Kimberley Mitnick: Cybersecurity Leader and Keeper of the Mitnick Legacy

Basic Information

A Life in Cybersecurity

Kimberley Mitnick’s career has been forged at the intersection of curiosity, human psychology, and enterprise defense. Trained by Kevin Mitnick—the iconic hacker turned security consultant—Kimberley built her reputation in the social engineering arena, where the human being is both the lock and the key. Her work emphasizes that even the most advanced technical controls can be undone by a well-timed email, a trusted voice, or a convincing pretext.

At Mitnick Security, the firm Kevin co-founded in 2003, Kimberley first commanded the operational backbone—marketing, client strategy, and business operations—then stepped into executive leadership. As of 2025, she serves as CEO. For roughly a decade, she has helped guide the company’s engagements and direction, working alongside Kevin and continuing the mission after his passing.

Mitnick Security is known for rigorous, real-world testing—penetration tests that probe the edges of network defenses; social engineering exercises that reveal where human trust can be exploited; incident response to minimize fallout when attacks break through; and training programs to elevate organizational vigilance. The firm’s ethos—often referred to as the Global Ghost Team—leans on the craft of the attacker to teach the craft of defense. Kimberley’s leadership sustains this philosophy while expanding its reach to global enterprises that need to measure their resilience, not just their compliance.

Family and Personal Ties

Kimberley’s public life is inseparable from her partnership with Kevin Mitnick. The two married and navigated the brutal arc of pancreatic cancer together. Kevin died in July 2023 at age 59. At the time, Kimberley was pregnant with their first child—a son—whose arrival transformed grief into a living legacy. In vivid tributes, Kimberley has written about introducing their son to Kevin’s world: the ethics of curiosity, the craft of thinking sideways, and the camaraderie of a global hacker family.

Her own family ties are grounded and close. Kimberley’s parents, Daisy and Andrew Tibbs, remain private figures, named in family notices. Her brother, Ricky Barry, and his wife Roxy live in the United States with their three children—Millie, Winston, and George—forming a transcontinental thread of support.

Family Snapshot

The Human Factor: Voice and Philosophy

Kimberley’s public commentary echoes a core belief: technology evolves, but hacker culture endures—maturing rather than fading. She frequently underscores community. “No love like a hacker fam love,” she’s written, tipping her hat to the networks of practitioners who learn, test, and defend together. On the first anniversary of Kevin’s passing (July 16, 2024), she described his impact as global and enduring, reflecting a partner’s intimacy and a leader’s respect. Her posts sketch a philosophy that security is both practice and culture—an identity shaped by curiosity, empathy, and rigor.

Mitnick Security at a Glance

Stewardship and Philanthropy

Even as Kimberley steers a global consulting practice, she has also honored a personal mission: fighting pancreatic cancer. Together, Kevin and Kimberley made a generous gift supporting pancreatic cancer research at the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, an effort rooted in lived experience and directed toward better treatments and outcomes. The gift reflects a pattern of turning private hardship into public action—a compass bearing that complements her security work.

Professional Trajectory and Roles

• Early career: Built foundations in IT and cybersecurity, with a bachelor’s degree from Charles Sturt University.
• Operations and strategy: Advanced through roles managing marketing and business operations at Mitnick Security.
• Executive leadership: As CEO by 2025, she continues to guide the firm through complex engagements and global expansion.
• Public engagement: Appears in media and industry forums, positioning the company’s human-centric security narrative and translating attacker playbooks into boardroom priorities.

In day-to-day practice, Kimberley’s work reads like a series of controlled experiments. A phishing simulation here, a pretexting call there—each test quantifies human risk. She pairs the diagnostic with the remedy: pragmatic training, procedural refinements, and cultural interventions that make good behavior the path of least resistance. The result is an operational style that blends theater with science, spotlighting the human stage where many breaches begin.

Selected Timeline

Public Presence and Community

Kimberley communicates with clarity and candor. Under the handle @kminx, she shares updates about the team’s work, celebrates the “hacker fam” that surrounds the firm, and stakes out a vision where ethical hacking is not a relic but a discipline in bloom. She speaks often about the next generation—their son included—learning not only how systems work, but why responsible curiosity matters.

There’s a pragmatic warmth to her messaging. She rarely indulges in abstractions; instead, she focuses on craft: the habits that close the gap between policy and practice, the drills that turn awareness into instinct. In the process, she keeps the Mitnick legacy alive not as a museum piece, but as a toolkit.

FAQ

Who is Kimberley Mitnick?

She is a cybersecurity leader based in Las Vegas and the CEO of Mitnick Security.

How is she connected to Kevin Mitnick?

Kimberley was Kevin Mitnick’s wife and partner in both life and business; she now carries forward his professional legacy.

What is her educational background?

She holds a bachelor’s degree from Charles Sturt University in Australia.

What does Mitnick Security do?

The firm conducts penetration testing, social engineering assessments, incident response, and security training for global clients.

What is her focus within cybersecurity?

She emphasizes the human layer—social engineering, awareness, and the cultural dimensions of defense.

How old is Kimberley?

She was 36 in mid-2023, placing her birth year around 1987.

Does she have children?

Yes, she and Kevin have one son, born after Kevin’s passing in 2023.

What philanthropic causes does she support?

She and Kevin contributed to pancreatic cancer research at the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute.

Where can people follow her updates?

She is active on X (Twitter) under the handle @kminx.