Caroline Wong facts for kids

Caroline Wong is an American expert in cybersecurity. She helps make computer systems and software safe from online threats. Caroline also works to make the world of cybersecurity more welcoming for everyone. She especially wants to encourage more women to join the field. She often shares her knowledge at events and in news articles. You might have seen her in The Washington Post or CBS News. She writes about making software secure and how to keep information safe. She also writes about the importance of diversity in technology.

Who is Caroline Wong?

Early Life and Education

Caroline Wong was born in San Francisco in 1983. Her mom studied microbiology, which is about tiny living things. Her uncles also ran their own engineering companies. This background likely sparked her interest in science and technology.

Caroline went to UC Berkeley for college. She earned a special degree in electrical engineering and computer science. Later, she also studied finance and accounting at Stanford University.

Making Computers Safer

Early in her career, Caroline worked for several big companies. She helped with cybersecurity at places like eBay and Zynga. Today, she is the Chief Strategy Officer at Cobalt. Cobalt is a company that helps other businesses find weaknesses in their computer systems. They do this by hiring skilled hackers to test their software. These hackers look for "vulnerabilities," which are like weak spots that bad guys could use.

Caroline has written a helpful book called Security Metrics: A Beginner's Guide. It was published in 2012 and is now considered a very important book in cybersecurity. She has also contributed to other books about keeping data safe.

She teaches online courses about cybersecurity on LinkedIn Learning. One of her courses was even ranked among the top courses of 2022! Caroline is also part of the Forbes Technology Council. This is a group of top tech leaders. She recently wrote another book about "Pentesting as a Service" (PtaaS). This is a way for experts to test computer systems for weaknesses. She also hosts a podcast called Humans of InfoSec, where she talks to people who work in information security.

Awards and Recognition

Caroline Wong has received many awards for her work. In 2010, she won a Women of Influence Award. This award recognized her as someone to watch in the future.

She has been named an "Influencer" in IT security by SC Magazine. CloudNOW also recognized her as one of the "Top Women in Cloud" technology. In 2019, she was named "Cyber Educator of the Year." This award was given by the Women's Society of Cyberjutsu.

In 2020, SC Magazine again recognized her as a "Power Player" for women in IT security. The next year, in 2021, she won a Gold award for "Cybersecurity Strategist of the Year." She was also named "Security Expert of the Year" by the Cyber Defense Global InfoSec Awards.

Caroline often speaks at big industry events like RSA and OWASP. She has also been featured in important publications like Protocol and Forbes. Forbes even called her one of the 15 most influential women in tech. This put her alongside famous leaders like Meg Whitman and Sheryl Sandberg!