Natali Tshuva: From Computer Science to Cybersecurity Impact

Early Interest in Science and Technology

• 💡 Natali Tshuva's journey began with an interest in science and medicine, leading her to start an undergraduate degree in computer science at age 14.
• 🚀 This early exposure, facilitated by a special program in Israel, opened up a new world of understanding how things work behind the scenes, including advanced math, algorithms, and software development.

IDF Service and Cybersecurity Foundation

• 🧠 Following her studies, Natali served in Unit 8200, Israel's intelligence unit, where she received training in vulnerability research and exploitation.
• 🎯 Post-IDF, she worked in the Israeli cybersecurity space, gaining experience in extracting encrypted and deleted information to aid law enforcement.

Bridging Cybersecurity and Critical Industries

• 🩺 While pursuing her master's, Natali explored a combination of math and medical research, discovering the potential of therapeutic medical devices and remote care.
• ⚠️ She identified a critical gap in cybersecurity controls for these connected medical devices, which sparked her passion to combine her expertise with the goal of impacting critical industries.
• ⚡ This led to the focus on medical industry and later expanded to other critical infrastructures like smart cities, railways, and power grids through her company, Sternum.

Leadership and Advice

• 🤝 Natali emphasizes transparency, truthfulness, and the belief that nothing is impossible, drawing from her experiences in Unit 8200 to tackle complex challenges.
• 📈 She advises aspiring professionals to get hands-on experience, dive deep into understanding technologies from the bottom up, and leverage their unique strengths to make a positive impact.
• ✨ The core motivation for her company is the opportunity to ensure the connected environment is safe from threat actors and to make the world a better place.