Where Are the Women in Cybersecurity Venture?

Cybercrime Magazine recently published a list of hot VC firms in cybersecurity.  It’s a solid list, filled with firms that have helped shape some of the most important security companies over the last twenty years. A few were behind some of my most meaningful exits, and I’m lucky to know several of the founders and leaders who built those firms into what they are today. Still, as I scrolled through the list and saw the many posts celebrating it, a few things stuck with me. The whole thing brought me back to the feel of an old John Hughes movie. The popular kid secretly likes the underdog but can’t let the other popular kids know. The haves keep winning. The have-nots keep fighting for a shot. The in-crowd stays in. I get that might sound a little harsh, especially coming from someone who’s had more than their share of wins. But what really surprises me is how tight the circle of those winning in cyber is and how few women founders and investors were represented on the list. That part is still remarkably unchanged.

Look it's no surprise that the technology space, in particular cybersecurity, has had a love affair with promoting male founders and CEOs, and this is especially true at the intersection of venture capital and technical innovation. That dynamic is slowly changing, but not fast enough. In my role as a CEO and the mentorship I provide via Coachcella, I get to spend time with early-stage founders and technical leaders and have seen firsthand how many women are building at the edge of cybersecurity, privacy, and resilience. They’re not waiting to be invited in. They’re already here.

Credible and Innovative Women in Cybersecurity

In an industry that often talks about innovation while recycling the same names and faces, these women are actually moving cybersecurity forward. They build, lead, defend, and reframe what security looks like in today’s world. Whether they’re launching category-defining startups, designing national cyber strategy, building open disclosure policies, or giving voice to overlooked communities, these leaders are shaping what’s next—technically, strategically, and culturally.

Keren Elazari is a cybersecurity analyst, researcher, author, and public speaker based in Tel Aviv, Keren is the first Israeli woman to speak at DEFCON, one of the most respected hacker conferences in the world. Her TED Talk, “Hackers: the Internet’s Immune System,” has over 2 million views and helped shift the global narrative around ethical hacking. She’s also a senior researcher at Tel Aviv University’s Cyber Research Center and founder of BSides Tel Aviv.

Katie Moussouris, Founder and CEO at Luta Security, is one of the world’s leading experts on vulnerability disclosure and bug bounty programs. She helped launch Microsoft’s first bug bounty and worked with the U.S. government to roll out Hack the Pentagon. She now leads Luta Security, helping companies and governments improve their coordinated vulnerability response.

Rinki Sethi is CISO at Bill.com today and formerly served as CISO at Twitter. Rinki brings decades of experience leading security at scale. In addition to her service at Twitter, she’s held leadership roles at IBM, and Palo Alto Networks and today advises several early-stage startups. She’s a strong advocate for inclusive leadership in cybersecurity and continues to push for more diverse perspectives at the executive level.

Tina Huang, who is the Founder and CTO at Transposit is building modern tools for incident response and operational resilience. With a background at Google and Twitter, she co-founded Transposit to bring more structure and automation to the chaos of DevSecOps. Her technical vision and user-first approach stand out in an often rigid space.

Window Snyder, who serves as both Founder and CEO at Thistle Technologies is a veteran security executive with a track record that includes Apple, Microsoft, Fastly, and Square. She’s known for her deep understanding of secure development and product security, and now leads Thistle Technologies, focused on securing embedded and IoT systems.

Camille Stewart Gloster, the Deputy National Cyber Director for the White House blends policy, law, and technical fluency to shape national cyber strategy. She has worked across public and private sectors, including Google and DHS, and now plays a key role in the Biden administration’s cybersecurity efforts. She’s also a leading voice on the importance of equity in cyber leadership.

Magda Chelly who serves as a CISO Advisor and Founder at Women of Security (WoSEC) is globally recognized for her work in cyber governance, risk, and awareness. As a speaker, advisor, and founder, she champions inclusion while offering hands-on guidance to boards and CISOs. Her work bridges strategy and community.

Nicole Perlroth, a former New York Times cybersecurity reporter and a foremost journalist and author, has spent years investigating nation-state cyber warfare and zero-day markets. Her book, This Is How They Tell Me the World Ends, is a must-read for anyone who wants to understand the real stakes of the cyber arms race.

Eva Galperin, Director of Cybersecurity, Electronic Frontier Foundation Eva leads efforts to protect at-risk groups from digital surveillance. Her work exposing stalkerware and advocating for privacy rights makes her one of the most impactful cybersecurity leaders focused on human rights and digital safety.

Even with these remarkable women making strides in cybersecurity, ​women remain significantly underrepresented in leadership roles within cybersecurity-focused venture capital (VC) firms. While comprehensive data specific to cybersecurity VC firms is limited, broader industry statistics provide insight into this disparity as shared in a post by everythingstartups.com.  In fact, digitaldefynd.com reported that women occupy approximately 12.4% of partner positions at venture capital firms, reflecting a modest increase from 11.8% in 2022. 

The Missing Piece: Representation at the Investment Table

Despite progress in the broader venture ecosystem, leadership within cybersecurity-focused VC firms remains heavily male. According to Cybersecurity Ventures, women are founding and leading standout cybersecurity companies around the world. These founders are solving real technical challenges in areas like threat intelligence, vulnerability disclosure, and identity protection. What they continue to lack is equitable access to capital, networks, and board-level visibility.

There are a few bright spots worth noting. iAngels is a women-led VC firm based in Israel that actively invests in deep tech and cybersecurity, w With over $400m AUM and 24 profitable exits.​​ Mendoza Ventures focuses on early- and growth-stage companies in AI, FinTech, and cybersecurity, and prioritizes diversity as part of its investment thesis. These firms signal what’s possible when inclusion is not an afterthought but a core strategy.

A recent report from Funderlyst shows that women-led VC firms closed 86 deals in 2023, more than doubling from just 36 the year before. It’s a promising trend, but cybersecurity remains behind the curve. Most security-focused VC firms are still led by men, and many operate within long-standing networks that remain closed to outsiders.

This isn’t a pipeline problem. The talent is already here. The ideas are here too. What’s missing is consistent access and intentional inclusion. I believe innovation thrives when more people have the opportunity to shape it. If you're building in this space, and are one of the many founders and partners on the Cybercrime Magazine’s list of hot VC firms in cybersecurity, ask yourselves who else should be in the room, who are the women heavy hitters thriving and driving innovation, and if you're investing, expand the circle to include some unfamiliar faces, some women visionaries.

Cybersecurity moves forward when everyone has a stake in the outcome. So let’s do the work. Let’s insist on more women at the table, more women founders in the spotlight, and more women making decisions as partners and investors. The future of security depends on all of us—so let’s fund that future together.