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Home ― News ― Cynthia Hetherington Named 2019 CybHER Warrior

Cynthia Hetherington Named 2019 CybHER Warrior

May 9, 2019

Cynthia Hetherington, founder and president of Hetherington Group (Hg), has been named 2019 CybHER Warrior of the Year by CybHER, “one of the Institutes within the DSU Madison Cyber Labs at Dakota State University in Madison, S.D. The annual award honors a leading woman in the field of cybersecurity to recognize her tireless devotion, extraordinary accomplishments, selfless leadership, and exceptional contributions to cybersecurity. Former recipients include Liza Mundy (2018), author of Code Girls, and Alexis Perez (2017), an analyst on Facebook’s Infrastructure Strategy team.

Ms. Hetherington leads national and international investigations in corporate due diligence and fraud, personal asset recovery, and background checks. With a specialization in the financial, pharmaceutical, and telecommunications industries, her cyber investigations have recovered millions of dollars in high profile corruption cases, assisting on the investigations of the top two Ponzi cases in United States history.

“It’s an honor to have been recognized for my contributions to the field of cybersecurity,” said Ms. Hetherington. “CybHER has made groundbreaking strides toward bringing the next generation of women into this exciting and fulfilling field. It’s highly rewarding to be recognized by dedicated cybersecurity women whose goal is to increase women’s presence in our field.”

CybHERDr. Ashley Podhradsky and Dr. Pam Rowland founded CybHER in 2013 because of their passion to encourage girls to explore education and careers in cybersecurity. With a mission to empower, motivate, educate, and change the perception of girls and women in cybersecurity, CybHER has reached over 14,000 girls. GenCyber Girls in CybHER Security Camp, supported by the NSA, is a signature project. It is the largest girls-only residential camp in the country and hosts middle school students who learn about cybersecurity, forensics, social engineering, programming, networking, and cryptography. Ms. Hetherington is a mentor and educator at the camp.

“A critical component of increasing gender diversity in cybersecurity is elevating and showcasing women who are doing wonderful things,” noted Dr. Podhradsky. “Girls who are interested in the field need role models they can point to. This was the motivation of our CybHER Warrior Award and recognizing Cynthia and her groundbreaking contributions to the field of cybersecurity. At DSU, women scholars in The Beacom College of Computer and Cyber Sciences have increased 400+ percent since 2013. Women like Cynthia have helped showcase this amazing field and contributed to moving the needle in gender representation.”

Ms. Hetherington is the author of three books on conducting cyber investigations and annually trains over 7,200 investigators, security professionals, attorneys, accountants, auditors, military intelligence professionals, and federal, state, and local agencies on best practices. She shares her expertise in this increasingly data-intensive, cyber focused-world through the publication of an industry newsletter, an online blog, and by hosting the annual OSMOSIS Conference.