Cynthia Hetherington

Cynthia Hetherington, OSC, MS, CFE, is the Founder and CEO of Hetherington Group (Hg), a consulting, publishing, managed services, and training firm that leads in due diligence, corporate intelligence, and cyber investigations by keeping pace with the latest security threats and assessments. Ms. Hetherington applies her expertise in library science and information systems to provide clients with strategic insight into research and complex investigations. Throughout her career, she has assisted clients on thousands of cases with internet investigations related to employees, intellectual property, and reputation management. Ms. Hetherington has uncovered well- hidden relations between fraudulent associates and their assets using online open sources and databases as well as executing boots-on-the-ground operations. Her international investigations for Fortune 500 companies have honed her research skills in the Middle East, Europe, and Asia.

Drawing upon this depth of experience, she founded the OSINT Academy, a division of Hg, that trains thousands of investigators, security professionals, attorneys, accountants, auditors, military intelligence professionals, and federal, state, and local agencies on best practices annually. She leads a division of the OSINT Academy that is part of the National Cybersecurity Workforce Development Program funded by the National Security Agency in collaboration between Dakota State University, the United States National Security Agency, and Hetherington Group to provide comprehensive cyber intelligence instruction. Ms. Hetherington is an Adjunct Instructor in the College of Applied Science & Technology (CAST) at the University of Arizona and was a faculty member of the Association of Certified Fraud Examiners (ACFE).

In addition, Ms. Hetherington has authored several industry-leading reference books on conducting cyber investigations and she is the founder of the OSMOSIS Institute, the governing body of OSMOSIS, an Association for Open-Source Intelligence (OSINT) Professionals. OSMOSIS is the go-to global source for obtaining the collegial support, professional development, and mutually beneficial relationships that OSINT professionals need to succeed.

A mentor to women and other underrepresented populations across the professional digital ecosphere, Ms. Hetherington shares her experiences and expertise as a keynote speaker and contributor at women-focused technology events and conferences across the U.S. Among her memberships are the Women in Security Forum and the Women’s Presidents Organization. She also serves on the Board of Advisors for Raven, which seeks to protect children from cyber exploitation, as well as on the Board of Directors for Skull Games, a foundation dedicated to countering human trafficking. She collaborates with The National Center for Women and Information Technology to educate young women and girls about cyber and technology careers. She is also a lecturer and mentor to CybHER.org and RocketGirls at CyberSpace Camps held at the Kennedy Space Center.

Ms. Hetherington has been acknowledged with numerous awards, most recently being recognized as Women in IT USA’s 2022 Security Leader of the Year and the 2023 Advocate of the Year.