Marta Janus didn't own a personal computer until she was in her 20s. Her interests in high school included philosophy, ancient history and literature, leading her to eventually earn a master's degree in archeology.
It was her time at university, however, that ultimately led her down her current path as a principal researcher at HiddenLayer, where Janus focuses on investigating and mitigating adversarial machine learning attacks, and playing a pivotal role in ensuring the safety and security of AI-based solutions.
But back in her days as a student living in the dorms at Poland's University of Lodz, Janus became hooked on malware analysis after her computer was infected with a virus. She recalled via email to SC Media that she took on the challenge of removing the Trojan horse herself, which led to studying operating systems, network security and reverse engineering through experimentation and reading documentation (this was pre-online courses).
She eventually became skilled enough to work for a leading anti-virus vendor as a threat analyst, where she further honed her skills in threat intelligence, malware analysis, and reverse engineering.
Janus' work at HiddenLayer is innovative and timely. She is a key member of the Synaptic Adversarial Intelligence (SAI) team, a group focused on developing technology to defend machine learning systems from adversarial threats. Her expertise has been instrumental in shaping HiddenLayer’s platform, which recently earned the Innovation Sandbox award at RSA Conference 2023.
In addition to her work on adversarial machine learning, Janus has produced over three dozen publications for industry leaders such as BlackBerry, Cylance, Securelist, and DARKReading, sharing her insights into the latest in malware analysis and threat intelligence. Well-respected in the cybersecurity community, she has also presented at prominent industry conferences, including REcon Montreal and SEC-T, where she provides in-depth analyses of complex threats and adversarial techniques.
After spending over a decade as a malware engineer, Janus once again had to teach herself how artificial intelligence can be compromised to deliver traditional malware payloads. Raising awareness about AI-specific threats and passing on her knowledge at conferences is one of the more rewarding aspects of working in her field, she said.
Janus' career is a testament to persistence and self-confidence in an industry where women remain underrepresented. While the number of women in cybersecurity has risen over the years to about 20% to 25% of the workforce, she said progress doesn't happen overnight. Janus said that a healthy work culture and full equality are key to bringing more women into the industry, which includes closing the pay gap, having more opportunities for growth and fixing toxic culture.
Janus' resilience has not only propelled her to the forefront of cybersecurity research, but has also paved the way for other women in the field, making her a role model for aspiring female cybersecurity professionals.
