How Cybersecurity Education Expert Kyla Guru is Solving Cyber Insecurity

Digital threats loom large, and hackers often seem one step ahead. Staying safe online can feel like a game of chess if you're only reacting. That’s why a proactive, education-driven mindset is essential.  

Enter Kyla Guru, a pioneering force in the cybersecurity field whose journey from a 14-year-old cyber enthusiast to the founder of an international nonprofit is nothing short of inspiring.  

In the latest episode of The Segment: A Zero Trust Leadership Podcast, I sat with Kyla to discuss her innovative strides in accessible cybersecurity education and her thoughts on making the digital world safer for everyone.

About Kyla Guru, Founder & CEO of Bits N'​ Bytes Cybersecurity Education

Kyla Guru is the Founder & CEO of Bits N'​ Bytes Cybersecurity Education, a nonprofit dedicated to promoting cybersecurity awareness. As a teenager, she developed a growing curiosity about cybersecurity and even attended an NSA GenCyber camp.  

Kyla decided to take action when she learned that nearly all cyberattacks are due to human error. She developed a curriculum to bring cybersecurity education to local schools in her community. She’s now championed her message of cybersecurity resilience on national and international stages. Her organization offers workshops, consulting, and even open-source curriculum.

Noticing the gender gap in cybersecurity, Kyla also co-founded GirlCon Tech. The premier high school tech conference unites industry professionals and students to bridge the gender gap in technology.  

Currently, she is a master's student at Stanford University studying computer science and international relations. Her focus is improving product safety, protecting vulnerable user groups, and integrating the human element into every aspect of cybersecurity.

Cybersecurity awareness isn’t enough

Cyberattacks are increasing – and the people behind them are only getting smarter. For Kyla, this is a call for a more human-centered way to build cybersecurity awareness.

One important way to fight cyberattacks is to teach people how to navigate these threats. Kyla's approach to cybersecurity education is about stopping problems before they start instead of just reacting to them.

“It's more about empowering students,” Kyla explained. “A lot of them have questions that just need answering.”

By focusing on true empowerment instead of just awareness, Kyla is helping to create more resilient, informed users – and safer networks.

Convenient tech doesn’t have to lack security

But as technology gets easier to use and in the hands of more people, there’s a fear that simplicity in design can lead to less cybersecurity. "We make it really hard as designers to incentivize the user to choose to be secure,” Kyla said.

The solution? Finding the right balance between convenience and security. The first step is building security into the design from the start, not adding it on later.

“Security has always been thought of as part of the plumbing,” she explained, “but security really has to be thought of as part of the problem and part of the initial problem statement.”

Kyla called out Apple's lockdown mode and easy-to-use two-factor authentication as examples of how security can be smoothly added to products. By including security in the design process, the industry can create secure and convenient products, making the digital world safer for everyone.

How Kyla teaches Zero Trust alongside the rise of AI

The importance of learning about cybersecurity becomes clear with ideas like Zero Trust. Some people in cybersecurity wrongly think that Zero Trust means not trusting others at all. This incorrect belief has caused Zero Trust to change from its original, simple meaning over the past ten years.

Kyla is trying to change this view of Zero Trust from just a buzzword to a common-sense security practice. She explains Zero Trust by focusing on the “trust but verify” approach.  

“There’s a reason why we don't trust immediately,” she said. “And there’s all of these case studies for when we did trust immediately.”

In her teaching, she compares physical security to digital security. For example, we lock our doors to keep out intruders, so why wouldn't we lock up parts of our digital life?  

“Zero Trust is about making sure everything is secure by checking things carefully, not about distrusting everyone,” Kyla explained.

This is even more important with the rise of AI. It’s no secret that AI is changing the way we live and work. Kyla believes AI's real power is in automating simple tasks so people can focus on harder problems.

But we can’t forget about AI security. Kyla says we need to carefully test AI tools to make sure they're secure. “Our security posture hasn't necessarily changed that much,” Kyla noted. “It's a cat and mouse game, and the threat actors are also improving. We have to adapt.”

Kyla thinks this information helps the students and organizations she works with understand the importance of cybersecurity and empowers them to trust responsibly in the digital world.

Listen, subscribe, and review The Segment: A Zero Trust Podcast

Want to learn more? Listen to the full episode with Kyla on our website, Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you get your podcasts. You can also read a full transcript of the episode. 

We'll be back with more Zero Trust insights soon!