Valerie Thomas is a security researcher and consultant that specializes in social engineering, cyber-physical penetration testing, and critical infrastructure evaluation. After obtaining her bachelor’s degree in Electronic Engineering, Valerie led information security assessments for the Defense Information Systems Agency (DISA) evaluating enterprise and tactical technology solutions before joining private industry. Valerie is the co-author of Building an Information Security Awareness Program: Defending Against Social Engineering and Technical Threats with Bill Gardner. Her unique Defense and civilian background provide her with a solid understanding of intrusion detection, data loss prevention, and physical access control. Valerie has recently applied her skillset to hardening the public transportation domain across a variety of operational technologies. Throughout her career, Valerie has conducted penetration tests, vulnerability assessments, compliance audits, and technical security training for executives, developers, and other security professionals. Additionally, Valerie has presented and trained on various technical topics at DEF CON, multiple BSides events, Derbycon, Black Hat, HackMiami, Hack In The Box, Hack In Paris, and several other conferences.
Be sure to catch Valerie’s talk at ShowMeCon!
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When Pen Tests Go Wrong