10-Year Girl Hacker Speaks at Defcon 19

Sometimes when perusing the web for interesting articles and stories about SheHeroes around the world, I stumble upon someone who just sticks with me. The story of this ten-year-old girl was one those stories.

Cyfi is a ten-year-old hacker, artist, Girl Scout and athlete in California. Oh and she also happens to be the co-founder of DEFCON Kids. Defcon Kids is part of DEFCON, the largest gathering of hackers in the world. And not just any hackers you know, these are the ones they make movies about. DEFCON kids was created for beginner hackers age 8-16.

But Cyfi wasn’t just helping found this child’s mini conference; she was also a speaker at the Defcon security conference where she led a talk called, "Apps - A Traveler of Both Time and Space; And What I Learned About Zero-Days and Responsible Disclosure.

During her talk Cyfi revealed that she had discovered a zero-day exploit in games on iOS and Android devices, the exploit has been confirmed as a new class of vulnerability by researchers. Cyfi made the discovery after she "started to get bored" with the pace of farm-style games.

According to Cyfi’s bio on the Defcon website, "She has spoken publicly numerous times, usually at art galleries as a member of “The American Show,” an underground art collective based in San Francisco. Cyfi’s first gallery showing was when she was four. Last year she performed at the SF MOMA Museum in San Francisco. DEFCON Kids will be her first public vulnerability disclosure. Cyfi has had her identity stolen twice. She really likes coffee, but her mom doesn’t let her drink it."

Cyfi is such an awesome inspiration because she is a prime example of how girls can not only be as fiercely brilliant when it comes to technology as any boy, but they can be fiercely brilliant enough to not only surpass the boys, but the adult males in their field as well.

If you’re looking for a little inspiration for both the SheHeroes and Heroes you hang out with, share Cyfi’s story of cyber awesomeness with them.

Follow us on Social Media!

Contact Us

Address

PO Box 501
9523 US Highway 42
Prospect, KY 40059
SheHeroes