DEF CON 33 - BiC Village - Breaking Down Bias in the Cyber Stack - Kaleeque Pierce, Jess Hoffman
Source: YouTube · DEFCONConference · published Oct 22, 2025 · 1:00:32
This session explores how systematic bias affects cybersecurity, emphasizing the need for equality in the field. Speakers Kik Pierce and Jessica Hoffman lead an interactive discussion about identity perception and bias in cybersecurity environments.
Key Takeaways:
• Bias extends beyond gender and race to include appearance, age, neurodiversity, and cultural factors
• Code switching remains a common adaptation strategy for underrepresented professionals in cybersecurity
• Women and minorities often face additional challenges in leadership and technical roles
• Creating inclusive environments involves acknowledging bias and making space for authentic self-expression
The speakers emphasize that recognizing and addressing these biases benefits everyone in the cybersecurity field and leads to better security outcomes overall.
Generate CPE Credits
Generate a professional CPE document from this video's transcript.
Estimated credit: 1 CPE hours
Estimate uses the video runtime (1 hour ≈ 1 CPE, rounded to the nearest 0.5, minimum 0.5, maximum 2.0). The final amount can be lower after review, never higher.
Topic: Cybersecurity. Commonly maps to: Security and Risk Management, Security Operations. Exact CISSP domains are assigned during generation.
Free account. One generation at a time, with a daily limit.
CPEBuddy is independent and not affiliated with or endorsed by ISC2, ISACA, or any certification body. Exports are formatted for common CPE submissions; acceptance is at your certification body's discretion.
Transcript Preview
First 800 characters of the transcript
All right. So, it is my pleasure to welcome and introduce audit this breaking down bias in the cyber stack. And this will be a vital conversation on how systematic bias can affect everything from threat modeling to hiring and policy. This session will bring together leaders from government, industry, and defense to highlight the forces shaping our security posture. So, we will um our feature speakers are Mr. Kik Pierce and Miss Jessica Hoffman. Please join me in welcoming them to their talk. [Applause] >> So this is actually a third year clique and I have tag team. The first year I was just up here doing my thing and this man in the back is like screaming stuff and I was like well why don't you just come up here and talk with me? Um no it was a great perspective because obviously we're two…