Reflections on WiCyS

I was fortunate to attend the Women in Cybersecurity (WiCyS) 2026 conference in Washington, DC last week. With over 2,000 attendees from 23 countries, it was an inspiring gathering focused on educating, networking, and  elevating women and their allies in the cybersecurity profession.

A personal highlight was re-connecting with Andrea Molnár, who had attended the inaugural OpenSSL Conference as a Foundation scholar last year, and Bridget Davis, who participated in meetings and events the Foundation organized in North Carolina last November in partnership with Cisco. In-person events are all about connection, and seeing a face you know among a crowd of 2,000 people makes you feel a little stronger sense of belonging!

Looking back through my conference notes, one message that really hit home for me is that we are living in a world with more information that anyone can possibly process and need to develop our filtering skills. You need to be brave enough to make decisions even when you don’t—and realistically can’t have—all of the information. Being the one to weigh the situation and make a hard decision gives others around you something solid to stand on when they are surrounded by noise. This is the kind of skill that will make for great leaders, not just in today’s tech landscape but in all sectors.

Thank you to our supporters who make it possible for OpenSSL Foundation staff to attend events like this one so that we can continue to raise awareness for open source privacy and security tools. It was great to see that some of our sponsors at OpenSSL Foundation—like Cisco—are also sponsors of WiCyS and committed to recruiting, retaining, and advancing women in cybersecurity!