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Presentation Abstracts and Speaker Biographies

OWASP New Zealand Day 2023

Conference Keynote

OWASP: Tracing the Journey of Web Application Security from Past to Future

Vandana Verma Sehgal - Chair, OWASP Global Board of Directors
Thursday, 10:05

Abstract

The Open Web Application Security Project (OWASP) has profoundly influenced the cybersecurity arena since its inception in 2001, primarily focusing on web application security. This talk outlines the evolution of OWASP, beginning with its establishment and early development of the influential OWASP Top Ten - a document identifying the most prevalent security risks to web applications. We then shift to a discussion of the present day, where OWASP has grown into a global entity, offering a variety of tools, documentation, and community resources that contribute significantly to cybersecurity best practices.

Finally, we delve into the future of OWASP, conjecturing its direction based on emerging trends in web applications and cybersecurity. This includes speculation on how OWASP will continue adapting to the evolving threat landscape and the growing complexity of web applications. Through this exploration, we illustrate how OWASP’s journey reflects the evolution of web application security itself and its increasing relevance in a digitally interconnected world.

Speaker Biography

Vandana Verma Sehgal is Security Leader at Snyk. She is a member and Chair of the OWASP Global Board of Directors. She has experience ranging from Application Security to Infrastructure and now dealing with Product Security. She also works in various communities towards diversity initiatives InfosecGirls & WoSec. She has been Keynote speaker / Speaker / Trainer at various public events, including Global OWASP AppSec events to BlackHat events to regional events like BSides events in India.

Vandana is a member of the Black Hat Asia Review Board as well as multiple other conferences including Grace Hopper India, OWASP AppSec USA to name a few. She is also one of the organiser of BSides Delhi.

She has been the recipient of multiple prestigious awards, like Cyber Security Woman of the Year Award 2020 by Cyber Sec Awards, Global cybersecurity influencer among IFSEC Global’s “Top Influencers inSecurity and Fire” Category for 2019, Cybersecurity Women of the year award by Women Cyberjutsu Society in the Category “Secure Coder.” She has also been listed as one of the top women leaders in this field of technology and cybersecurity in India, by Instasafe.


Accepted Talks

Presentations are listed below, in alphabetical order by title.