Bill Sempf — Growing AppSec People and KidzMash

The shortage of AppSec practitioners will not disappear just by posting more job openings. Bill Sempf joins Robert at CodeMash to discuss finding developers with curiosity and drive, then helping them grow into application security roles. He shares lessons from cultivating people inside several organizations and explains how capture-the-flag exercises can reveal an appetite for security problem solving. The conversation expands to KidzMash, where children explore technology through hands-on activities, and to the growing place of security at developer conferences. Bill also points aspiring practitioners toward OWASP meetings and projects as ways to learn with others. The common thread is practical exposure: give people a place to experiment, connect with a community, and discover what they want to pursue.

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About Security Journey
Security Journey provides application security education for developers and everyone in the software development lifecycle.
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Connect with Bill Sempf:
→ Bill Sempf on LinkedIn

Mentioned in this episode:
→ KidzMash and the CodeMash experience
→ CodeMash
→ OWASP Security Shepherd

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Chapters:
00:00 Growing AppSec people with Bill Sempf
01:30 Meeting at CodeMash
02:29 Finding security talent among developers
05:33 Recognizing curiosity and drive
08:28 Capture the flag as a learning tool
09:20 Teaching children with Security Shepherd
10:40 How KidzMash began
11:57 Hands-on STEM activities for hundreds of children
12:46 Growing security at a developer conference
15:16 Helping developers find a starting point
17:17 Mentoring and connecting people to OWASP