Tanya Janca
About Tanya Janca
Tanya Janca is a faculty member and cybersecurity expert with extensive experience in application security. She has held various leadership roles, including CEO and advisory positions, and is known for her contributions to initiatives aimed at increasing women's representation in the security field.
Work at IANS
Tanya Janca has been a Faculty Member at IANS since 2019. In this role, she contributes her knowledge and expertise in application security, providing valuable insights and training to students and professionals in the field. Her position at IANS is located in the West Coast of Canada, where she has been actively engaged in educating individuals about cybersecurity practices.
Education and Expertise
Tanya Janca studied Computing Science at Algonquin College of Applied Arts and Technology, achieving a degree in Computer Engineering Technology from 1998 to 2001. She also studied French as a second language at Académie de Formation Linguistique from 2007 to 2009, passing her government exam with CBC. Additionally, she attended Alliance Francaise, where she passed Government Level French Exams in 2010. Her educational background supports her expertise in application security.
Background
Tanya Janca has a diverse professional background in the field of cybersecurity and technology. She has held various positions, including Chief Executive Officer at Security Sidekick for two months in 2019, and Senior Cloud Advocate at Microsoft from 2018 to 2019. She has also worked for the Canadian Federal Government in Application Security and IT Security from 2014 to 2018. Her experience spans multiple roles that emphasize her commitment to enhancing security practices.
Achievements
Tanya Janca co-founded WoSEC (Women of Security), a global organization aimed at increasing the representation of women in the security field. She also founded the OWASP DevSlop project, focusing on DevSecOps and security automation. Janca has delivered hundreds of talks and trainings across six continents, showcasing her influence in application security. She initiated the #CyberMentoringMonday movement to connect mentors with mentees in the cybersecurity community and authored a DevSecOps Best Practices Checklist.
Current Roles
In addition to her role at IANS, Tanya Janca serves as the Head of Education and Community at Semgrep since 2023. She is also an Advisory Board Member at Cloud Defense since 2020 and at Aiya Corp from 2022 to 2024. These positions reflect her ongoing commitment to advancing education and community engagement in cybersecurity.