Meet Ms. Robot: Gabrielle Botbol, Ethical Hacker

Politely Pushy with Eric Chemi

Move over Rami Malek as Mr. Robot. There’s a new ethical hacker in town, bucking stereotypes about women in STEM – and did we mention that aside from her work protecting systems from dangerous hackers, she has also been an actor? Today’s guest is Gabrielle Botbol, an offensive security consultant at Desjardins. Growing up in France, she was encouraged to pursue her interests in literature and acting but gravitated to technology and designing websites. As is a common theme among women we’ve interviewed, girls are often discouraged from pursuing their passion for STEM and encouraged to work in more traditionally female-dominated industries. Luckily, that is now starting to change. Gabrielle discusses how she left the world of acting to become a cybersecurity pen (penetration) tester hired to hack systems for organizations to make those systems hack-proof against those with malicious intentions. As she explains to our host, she is nice and one of the good guys…but don’t mistake her kindness for weakness! She will quickly discover how, when and where you plan to attack if you’re an unethical hacker. That’s why companies and government agencies turn to her for her expertise. In addition to being a cybersecurity pen tester, Gabrielle is a blogger and podcast host (of CS by BG) with close to a decade of experience in cybersecurity. She serves as an advisory board member for the Canadian Cybersecurity Community, the first and most active Canadian cybersecurity network in Canada, as well as the Cyber School. She also recently became a mentor for CyberGirls, a 1-year fellowship equipping young women with globally sought-after cybersecurity skills. Hear from our very own Ms. Robot about the important work she does and why it’s so in demand in this exciting new episode.