Top Cybersecurity Influencers to Follow in 2026
Cybersecurity is one of the noisiest content spaces on the internet. Every vendor has a blog. Every conference has a keynote. And LinkedIn is full of hot takes dressed up as thought leadership.
Finding voices worth actually following takes work. The top influencers in cybersecurity aren't just the ones with the most followers. They're the ones who help practitioners make better decisions, understand real threats, and stay ahead in a constantly shifting landscape.
This list was built for CISOs, security engineers, marketers, and GTM teams who want signal, not noise. Whether you're looking to learn, build your network, or identify credible voices for brand partnerships, this is where to start.
How We Defined "Top Cybersecurity Influencers"
Follower count alone doesn't make someone worth following. A large audience built on viral posts and recycled takes doesn't translate into trust with buyers or practitioners.
This list was curated for professionals and decision-makers who need real insights. That means prioritizing voices with actual practitioner experience, consistent output, and a track record of being right, not just loud.
Selection Criteria Used for This List
Signal quality over noise. Each person on this list publishes content that informs decisions, not just generates engagement.
Consistency and depth. Not one-hit wonders. These are voices that show up regularly with substantive analysis.
Practitioner or operator credibility. Most have worked in the field, built something, or researched something that matters.
Educational value vs. hot takes. The emphasis is on people who teach you something, not just provoke a reaction.
Relevance to modern security challenges. AI, cloud security, ransomware, zero trust, and identity are all represented here.
CISO Leaders & Executive Security Voices
1. Troy Hunt
Current Role: Founder of Have I Been Pwned; Independent Security Researcher
Primary Platforms: X/Twitter (approx. 260K followers), Blog
Core Expertise: Data breaches, identity security, security education
Why Follow: Troy turns breach data into clear, public insight. His blog posts are detailed, sourced, and genuinely useful. He's one of the most trusted independent voices in the space and isn't beholden to any vendor narrative.
2. Rinki Sethi
Current Role: VP and CISO at Bill.com (previously CISO at Twitter/X)
Primary Platforms: LinkedIn (approx. 20K+ followers), X/Twitter
Core Expertise: Cloud security leadership, security org scaling, board communication
Why Follow: Rinki brings a strategic, people-first lens to security leadership. Her content is practical for CISOs navigating board relationships and scaling security teams inside fast-moving companies.
3. Alyssa Miller
Current Role: CISO and Security Advocate; Author
Primary Platforms: LinkedIn (approx. 30K+ followers), X/Twitter
Core Expertise: AppSec, business-aligned security
Why Follow: Alyssa bridges the gap between technical security work and business outcomes. She's a strong voice for making AppSec accessible and connecting security priorities to executive decision-making.
Cybersecurity Researchers & Threat Intelligence Influencers
4. Jadee Hanson
Current Role: CISO and CIO at Code42
Primary Platforms: LinkedIn
Core Expertise: Compliance, SaaS security
Why Follow: Jadee focuses on insider risk and data protection in SaaS environments. Her perspective is grounded in real operational experience, which makes her content useful for security and compliance teams inside growing companies.
5. Wendy Nather
Current Role: Head of Advisory CISOs at Cisco
Primary Platforms: X/Twitter (approx. 20K followers), LinkedIn
Core Expertise: Security leadership, culture
Why Follow: Wendy has spent years working with CISOs across industries and brings nuance to topics that often get oversimplified. She's particularly strong on the human and organizational side of security.
6. George Kurtz
Current Role: Co-Founder, President, and CEO at CrowdStrike
Primary Platforms: LinkedIn (approx. 200K+ followers), X/Twitter
Core Expertise: Threat landscape, market signals
Why Follow: George offers a macro view of the threat environment backed by CrowdStrike's intelligence infrastructure. His commentary on nation-state threats and adversary behavior carries genuine weight.
Cybersecurity Researchers & Threat Intelligence Experts
7. Katie Nickels
Current Role: Director of Intelligence at Red Canary
Primary Platforms: X/Twitter (approx. 20K+ followers), LinkedIn
Core Expertise: Ransomware, adversary tracking
Why Follow: Katie is one of the clearest voices in threat intelligence. She helped develop MITRE ATT&CK content and consistently produces analysis that helps defenders understand adversary behavior at a practical level.
8. John Hammond
Current Role: Principal Security Researcher at Huntress
Primary Platforms: YouTube (approx. 700K subscribers), X/Twitter
Core Expertise: Malware analysis, education
Why Follow: John makes malware analysis and CTF challenges accessible to a wide audience. His YouTube channel is one of the best free resources for hands-on security learning, especially for students and early-career practitioners.
9. Lesley Carhart
Current Role: Principal Threat Analyst at Dragos
Primary Platforms: X/Twitter (approx. 85K followers)
Core Expertise: Incident response, OT security
Why Follow: Lesley is a recognized expert in industrial control systems and OT security. Her posts on incident response and critical infrastructure threats are grounded in real casework and hard to find elsewhere.
Educators, Writers & Community Builders
10. Marcus Hutchins
Current Role: Independent Security Researcher (known for stopping WannaCry)
Primary Platforms: X/Twitter (approx. 130K followers), Blog
Core Expertise: Malware, botnets
Why Follow: Marcus has done some of the most consequential malware research in recent memory. His technical breakdowns are detailed and credible, and his blog remains one of the better free resources for deep malware analysis.
11. Kevin Beaumont
Current Role: Independent Security Researcher
Primary Platforms: X/Twitter (approx. 100K+ followers), Blog
Core Expertise: Cloud security, vulnerability analysis
Why Follow: Kevin was an early and consistent voice on major vulnerabilities like ProxyLogon, PrintNightmare, and others. He's known for calling out real risks before they're widely acknowledged, which makes him worth watching closely.
12. SwiftOnSecurity
Current Role: Anonymous security professional
Primary Platforms: X/Twitter (approx. 380K followers)
Core Expertise: Security culture, ops insight
Why Follow: SwiftOnSecurity has built a massive audience through sharp, often humorous commentary on security operations and culture. The account cuts through vendor marketing and offers a ground-level operational perspective.
13. Chad Loder
Current Role: Cybersecurity Researcher and Founder
Primary Platforms: LinkedIn
Core Expertise: OSINT, threat actor monitoring
Why Follow: Chad brings an OSINT-driven approach to tracking threat actors and emerging risks. His research tends to surface before it hits mainstream security news, making him a useful early signal source.
Founders, Operators & Security Entrepreneurs
14. Haroon Meer
Current Role: Founder at Thinkst (makers of Canary deception tools)
Primary Platforms: X/Twitter (approx. 15K followers)
Core Expertise: Deception tech, product thinking
Why Follow: Haroon thinks differently about security product design. His writing challenges conventional wisdom on what security tools should actually do and why most don't work as advertised.
15. Adam Shostack
Current Role: Independent Consultant; Author of Threat Modeling: Designing for Security
Primary Platforms: LinkedIn, Blog
Core Expertise: Threat modeling
Why Follow: Adam literally wrote the book on threat modeling. His content is structured, actionable, and useful for engineers and security architects who want to build security into products rather than bolt it on afterward.
16. Brian Krebs
Current Role: Investigative Journalist and Founder of KrebsOnSecurity
Primary Platforms: Blog, X/Twitter (approx. 400K followers)
Core Expertise: Cybercrime investigation
Why Follow: Brian is the gold standard for cybercrime reporting. His investigations go deep into criminal infrastructure, fraud ecosystems, and vendor accountability. If a breach matters, he's usually among the first to explain how it happened and why.
17. Rachel Tobac
Current Role: CEO at SocialProof Security
Primary Platforms: X/Twitter (approx. 60K followers), LinkedIn
Core Expertise: Social engineering, human risk
Why Follow: Rachel demonstrates social engineering attacks in real time and translates them into awareness content that non-technical audiences actually understand. Her work is directly useful for security awareness programs and executive communications.
18. Sam Curry
Current Role: VP and CISO at Zscaler
Primary Platforms: LinkedIn (approx. 40K+ followers), X/Twitter
Core Expertise: Bug bounties, offensive security
Why Follow: Sam brings an attacker's mindset to security leadership. His posts on vulnerability disclosure and offensive research are grounded in hands-on experience and offer a perspective you don't often get at the executive level.
19. Eva Galperin
Current Role: Director of Cybersecurity at the Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF)
Primary Platforms: X/Twitter (approx. 100K+ followers)
Core Expertise: Surveillance, nation-state threats
Why Follow: Eva focuses on the intersection of technology, surveillance, and civil liberties. Her work on stalkerware and targeted digital attacks is important for anyone thinking about the human impact of security failures.
Educators, Writers & Community Builders
20. Daniel Miessler
Current Role: Founder of Unsupervised Learning; Security and AI Researcher
Primary Platforms: Substack/Newsletter, X/Twitter (approx. 50K+ followers)
Core Expertise: Security thinking, AI
Why Follow: Daniel's newsletter is one of the best weekly reads at the intersection of AI and security. He synthesizes complex developments into clear frameworks and doesn't chase trends for engagement.
21. Gerald Auger
Current Role: Founder at Simply Cyber; Security Educator and YouTuber
Primary Platforms: YouTube (approx. 180K subscribers), LinkedIn
Core Expertise: Security education, career growth
Why Follow: Gerald is one of the most accessible educators in the space. His content is designed for people entering or advancing in cybersecurity careers, and he covers both technical skills and the professional side of the industry.
22. Josh Corman
Current Role: Senior Strategist at CISA (previously); Independent Advisor
Primary Platforms: X/Twitter (approx. 20K followers), LinkedIn
Core Expertise: Product security, safety
Why Follow: Josh has been a consistent voice on software safety, healthcare security, and policy. His work connecting security failures to real-world harm is important context for anyone working on critical systems or regulated industries.
23. Kelly Shortridge
Current Role: Senior Principal Engineer at Fastly
Primary Platforms: X/Twitter (approx. 30K followers), Substack
Core Expertise: Security economics, resilience
Why Follow: Kelly applies behavioral economics and systems thinking to security decisions. Her work challenges lazy assumptions about how security programs are built and measured, making her useful to leaders rethinking their approach.
24. Steve Gibson
Current Role: Security Researcher; Founder of Gibson Research Corporation
Primary Platforms: Podcast: Security Now (one of the longest-running security podcasts), X/Twitter
Core Expertise: Security fundamentals
Why Follow: Steve has been explaining security concepts clearly for decades. Security Now is essential listening for anyone who wants to understand the fundamentals and keep up with protocol-level developments without drowning in jargon.
25. Allison Nixon
Current Role: Chief Research Officer at Unit 221B
Primary Platforms: X/Twitter (approx. 20K followers), LinkedIn
Core Expertise: Cybercrime ecosystems
Why Follow: Allison investigates criminal networks and the communities that sustain them. Her research on SIM swapping, cybercrime infrastructure, and threat actors offers a level of depth that's rare in public-facing security content.
Why Following the Right Cybersecurity Influencers Matters
There is no shortage of content in cybersecurity. The challenge is finding voices that consistently deliver a real signal rather than recycled vendor talking points.
Following the right top cybersecurity influencers gives you a faster, cleaner view of what's actually happening. New attack techniques, regulatory changes, and emerging tools surface in these feeds before they hit mainstream press. That matters for practitioners making tool decisions, security leaders advising boards, and marketers trying to understand what buyers actually care about.
The value also compounds over time. Trust is built through repeated, accurate insight. When a voice you've followed for years flags something as a priority, it carries weight. That's the kind of credibility that shapes purchasing decisions, hiring decisions, and organizational priorities.
For B2B marketers and GTM teams, this list also has a second use. These are the types of voices that already have your buyers' trust. That trust is not easily manufactured. It's earned through consistency, technical depth, and real experience, which is exactly what makes top influencers in cybersecurity worth partnering with.
How Cybersecurity Brands Earn Buyer Trust Through the Right Voices
Cybersecurity buyers are skeptical by nature. They've seen too many vendor claims, too many sponsored posts, and too many generic endorsements from people who've never run a SOC or built a security program. Cold outreach and display ads don't move them.
What moves them is trust earned through credible, practitioner-led voices. That's where B2B influencer marketing services come in, and specifically where Cherry Lane Media is different from generic influencer platforms.
Cherry Lane specializes in B2B influencer marketing for SaaS and tech companies. The work goes far beyond connecting a brand with a name and walking away. Cherry Lane designs the strategy, handpicks creators based on audience fit and practitioner credibility, manages campaigns end-to-end, and measures real business impact: awareness, trust, traffic, and pipeline, not just impressions and likes.
If you're a CISO, a security startup founder, or a GTM leader trying to reach technical buyers, the top cybersecurity influencers on this list represent the kind of credibility you want associated with your brand. Cherry Lane can help you build that bridge the right way.
