Kristina Balaam

Kristina Balaam has a diverse work experience that spans multiple companies and roles. Starting in 2012, they worked at Resolution Interactive Media as a Mobile/Web Developer and later transitioned to the role of Lead Software Developer. In 2016, they joined Shopify as a Software Engineer and eventually became a Senior Application Security Engineer (Android), leaving the company in August 2018. Since then, they have been working at Lookout, initially as a Malware Researcher and then as a Senior Threat Intelligence Researcher. Currently, Kristina holds the position of Staff Threat Intelligence Researcher at Lookout, starting in December 2021.

Kristina Balaam has a diverse education history in the field of computer science and cybersecurity. Kristina obtained their Master of Science (MS) degree in Computer Science with Cyber Security from the University of York between 2021 and 2023. Prior to that, they completed their Bachelor's degree in Computer Science at McGill University from 2007 to 2012.

Kristina also pursued further education in the form of non-degree programs and certifications. In 2017, they attended Stanford University and completed courses such as XACS101 Software Security, XACS133 Exploiting & Protecting Web Applications, and XACS215 Mobile Security. During the same year, they studied Network Security and Cryptography at Ryerson University.

In 2013, Kristina was a non-degree student at Western University, focusing on Artificial Intelligence. Before their university education, they obtained their Secondary School Diploma from Trinity College School in 2007.

In addition to their academic accomplishments, Kristina has earned several certifications. Kristina obtained the HSK2 certification from the Hanyu Shuiping Kaoshi (HSK) examination in December 2020. Kristina also holds the GIAC Certified Forensics Analyst (GCFA), GCIH - Certified Incident Handler, and GSEC - Security Essentials certifications, all obtained in 2019 from GIAC Certifications.