DEF CON 33 - Secure Code Is Critical Infrastructure: Hacking Policy for Public Good - Tanya Janca
Source: YouTube · DEFCONConference · published Oct 10, 2025 · 29:19
Security advocate Tanya Jan (She Purple) is campaigning for the Canadian government to implement secure coding policies to protect national security and citizen data 0:11.
Key Takeaways:
• The Canadian government lacks a formal secure coding policy, creating national security risks as software vulnerabilities threaten critical infrastructure 3:33, 7:10.
• Government agencies like the CRA have experienced numerous breaches, with 42 material breaches hidden from public disclosure 14:00.
• Tanya has created a comprehensive secure coding guideline available at securecodingguideline.com and is gathering petition signatures to push government action 18:47, 20:24.
• Everyone can help by contacting officials, pushing for educational reform in computer science programs, and applying public pressure 21:43.
• Tanya remains hopeful that increased public awareness and support will lead to government adoption of better security practices 27:04.
Her advocacy demonstrates how security professionals can drive systemic change to protect citizens and critical infrastructure.
Sources:
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First 800 characters of the transcript
I'm good to go. Okay, awesome. And how many minutes do I have or till what time? >> To improve their software security. So I am a citizen that is not satisfied with the service she is receiving. And I want to advocate on behalf of all the other Canadian citizens that don't have a voice and don't have the same knowledge that I do. All of us in this room, all of us security professionals, I believe it is part of our job to advocate for others that don't have the same knowledge that we do. It's literally our job to protect them. And so I try to do this in many ways, and one of the ways is hassling the crap out of the Canadian government. And so you'll hear my accent. So at some point I'll say a sentence and at the end I'll say, "A, that means that was a question." And the only answer is yes. …