacking is a superpower that can be used for good or evil, and I’m dedicated to ensuring that more women and underrepresented groups can harness that power to protect humanity. I'm happy to speak about cybersecurity topics ranging from career advice to hacking demos, and I'm particularly passionate about empowering underrepresented groups in our field. If you would like me to speak for your organization, please submit a request! I have spoken for organizations including the World Bank, Technovation, and the Women In Cybersecurity (WiCyS) Conference. You can view my full speaking history on my website: https://lyondelsordobetta.wixsite.com/betta.