While we have many more women winners in our Top Global CISO Awards for 2024 that we will name in October, during CyberDefenseCon 2024, we wanted to spotlight some amazing young women who have won our scholarship in 2024. We congratulate them all. This year’s women in cybersecurity scholarships are co-sponsored by Cyber Defense Magazine and:
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THE WINNERS
Lena Allen is an award-winning Woman in Cyber Scholarship Winner in 2024 and Program Analyst for SAIC. As a dedicated Program Analyst with a focus on OSINT cybersecurity and cyber threat intelligence, I bring a comprehensive blend of law enforcement experience, business acumen, and technical expertise to the table. Currently enhancing my knowledge with an M.S. in Cyber Security and Operational Leadership at the University of San Diego, I’m a proactive and results-driven professional with an Active Secret Clearance. My career is distinguished by my unique ability to navigate the complexities of operational management and business development across federal sectors. She can be reached online at [email protected].
Samridhi Agarwal is an award-winning Woman in Cyber Scholarship Winner in 2024 and currently pursuing a Master’s degree in Information Security at Carnegie Mellon University. She is passionate about emerging technology and cybersecurity, with four years of industry experience as a cybersecurity associate and solution advisor. Throughout her career, she has collaborated with various clients and industries, analyzing their security infrastructure and implementing measures to address vulnerabilities in alignment with industry standards such as NIST and ISO27001. She is committed to continuous learning and exploring advancements to enhance global security and safeguard data. Samridhi can be reached online at [email protected].
Rajvi Shroff is an award-winning Woman in Cyber Scholarship Winner in 2024 and is a first-year college student majoring in computer science. She is a 4-time CTF national winner and 2-time National Cyber Scholar with Honors in national cybersecurity competitions, including Girls Go Cyberstart and CyberStart America, having placed in the top 34 in the US. She is a cybersecurity public speaker and has spoken at various SANS conferences and for the Linux Foundation about technologies such as quantum computers and topics such as cryptography, including keynoting at the SANS Pen Test Hackfest Summit. She has the GIAC GSEC and GIAC GFACT cybersecurity certifications and was invited to and is currently on the GIAC Advisory Board for scoring higher than 90% on the GSEC certification. She is the founder of Cyber Student Crew (previously Project Cyber), a global platform for cybersecurity-minded teens to write articles about digital security. She also served on the Youth Advisory Board for KQED, a public media broadcasting organization affiliated with NPR, where she co-produced a live radio talk show segment on cybersecurity to increase public awareness, for KQED Forum. She was named one of the 2023 Aspirations in Computing National Award Winners by NCWIT, the National Center for Women & Information Technology. Rajvi can be reached online at https://www.linkedin.com/in/rajvi-khanjan-shroff-791007261 or via email: [email protected]
Congratulations to all our winners!
PAST WINNERS SPOTLIGHT
About Kylie Amison
Kylie is a recent graduate of George Mason University where she obtained her Bachelors of Science degree in Cybersecurity Engineering with a minor in intelligence analysis. She currently holds two certifications, the Comptia Security + and Nowsecure Secure Mobile Development Professional. She is working full time at a leading mobile security company, NowSecure, as an Application Security Analyst where she does all types of fun things like exploit vulnerable apps, secure mobile application development, and contribute to exciting projects and important initiatives that are consistently highlighted throughout the security industry. In addition, she also works part time with startup company, Auspex Labs, as a Cybersecurity Software Developer, where she is the main developer on Diplomacy™, a geopolitical threat intelligence engine that combines a broad assortment of metrics and NLP sentiment analysis to calculate nuanced and real-time threat scores per nation state. She is also co-founder and CTO of Xenophon Analytics, a company that grew from shared interests in international political affairs and her project of building the geopolitical risk engine. With her award, she has received an opportunity for a part-time internship with CDM as a cybersecurity reporter and blogger. Reach out to her with story ideas: [email protected]
About Annabelle Klosterman
Annabelle Klosterman is a Cybersecurity Reporter for Cyber Defense Magazine (CDM) and CDM’s first Women in Cybersecurity scholarship awardee. She is a Cybersecurity Engineer for Southwest Airlines, Co-Founder/Program Director of the Cyber Community Club, and a Master’s Cyber Defense student at Dakota State University. Her areas of focus are offensive and defensive security, governance, risk and management, security consulting, program management, and cybersecurity training/outreach.
Throughout the years, Annabelle has competed in numerous competitions and placed nationally at the Collegiate Cyber Defense Competition in 2022 and 2023 and was a national finalist in CyberPatriot in 2019 and 2020. Additionally, she earned 1st place in the 2022 Idaho National Laboratory CyberCore CTF, and Women in Cybersecurity (WiCyS) CTF in 2021 and 2022. She holds SANS certifications in Cybersecurity Technologies (GFACT), Cloud Security (GCLD), and Incident Handling (GCIH).
Annabelle has spoken on cybersecurity and career topics at various events and organizations including US Cyber Games, RSA Conference, Secure360, Texas Cyber Summit, BSidesSATX, South Dakota InfraGard, Civil Air Patrol, and more. Annabelle’s goal is to be in a position that changes the way people view and handle security, for their protection and safety, and the benefit of everyone. Annabelle can be reached online at https://www.linkedin.com/in/annabelleklosterman and at her website https://www.annabelleklosterman.com/.
About Tiffany Dinh
Tiffany Dinh is a proud alumnus of The University of Alabama in Huntsville (UAH) where she received her Bachelor of Computer Engineering with distinction, graduating with Summa Cum Laude and minors in Global Studies and
Computer Science. On top of this, she boasts an impressive array of certifications, holding both CompTIA Security+ and CompTIA Network+. In her forward-looking trajectory, she is gearing up to acquire the esteemed CISSP certification and her Masters of Science in Computer Science.
Currently, Tiffany works as a Senior Cloud & Cybersecurity Engineer at SAIC. Here, she helms critical projects, from developing cloud infrastructure for the US ARMY DEVCOM to creating AI solutions for NASA Langley Research Center. She also works as a researcher at UAH’s Center for Cybersecurity Research and Education (CCRE). At CCRE, she has led initiatives and handled classified projects for government contractors and agencies.
She is also passionately involved in her community and academic endeavors. Notably, she founded UAH’s Women in Cybersecurity chapter and has made significant contributions in her leadership positions at UAH’s Honors College and Student Government Association. Outside of her cybersecurity pursuits, she has been recognized by several prestigious bodies, from being a CrowdStrike Next Gen Scholar to earning the title of a National Security Agency (NSA) Stokes Scholar. Her journey, marked by consistent achievements and leadership, stands testament to her drive in the cybersecurity field.
Beyond her academic and professional life, Tiffany is a firm believer in lifelong learning. She’s determined to continue broadening her horizons with aspirations to give back to the cybersecurity community and inspire future generations.
Honored with the opportunity with Cyber Defense Magazine, Tiffany is excited to delve into her role as a cybersecurity reporter and blogger. This new venture aligns seamlessly with her objective to share knowledge, highlight advancements, and drive conversations in the dynamic world of cybersecurity.
I’m deeply honored to receive the Cyber Defense Media Group Women in Cybersecurity scholarship. As I navigate my Master’s in Computer Science at The University of Alabama in Huntsville, this award reinforces my aspiration to further delve into advanced education, potentially pursuing a PhD. My ultimate aim is to instigate meaningful advancements in cybersecurity, and this scholarship is a pivotal step towards that vision.
This year’s women in cybersecurity scholarships are co-sponsored by Cyber Defense Magazine and:
Unified Mobile App Defense: Appdome is a unified mobile app defense platform for Android & iOS apps. With Appdome, mobile brands bring together end-to-end automation for 300+ mobile app security, anti-fraud, anti-malware, anti-cheat, anti-bot, geo compliance and other defenses in the mobile DevOps pipeline. Streamline cyber delivery. Achieve continuous protection for Android & iOS apps. Learn more at https://www.appdome.com/.