YASMINE ABDI
Contributor to You’re On Mute: 13 Lessons for Women Frustrated with the Tech SectorÂ
About Yasmin
Yasmin Abdi is a cybersecurity leader, entrepreneur, and advisor helping startups build secure products, implement strong security controls, and navigate compliance without sacrificing growth. As the Founder & CEO of noHack, she partners with early-stage companies to embed security into their foundation, ensuring resilience as they scale.
Previously, Yasmin held security leadership roles at Google, Meta, and Snapchat, where she tackled complex cybersecurity challenges and led global initiatives. She was also part of the Meemo founding team, contributing to its successful acquisition by Coinbase.
Beyond noHack, Yasmin serves on the University of Maryland’s Board, her alma mater, and advises tech startups on security, AI, and scaling infrastructure. In recognition of her impact, she was named 2024 Innovator of the Year in Loudoun County.
A sought-after speaker and advocate, Yasmin is passionate about helping business leaders understand cybersecurity, fostering diversity in tech, and driving security innovation. Through noHack, she’s redefining cybersecurity as a dynamic, dependable, and diligent partner for companies shaping the future.
Â
CONNECT WITH YASMIN
Yasmin’s Chapter:
On Mute, Unmuted – Lessons from My Years on Mute
Â
In her chapter, Yasmin traces her journey from a curious girl tinkering with radios in Somalia to a cybersecurity founder in the U.S. She recounts the many times she was “on mute”—in classrooms, in boardrooms, and in the fast-moving halls of Silicon Valley. Her story explores the personal cost of trying to belong, the courage it took to reclaim her voice, and the birth of noHack as both a business and a mission.
Yasmin’s lessons are as practical as they are inspiring: document your contributions, choose your “yes” carefully, and find allies who hear you even when others do not. Most of all, she insists that leadership must evolve—valuing empathy, clarity, and insight just as much as volume.
Her chapter is a rallying cry to women in tech: being heard isn’t about shouting louder, it’s about dismantling the systems that silence us.Â
“The truth is—brilliant ideas don’t change the world when they’re whispered in isolation. They change the world when someone dares to say them out loud.”
- Yasmin Abdi, You’re On Mute
About the Book:
You’re On Mute: 13 Lessons for Women Frustrated with the Tech Sector
You’re On Mute: 13 Lessons for Women Frustrated with the Tech Sector is a bold anthology by women in tech, sharing unapologetic stories of resilience, exclusion, and transformation. From global leaders to grassroots innovators, these chapters are lessons and rallying cries that challenge the systems holding us back and imagine a more inclusive future. In a moment where AI is reshaping everything, this book reminds us that real change won’t come from technology alone, but from community, care, and collective action.
Listen to Yasmin's Episode:
Risk, Resilience & Running a Business
Yasmin Abdi is a pioneering leader in cybersecurity, committed to redefining digital security and empowering organizations to navigate today’s evolving threat landscape. Tune in to hear Yasmin's insights on the evolution of cybersecurity, common mistakes startups make regarding security, and how we can better amplify underrepresented voices in the technology industry. .
LISTEN NOW