Udochi Nwobodo
Udochi Nwobodo is a security engineer with extensive experience in infrastructure security, product security, and vulnerability management. She has worked across cloud and on-premises environments, leading initiatives that improve security posture through automation, secure design, and scalable processes.
Her background includes deploying security solutions with infrastructure-as-code, managing enterprise vulnerability management programs, and implementing DevSecOps practices that align with business and compliance needs. She is particularly focused on building sustainable security programs that reduce risk while supporting engineering velocity.
Udochi is committed to advancing the security community by sharing practical lessons and strategies through conference talks, mentorship, and collaborative projects.
Session
What happens when a security engineer builds something deeply personal, like a dating API? Suddenly, the tables turn: you’re not just reviewing code, you’re writing it. Every design choice becomes a tradeoff between speed, usability, and security.
In this talk, I share the lessons learned from creating my own dating API. Along the way, I had to navigate common security challenges like API key generation and storage, input validation, access controls, logging, and rate limiting etc., while also grappling with the frustrations and surprises of being “the developer.” Some controls were easy to implement, others forced compromises that gave me new empathy for engineering teams under pressure.
Attendees will leave with a practical checklist of API security considerations, insights into how design tradeoffs impact security decisions, and a reminder that building, even something unconventional, can sharpen both technical skills and cross-team understanding.