Top 17 Cybersecurity Experts to Follow in 2026
The cybersecurity experts you follow shape how you think about threats, defenses, and risk. With so much noise online, finding voices that offer real, actionable insight matters. I've put together this list to help you cut through the clutter and connect with practitioners who actually move the needle on security strategy.
Top 17 Cybersecurity Experts
Below are the profiles of the top cybersecurity experts, covering who they are and the impact they've made in this space.
Katie Moussouris
Katie Moussouris is founder and CEO of Luta Security, a cybersecurity firm focused on vulnerability disclosure, bug bounty strategy, and coordinated programs for organizations worldwide.
Moussouris helped develop modern vulnerability disclosure and…
Katie Moussouris is founder and CEO of Luta Security, a cybersecurity firm focused on vulnerability disclosure, bug bounty strategy, and coordinated programs for organizations worldwide.
Moussouris helped develop modern vulnerability disclosure and bug bounty programs through her work at Microsoft, HackerOne, and public-sector initiatives such as Hack the Pentagon. Her work links vulnerability management with incentives, policy, and security costs.
Ollie Whitehouse
Ollie Whitehouse is Chief Technology Officer of the UK National Cyber Security Centre, following more than 27 years across cybersecurity research, advisory work, and private-sector leadership.
At the NCSC, Whitehouse helps maintain…
Ollie Whitehouse is Chief Technology Officer of the UK National Cyber Security Centre, following more than 27 years across cybersecurity research, advisory work, and private-sector leadership.
At the NCSC, Whitehouse helps maintain the organization’s role as the UK’s National Technical Authority for cybersecurity. His remit spans national resilience, emerging technologies, security research, and developing the technical capabilities needed to address future threats.
Bruce Schneier
Bruce Schneier is a security technologist, author, Harvard Kennedy School lecturer, and Inrupt Chief of Security Architecture. His work connects technology, security, policy, and society.
Schneier has spent decades examining how security…
Bruce Schneier is a security technologist, author, Harvard Kennedy School lecturer, and Inrupt Chief of Security Architecture. His work connects technology, security, policy, and society.
Schneier has spent decades examining how security systems interact with people, institutions, and power. His books, research, Crypto-Gram, and Schneier on Security extend from cryptography and cybersecurity to AI, public policy, and the design of trustworthy digital systems.
Heather Adkins
Heather Adkins is Google’s VP of Security Engineering and Cybersecurity Resilience Officer, a founding member of its security team with deep experience securing large-scale systems and networks.
Adkins has helped build Google’s…
Heather Adkins is Google’s VP of Security Engineering and Cybersecurity Resilience Officer, a founding member of its security team with deep experience securing large-scale systems and networks.
Adkins has helped build Google’s security organization around practical defense, incident response, breach recovery, insider risk, and resilient computing. She also co-authored Building Secure and Reliable Systems, bringing large-scale operational lessons to security engineering.
Chris Wysopal
Chris Wysopal is a Veracode founder and Chief Security Evangelist who began as a L0pht vulnerability researcher and has spent decades advancing software security and vulnerability disclosure.
From exposing insecure software at…
Chris Wysopal is a Veracode founder and Chief Security Evangelist who began as a L0pht vulnerability researcher and has spent decades advancing software security and vulnerability disclosure.
From exposing insecure software at L0pht to co-founding Veracode, Wysopal has pushed application security toward measurable engineering practice. His work includes responsible disclosure, security testing, vulnerability research, and advocating for stronger software throughout the development lifecycle.
Troy Hunt
Troy Hunt is the founder and CEO of Have I Been Pwned, a widely used breach-notification service, and a security educator, author, Microsoft Regional Director, and MVP based in Australia.
Through Have…
Troy Hunt is the founder and CEO of Have I Been Pwned, a widely used breach-notification service, and a security educator, author, Microsoft Regional Director, and MVP based in Australia.
Through Have I Been Pwned, Hunt turns breach data into a practical resource for individuals and security teams. His writing and teaching also cover web security, authentication, privacy, data exposure, and the lessons organizations can draw from real-world compromises.
Ciaran Martin
Ciaran Martin is an Oxford professor of practice and founding chief executive of the UK’s National Cyber Security Centre, where he helped reshape the country’s cybersecurity strategy and policy.
Martin led the…
Ciaran Martin is an Oxford professor of practice and founding chief executive of the UK’s National Cyber Security Centre, where he helped reshape the country’s cybersecurity strategy and policy.
Martin led the creation of the NCSC and helped move UK cybersecurity toward a more interventionist, system-level approach. At Oxford, his work incldes cyber strategy, technology policy, crisis management, public administration, and the practical relationship between government and digital security.
Mark Russinovich
Mark Russinovich is CTO, Deputy CISO, and Technical Fellow for Microsoft Azure. He leads technical strategy and helps manage security risk across Azure, operating systems, and engineering.
Russinovich combines deep systems expertise…
Mark Russinovich is CTO, Deputy CISO, and Technical Fellow for Microsoft Azure. He leads technical strategy and helps manage security risk across Azure, operating systems, and engineering.
Russinovich combines deep systems expertise with responsibility for cloud architecture and security risk. His work on Microsoft’s Secure Future Initiative emphasizes durable engineering controls, secure-by-design practices, threat modeling, and security across hyperscale cloud and AI infrastructure.
Mikko Hyppönen
Mikko Hyppönen is Chief Research Officer at Sensofusion, a security researcher and author whose career includes malware analysis, cybercrime, privacy, and now counter-drone technology and defense.
After more than three decades fighting…
Mikko Hyppönen is Chief Research Officer at Sensofusion, a security researcher and author whose career includes malware analysis, cybercrime, privacy, and now counter-drone technology and defense.
After more than three decades fighting malware, Hyppönen moved into counter-drone research, applying the same adversarial mindset to unmanned systems. His broader work has made complex threats—from viruses and ransomware to online crime and AI—accessible to technical and general audiences.
Jen Easterly
Jen Easterly is CEO of RSAC and former director of the U.S. Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency. She has leadership experience across government, intelligence, finance, and security.
Easterly’s work focuses on systemic…
Jen Easterly is CEO of RSAC and former director of the U.S. Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency. She has leadership experience across government, intelligence, finance, and security.
Easterly’s work focuses on systemic cyber risk, infrastructure resilience, secure software, and collaboration between government and industry. At RSAC, she leads a global cybersecurity platform spanning its conference, professional community, education, innovation, and AI-security initiatives.
Parisa Tabriz
Parisa Tabriz is VP/GM of Chrome at Google and manager of Project Zero. She product leadership experience and a long record of security research and work to make the web safer at…
Parisa Tabriz is VP/GM of Chrome at Google and manager of Project Zero. She product leadership experience and a long record of security research and work to make the web safer at global scale.
Tabriz has helped drive security across Chrome and the wider web, from sandboxing and HTTPS adoption to exploit mitigations and malicious-site defenses. Her leadership of Chrome and Project Zero connects large-scale product development with advanced security research.
George Kurtz
George Kurtz is founder and CEO of CrowdStrike, a cybersecurity entrepreneur and former McAfee worldwide CTO who previously founded Foundstone, a security products and services company.
Kurtz has built security companies around…
George Kurtz is founder and CEO of CrowdStrike, a cybersecurity entrepreneur and former McAfee worldwide CTO who previously founded Foundstone, a security products and services company.
Kurtz has built security companies around vulnerability management, incident response, endpoint defense, and threat intelligence. At CrowdStrike, his work has centered on cloud-native security and using threat data and AI to identify and stop breaches across enterprise environments.
Vijaya Kaza
Vijaya Kaza is VP/GM of App and Ecosystem Trust at Google. She previously led security and trust engineering at Airbnb and held senior security and cloud engineering roles across major tech firms.
…
Vijaya Kaza is VP/GM of App and Ecosystem Trust at Google. She previously led security and trust engineering at Airbnb and held senior security and cloud engineering roles across major tech firms.
Kaza’s career spans cybersecurity, AI, cloud engineering, product development, and trust and safety. At Airbnb she led both information security and technology protecting the platform’s community, giving her a broad view of technical security and online ecosystem risk.
Lesley Carhart
Lesley Carhart is Dragos’ Principal Industrial Incident Responder in Australia, leading investigations and threat hunting in industrial environments after earlier incident response and digital forensics roles.
Carhart specializes in incidents where cybersecurity…
Lesley Carhart is Dragos’ Principal Industrial Incident Responder in Australia, leading investigations and threat hunting in industrial environments after earlier incident response and digital forensics roles.
Carhart specializes in incidents where cybersecurity meets physical operations. Their work spans OT and ICS investigations, ransomware readiness, digital forensics, threat hunting, and training defenders to respond safely when attacks affect industrial and critical-infrastructure environments.
Eva Galperin
Eva Galperin is Director of Cybersecurity at the Electronic Frontier Foundation, where she combines security research and digital rights work to protect vulnerable populations around the world.
Galperin has investigated malware and…
Eva Galperin is Director of Cybersecurity at the Electronic Frontier Foundation, where she combines security research and digital rights work to protect vulnerable populations around the world.
Galperin has investigated malware and developed practical security resources for people facing surveillance and abuse. As a co-founder of the Coalition Against Stalkerware, she has also helped turn technology-facilitated abuse into a concrete security problem for researchers and vendors to address.
Rachel Tobac
Rachel Tobac is CEO of SocialProof Security, a social engineering specialist and hacker whose work helps organizations strengthen security awareness and resist human-targeted attacks and scams.
Tobac demonstrates how attackers exploit trust…
Rachel Tobac is CEO of SocialProof Security, a social engineering specialist and hacker whose work helps organizations strengthen security awareness and resist human-targeted attacks and scams.
Tobac demonstrates how attackers exploit trust rather than just software. Her training, penetration testing, and public education focus on phishing, impersonation, deepfakes, account compromise, and practical habits that help employees and executives recognize social engineering before it succeeds.
Phil Venables
Phil Venables is a Ballistic Ventures partner and Google Strategic Security Advisor, after serving as Google Cloud’s first CISO and spending decades leading enterprise security and technology risk.
Venables brings a board-level…
Phil Venables is a Ballistic Ventures partner and Google Strategic Security Advisor, after serving as Google Cloud’s first CISO and spending decades leading enterprise security and technology risk.
Venables brings a board-level view of cybersecurity shaped by senior roles at Google Cloud and Goldman Sachs. His work connects security engineering with risk, governance, cloud and AI security, while his investing and advisory roles give him a close view of emerging cybersecurity technologies.
Selection Methodology
We selected the leaders on this list based on their relevance, demonstrated expertise and impact, professional credibility, and ongoing contributions to the field.
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We look for evidence such as leading meaningful initiatives or delivering notable results within their organizations, developing influential ideas or practices, publishing research or educational resources, speaking or teaching, and other contributions that demonstrate impact within their work or the broader field.
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