Window Snyder facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Window Snyder
Born	Mwende Window Snyder 1975 (age 50–51) Honolulu, Hawaii
Occupation	Software security officer

Mwende Window Snyder (born in 1975), known to most as Window Snyder, is an American expert in computer security. She has held important roles as a top security officer at major companies like Square, Inc., Apple, Fastly, Intel, and Mozilla Corporation. She also worked as a senior security strategist at Microsoft. Window Snyder is a co-author of Threat Modeling, a well-known guide about keeping computer applications safe.

Who is Window Snyder?

Window Snyder is a leading figure in the world of cybersecurity. She helps make sure that computer systems and software are protected from online threats. Her work has been very important in keeping our digital world safe.

Early Life and Education

Window Snyder was born in New Jersey in 1975. Her father was American, and her mother, Wayua Muasa, was born in Kenya. She uses her middle name, Window, while her first name is mainly used by her family.

After finishing high school at Choate Rosemary Hall in 1993, she went to Boston College. There, she studied computer science. During her studies, she became very interested in cryptography (the science of secure communication) and cryptanalysis (the science of breaking codes). In the 1990s, she actively joined the Boston hacker community. This community included people who explored computer systems to understand how they worked and how to make them more secure. She even had a nickname, Rosie the Riveter, in this group.

A Career in Cybersecurity

Window Snyder chose a career path focused on cybersecurity. She was one of the first computer scientists to specialize in this field. She worked to connect large companies with security researchers, often called 'hackers,' to improve safety.

She joined a company called @stake as one of its first employees. She quickly advanced to become the director of security architecture before leaving in 2002.

Protecting Microsoft Products

After @stake, she worked at Microsoft as a senior security strategist. In this role, she helped create the Security Design Lifecycle (SDL). This is a process that helps developers build secure software from the very beginning. She also helped develop a new way to identify and fix potential security weaknesses in software, known as threat modeling.

Window Snyder was a key person in making sure that Microsoft Windows XP Service Pack 2 and Windows Server 2003 were secure. She also started the Blue Hat Microsoft Hacker Conference. This event brought together Microsoft engineers and security experts to talk about software security.

Leading Security at Top Tech Companies

After leaving Microsoft in 2005, Window Snyder co-founded Matasano Security. This company offered security services and products and was later bought by another company.

In September 2006, she joined Mozilla Corporation, known for the Firefox web browser. She left Mozilla at the end of 2008.

On March 1, 2010, Snyder started working at Apple Inc.. There, she was a product manager. Her job was to make sure that all Apple products had strong privacy and security features.

In 2015, she became the chief security officer at Fastly. Fastly is a company that helps deliver online content quickly and securely to users around the world.

In July 2018, Window Snyder became the chief security officer, vice president, and general manager for the Platforms Security Division at Intel. She later left Intel and joined Square, Inc. in May 2019. Square, Inc. is a company that provides payment processing and financial services.

In April 2021, Window Snyder announced that she had started her own new company, Thistle Technologies. This company focuses on providing a "secure foundation for devices," helping to protect various electronic gadgets.

Sharing Knowledge and Inspiring Others

Window Snyder has often spoken publicly about the challenges of computer security. She has given talks at many conferences and hackathons (events where people work together to create software).

For example, in May 2017, she spoke at the Next Generation Threats conference in Stockholm, Sweden. Earlier that year, in April, she was a main speaker at HITBSecConf in Amsterdam. She also spoke at the O'Reilly Security Conference in November 2017. In April 2018, she spoke at the RSA Conference, and in August 2018, she was a keynote speaker at the Open Source Summit.

She has also talked about career paths for women in cybersecurity. For instance, she gave a keynote speech at the Women in Tech Symposium on March 6, 2020, at the UC Berkeley campus. She continues to inspire young people, especially girls, to consider careers in technology and security.